Five Authors I Would Like to Meet Would Include William Shakespeare

Six-toed Cat at Hemingway house ©MM Sikes

Much to my surprise, for week six of the 52-week blog challenge for Marketing for Romance Writers, I realized I would like to meet William Shakespeare. The fiction series, "Will", intrigued me and made me more interested in the back story behind Shakespeare's work. I wonder if any of the TV story lines are fact-based.

Ernest Hemingway is another author from the past I would like to meet. Key West is one of my favorite destinations, and I love visiting the Hemingway displays at the waterfront museum. I also enjoyed a visit to his home where I got to see the six-toed cats.

Of course, being almost from Richmond, Virginia, I treasure the words of Edgar Allen Poe. I especially love his poem, "Annabelle Lee", as well as most of his short stories.

As a member of Romance Writers of America, I attended every annual conference for many years and got to meet lots of authors. Once, in Chicago, I chatted with Janet Evanovich and was amazed to hear from her that she was leaving Love Swept and branching out on her own. You know where all of that went. She made the right move.

Ruth Montgomery's work has always intrigued me. I would love to meet her and discuss her paranormal writing.

So many wonderful authors. I would like to meet many others as well.

"The Word's the Thing" - Virginia Writer's Symposium Panel

Mary Montague Sikes

Angela Carter

Kim Dalferes

I'm fortunate to be a part of the "The Word's the Thing" panel for the Virginia Writer's Club 2016 Symposium. I don't know either Kim Dalferes or Angela Carter, the other two authors on the panel, but I'm looking forward to meeting them.

Being on the panel has really started me to think about the importance of word choice. Long ago, when I first started writing for an afternoon metropolitan newspaper that no longer exists, I remember my shock and awe at the headlines written by others to go above the stories I filed. Those headlines brought extra power to the words in the leads I chose for my stories.  Sometimes the headline words changed the meaning of what I wrote and got me into trouble with county and town officials. I had never before known that such word power existed.

One time I wrote about an historic old church that had paint peeling like flower petals from the ceiling. That wording caused an irate response from one of the members of the congregation. I was trying to paint a word picture of the interior, not antagonize a reader.

The poor choice of words can sting and hurt someone. It can leave a memory that lasts forever.

Giving someone an unexpected compliment can bring them joy. You have spoken a word they might never forget.

That's why lyrics to songs become memorable. That's true of the words of poems as well. I've always loved the writing of Edgar Allan Poe.

Who can forget, "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary..."?

I enjoy the idea of creating our own memorable words.

Think about light and love. The word's the thing.