Legend of the Dragonfly

Dragonfly necklace ©Mary Montague Sikes

When I wear my dragonfly necklace, people often ask me about the legend of the beautiful insect. Artist Tina McCloud is the creator of this striking piece of jewelry that I saw her wearing at a meeting one day. I complimented it, and she responded with, "It's for sale." I bought it and have never regretted the purchase. It became part of my "Passenger to Paradise" series of books, first appearing in Night Watch.

I noted the legend in that book.

"The dragonfly is a symbol of change, going beyond self-illusion to create new beginnings and happiness. Because their colors result from reflected and refracted light, dragonflies may be associated with color magic and illusion. For some Native Americans they represent the souls of the dead."

Dragonflies are often featured in my art, especially the work I create on Yupo. This is small section of a diptych acrylic painting.

I love dragonflies and will keep on searching for their meaning.

"So Many Dragonflies" ©Mary Montague Sikes

How Much of Me Is In My Writing?

How much of me is in my writing? That's a good question for Week 3 of http://mfrw52week.blogspot.com, a blog challenge by Marketing for Romance Writers.

Since I am a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, I must first consider this from two angles. A good non-fiction writer will try not to put her own considerations and biases into a news story or feature article. Obviously, she must want the news to be the truth. A travel article, often written in the first person, will be different, and an author can give her opinion, which is expected.

However, as an author, I am most concerned now with fiction-writing. As I work on a novel, I know a great deal comes from my own personal experiences, embellished by my imagination when I think, "what if?" In my novel, Night Watch, much of what happens in the story actually happened to me when we arrived late at night in the airport in Trinidad. Our journey became an adventure when I thought we might actually be in danger as we were transported by strangers to an offshore island. Much of the story I tell through the eyes of my heroine occurred as we traveled in remote areas of the island nation where in many places I did not even speak their language.

When I write fiction, I use settings where I have been. Some are fictitious locations such as Jefferson City or Jefferson Point in Virginia where I set my novels, Daddy's Christmas Angel and Evening of the Dragonfly. Others, like Hearts Across Forever, are set in places we have visited, often many times.

"Rose Hall Great House" pastel painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

Jamaica, the setting for Hearts Across Forever, is an island we have visited more than a dozen times. It is a place where I have painted many beautiful scenes. Rose Hall Great House is part of the setting for my reincarnation story. My visits to Rose Hall where I learned about the "White Witch of Rose Hall" inspired this story.

I suppose the novel, Jungle Beat, an Indiana Jones-type adventure, has less of me in it than some of my other books. Even so, my visits to Mayan ruins in Central America, had great influence on the story.

How much of me is in my writing? I guess I have to say, " a lot".

What about you? Do you feel sometimes you are writing about yourself?

Who is the Passenger to Paradise? Another Book, Another Thought

Who is the Passenger to Paradise? I still contemplate that question. She is the little girl with giant dreams that continue to haunt the now grown up woman. She is the child of adventure, the woman with her bag already packed and ready to go at a moment's notice.

Years ago, when we traveled to Trinidad, I was filled with excitement to undertake such an amazing journey. From the moment we landed at the Piarco International Airport in Port of Spain, we were in the midst of intrigue that continued for the entire week of our planned vacation. The expedition took us into so many unusual places and circumstances that what we did became part of the fourth Passenger to Paradise book, Night Watch.

"What has Lily "walked" into...? From the moment Lily's plane lands in tropical Trinidad, things go awry. She planned for rest, relaxation and photography, but instead faces mistaken identity, a gun running operation and danger. Her transportation to her lodging does a no show, and she is mistaken for someone named Katherine by Kyle Warren. Putting the unsettling feelings of her trip and recent deaths of her parents behind her, Lily enjoys the ocean view from her room only to see the familiar figure of the man from the airport who is watching men stealthily unloading cargo from a small boat. Over the next few days, Lily's resemblance to another puts her in danger and Kyle's attempts to protect her further complicate the uncanny memories and feelings that she may indeed know him from the past. With her life in peril, Lily discovers a deep kinship with her doppelganger and a growing attachment to Kyle."

Writing Night Watch made me long to return to Trinidad to discover more adventure. For now, it is a memory and a dream to follow the Passenger to Paradise on yet another exotic journey.

Simple Events Inspire the Writer and the Artist

"Dragonfly" (detail) - acrylic ©Mary Montague Sikes

Several years ago, when we arrived at the condo in Hilton Head, South Carolina where we spend a week each year, I heard sounds of bumping and buzzing coming from the deck outside. When I went to check on the commotion, I discovered a half-dozen or more dragonflies circling and colliding with the sliding glass door. I filed the happening away for future reference.

That's what writers and artists do. We see the world in a different way. Simple events that others fail to notice are important happenings for us. We start thinking, "what if," and the imagination begins an amazing journey. The sounds of the dragonflies became part of the book I am now writing. The dragonfly image is used in several paintings I have already completed.

Dragonflies are symbolic and hold special meaning for me. In the author's note at the beginning of my novel, Night Watch, I write that the dragonfly is a symbol of change and new beginnings. I also write that to some Native Americans, this beautiful insect of reflected and  refracted light  represents souls of the dead. In my latest work, which I am now calling Evening of the Dragonfly, I use this symbolism in an important scene derived from the little event in Hilton Head.

Since that first encounter with the dragonflies, I have become more aware of the beautiful creatures. I have purchased glittering ornaments, glass decorations, necklaces, pins, and more. The heroine in my book may in some way become a collector of dragonflies. I'm not sure yet, but you know how characters take over your book.

"Dragonfly" (detail) - pastel ©Mary Montague Sikes

What about you? Do real life scenes grab you and not let go until years down the road you have to write about
them?

Using Personal Experiences in Crafting Your Book

"The Writer's Life - Using Personal Experiences in Crafting Your Book" is the topic I'll be covering in a workshop for the Hanover Book Festival on Saturday. I always seem to pull in personal experiences when I'm writing a book. Why not? After all, who can be a better expert on a happening than the person directly involved?

All of my novels have a spark of an actual experience that inspired them. That's especially true of Night Watch, my story set in Trinidad. We traveled to this nation located off of Venezuela a few years ago for a vacation at a resort located on a small off-shore island. The people who met our plane looked a little shady, and as we traveled along a dark road in the middle of the night, I became more and more convinced we were being kidnapped. More and more things happened that added to our adventure that eventually became part of the adventure of the characters in my book.

Even in my novel, Jungle Jeopardy, I found inspiration from my own experiences. We were visiting the Maya Ruins in Palenque when I found a remote temple ruin with no one else around. When I stared in wonder across the vast jungle that stretched far into Guatemala, I was inspired by all that had gone before, by all of the lost structures hidden beneath impossible foliage, by all the secrets that might lie forever lost. I thought of the possibility of one such place that might be uncovered to become a hiding place for a lost treasure.

We are writers. Our imaginations are always humming. That's why it's so much fun to use real life events as parts of the stories we write.

What about you? Do you use personal experiences in crafting your book?

D is for Daffodils and Dragonfly - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

For today's challenge I selected daffodils and dragonflies. I love daffodils and have used them many times in drawing demonstrations. While I was writing my novel, Night Watch, I discovered dragonflies and found out many good things connected to them, including that it is a symbol of change. I also learned that dragonfly colors come from reflected and refracted light, so the pretty little flying creatures might get associated with color magic and illusion.

"Daffodils and Dragonfly" - pastel painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

I decided to work in pastel on Canson paper for this piece. Although pastels are a favorite medium of mine, I discovered it was difficult to work fast with them for this project. The painting I created is 18" x 12" and unlike the acrylic pieces on gallery wrapped canvas, it must have a frame for proper display.

The painting a day project for this challenge is fun, but it's taking much more time than writing a blog. So far, I haven't gotten to visit many of the participants. I'm sorry and hope to do better. Maybe on Sunday...

Passenger to Paradise - Love of St. Martin Tainted

Tropical Fish near Caribbean Waters MMSikes

The Passenger to Paradise has long held a love affair with tropical islands of the Caribbean. In recent years, St. Martin, the half-Dutch, half-French island, has been her favorite Caribbean destination. Not only the beaches and beauty of the island beckoned, but also there was a comfortable sense of serenity and safety. With the September murders of a South Carolina couple vacationing in a condo on the island, the atmosphere of St. Martin as a safe destination is no more for the Passenger to Paradise.

Of course, she has created a few murders along the way as parts of her books. But those were not based on real events. Many of the adventures in her books do relate to actual happenings in the life of the Passenger, including her arrival, wet, soggy, and uneasy, to a small island resort off the coast of Trinidad. That story is part of her novel, Night Watch.

For the Passenger to Paradise, travel in the Caribbean has always brought adventure along with the excitement of the journey. A few years ago, she discovered much about Jamaica as an owner of one of the resort chains transported her by private plane and by car from one destination to another all over the island. At each resort, she created a painting to document the essence of that location.

Travel to Guadeloupe was always an experience. One night, she awakened to discover an intruder rummaging through her belongings on a dresser in the bedroom. In a sleepy haze, she mistook him for the dryer repairman she'd requested earlier. "Carlos, why are here now?" she asked. He grabbed her belly pack with everything in it, including passports, money, and tickets and raced away. Her husband took chase but could not catch him. No one at the resort came to their aid. There was no security guard. The Passenger plans not to return to Guadeloupe.

Now, she will probably never go back to St. Martin either. However, she feels sad for the tourism industry there. But there are other places to visit. She understands that nowhere in the world today is safe.

For the Passenger to Paradise, murders are better in fiction. A book can be closed, and it's okay. In real life, that is not true.

--Mary Montague Sikes

Creating the Right Logline for Your Work

What is a logline?

A logline can be defined as a brief summary of your story that provides a synopsis of the plot and offers a hook for interest. It can be a tool to attract readers to your book. If you are in the market for an agent or publisher, the logline can be an essential selling device.

Writing a logline sounds easy, but it's not. At least, it's not easy for me!

Recently, one of the lists I follow has worked on creating the perfect logline for some authors' books. That project started me thinking about what words would work best in loglines for mine.

Here is a logline I developed for Eagle Rising, the book I discussed on my blog earlier this week: "Recovering from the tragic death of her fiance, a young woman travels to Sedona, Arizona where New Age adventures, dangerous plots, and a frightening new love evolve among the mystic Red Rocks."
The logline should be 25 words or under. Mine is 32 words, so obviously it needs some work.

 What about a logline for another book, Night Watch? "Death on the high seas--how is the murder of a NPR reporter on the English Channel connected to a young woman kidnapped by gunrunners in Trinidad?" This is 27 words--better, but still not 25 or under.

Here's one for Secrets by the Sea: "Diaries, ghosts, and a house by the sea confound a young woman seeking to uncover her grandfather's murderer. Is her unconventional neighbor the dark killer or her true love?" This one is 29 words, so it, too, needs some work to make it shorter.

Working on these loglines might be more fun than I thought. Do you have loglines for each of your books? Do you find them difficult to write? Do you consider them an essential selling tool?

Mary Montague Sikes

Writing for a Small Publisher

Several years ago, my small publisher and I worked together to create an ambitious project that resulted in a hard cover coffee table book, Hotels to Remember. Not only was the writing in this book my own, but I also took all the photographs and created all of the paintings--one for each of the 20 hotels featured in this book.

"St. Louis Union Station" Painting by MM Sikes Hotels to Remember

My publisher, Billie Johnson, was located in California at the time. On several occasions, my husband and I flew from Virginia to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County and met with Billie. I brought with me hundreds of slides and photographs, and we spread them out on one of the large breakfast tables at a La Quinta where we were staying. It was on that table that many of the choices for the final version of my book were made.

This was in the early days of Oak Tree. I was learning as a writer, and Billie was learning as a publisher. We've had interesting experiences and challenges along the way. It has been rewarding to work directly with my publisher on projects. We've met other times and places--in Denver when my first novel, Hearts Across Forever was released, in New Orleans where we were working together on another project, and in Las Vegas at the Public Safety Writers Conference where several of my later books were released. These include:  Secrets by the Sea, Night Watch, and Jungle Jeopardy. Because my books are with a small publisher who is concerned with every one of her published books, the earlier books are still available. Books with large publishing houses often are no longer available after several months, sometimes after only one month.

After Oak Tree moved to Taylorville, Illinois, Billie had a writers conference that I attended. While there I discussed my hotels book with another author. I lamented that hotels are always changing and updating. One in my book almost doubled in size right before publication. He told me my book was a snapshot in time. I mentioned that to Billie, and last year she created "A Snapshot in Time" books for some of my hotels.
I loved the idea because I could use much of the material from Hotels to Remember and update it as well. Would this have happened with a larger publisher? Perhaps.


The publishing industry has changed drastically over the past several years. E-books have gained prominence. They are outselling print books and will become an even bigger market. Although I love to hold a book in my hand, I thought when I left on a trip recently that the two large paperbacks would be much nicer to take in an e-reading device.

I'm excited about writing for a small publisher. I'm excited to have a marketing team to help me. I'm excited about all the potential for growth and opportunity writers now have.

Do you write for a small publisher? What are your experiences?