Lee Roddy’s Blog

You are involved in Cicely’s and my plans for this New Year of 2012 because you have already bought more than two million copies of my books. We know from our emails that some of my novels for young readers are now being read by a third generation. Thanks! That’s wonderful!

But here’s something else you may consider before submitting your ideas on what I might write this year to benefit you and those to whom you give my books as gifts.

In 30 years of teaching fiction seminars across the country, I read thousands of writing samples from aspiring writers. Then, as now, I found an amazing lack of the very basics required in a publishable work of fiction, long or short.

Strangely, a majority of novices doomed their story on the first page!  A veteran editor said, “I don’t have to eat the whole egg to know if it’s bad.”  Recent samples I read prove this, and so self-destruction continues from well-meaning new writers.

I taught seminar novices that certain specific, proven, practical basic writing principles really work, starting with the first paragraph on page one. This was authenticated by many former unpublished students who used my guidelines and went on to become best-selling authors

Many attendees asked to have that material in book form. So among my most recent works are two non-fiction books encompassing what I practiced in both my own writing in my seminars. “How to Write a Story – A Practical Guide for Understanding and Teaching Basic Story Writing” and “A Guide to Writing Your Novel” are selling well through Andrew Pudewa’s highly respected “Institute for Excellence in Writing.”

With the above in mind, I welcome your thoughts so the year of 2012 is beneficial to readers, Cicely and me.

www.LeeRoddyBooks.com

In trying to think of a different way to wish you a merry Christmas, my mind jumped back to Cicely’s and our family’s first Christmas in the Hawaiian Islands. It’s a land of aloha (a multi-purpose Hawaiian word meaning love, hello, and goodbye). I thought you might like to vicariously share our recollections.

First, you may want to know the meaning of a few Hawaiian words which are as common in the islands as Spanish is in California and some other states. Example: Mele Kalikimaka for Merry Christmas.

Our house on the hill overlooking the ocean had wild orchids in bloom and banana trees growing in the yard. The breaking surf added a delightful never-ending song of tranquility.

We bought a Christmas tree which was expensive because it had been cut long ago on the west coast and then transported on a slow ship to the islands. In fact, the needles were falling off faster than we could attach ornaments to the emerging bare branches.

Christmas church services were held in a building designed with one wall did that not reach to the ceiling. This allowed the delightful trade winds to pass over that wall and cool worshipers inside.

Our pre-teenage son and daughter joined native-born kama’ainas (literally, ‘child of the land’) boys and girls in going barefooted to worship services.  Most of the men (native and us haoles (foreigners, now commonly meaning Caucasians) wore colorful aloha shirts; but not suits.  Women wore long graceful muumuu gowns. We sang the Doxology in six languages representing the diversity of our congregation with roots throughout the Pacific Rim and beyond.

So, with this brief glance back, Cicely and I join in hoping you also have a Christmas to remember. Now, as we say aloha, we also wish you Mele Kalikimaka.

Here’s great news for patient fans who have continued to ask when my popular Between Two Flags Civil War series for teens would again be available.

The first two titles, Cry of Courage and Where Bugles Call, can be ordered NOW from Amazon Kindle e-Books.  Four more titles will soon follow.

Elizabeth M. Thompson commented: “It’s great to see your books are releasing in e-book format, Lee. This will make them accessible to a generation of kids who love gadgets.”

Thanks, Beth. In helping prepare these stories from standard print to cyber format, I recently read and re-read Cry of Courage and Where Bugles Call. I say with all the modesty in me, “These are very good stories.”

Heather Greene asked a relative question which I couldn’t answer before.

“Did you ever write any more than 6 “Between Two Flags” books? I loved reading them. My mom read them to me every night, but that just took too long for me. So I read book 3 and started 4 without waiting for my mom.”

 Yes, Heather, I am well into writing #7. It’s an emotional dramatization of what happens to the three principal characters who are in their late teens when the war ends. Emily, Gideon and Nat have endured four years of intense hardships, emotional and physical struggles, and incredible challenges — but their troubles are not over.

They are now old enough to have stirrings of romance and to face personal choices that cam have lifelong consequences. Many readers who wrote to ask whom Emily marries will find the answer in the dramatic climax of this final book.

While waiting for #7, I urge you enjoy every story of very different teenagers growing up during the test to learn if America will become a people divided, or remain united as one nation under God.

Have a meaningful Thanksgiving.

I will appreciate it if you “like” my Face book page.

Thanks to all of you who checked on my website and blog during my long silence. I am happy to report that I have recovered from an e-coli infection that hit me hard. I’m fine now and am celebrating the release of two more of my books plus Cicely’s and my 64^th wedding anniversary.

In trying to keep up with the latest technology (in addition to my standard print books), my “Between Two Flags” are just released e-books from Amazon Kindle. I hope you’ll log on to their website and check out my “Cry of Courage” (#1 in the series)’ and my “Where Bugles Call” (#2 ) with others in that series to follow.

I honestly believe these are my best writing to date with lots of emotion, conflicts, strong motivations and seemingly-impossible obstacles that each character encounters. These are the only series I’ve written where the characters grow older in each book. There are three totally different characters whose stories are interwoven through every novel in the series.

In “Cry of Courage,” Emily is 12, a newly orphaned but spirited girl from Illinois who is forced to live with her only relatives” a slave-holding family in the Confederacy. Her outspoken tendency quickly brings her into confect with her older cousin, who threatens to throw her out if she continues to comment adversely on treatment of slaves.

Gideon is a dirt farmer’s son considered to be “poor white trash” by plantation owners, but Gideon has a dream of becoming somebody; a writer, even against all odds. He and Emily are unlikely to be friends, but circumstances drive them together.

Nat is a slave boy who was secretly taught to read and write by his former mistress, in violation of Virginia law. Nat has the lofty goal of escaping his bondage to find his mother, sister and brothers. Their family was broken up when sold separately at a slave auction. Plot twists and turns causes Nat’s life to become entwined with Emily and Gideon’s.

In “Where Bugles Call,” as the war rages on, the characters are a year older with new and pressing goals, surprise setbacks and immense difficulties blocking the way to their objectives.

As Cicely and I mark the 64^th anniversary of our marriage on 10-17-47, we thank you for your loyalty in reading and recommending these books to others.

On Aug. 22, 2011, I summed up my 90^th birthday with one key word: gratitude. But it didn’t start out that way.

At age 10,  doctors told my mother that I wouldn’t live. That began with the country doctor who attended Mom in the farmhouse where I was born. Later doctors confirmed the same grave diagnosis.

As a young man, insurance companies considered me such a poor risk they would not insure my life except at preposterous premiums. I told this to Cicely before asking her to marry me. She accepted anyway. We’re both in good health as we look forward to our 64^th anniversary in two months.

Last Saturday, our son Steve and daughter Susan hosted a birthday party for me. I was honored that friends and relatives came from all over California, plus northern Washington, Idaho, New Mexico and Arizona. It was a marvelous gathering, including fellow writers, a high school friend and my one-time pastor whom I’ve known for at least 71 years. There were others whom I now see occasionally, plus many I had not seen in 40 or 50 years. I am truly grateful to God for such friends.

Early in life I set many goals, including a becoming an author. I held various jobs until my books started selling well enough that I could write full time. My credits now exceed 70 books, counting several  I “ghosted.”

I have achieved all except one major life goal; to have my books in every school. So far, my wholesome action-adventure kids’ stories are in some public schools, but all. My novels are especially popular in home and Christian schools.

For 30 years, I also taught writing all over the country. I just heard from some then- unpublished writers who are now highly successful. I have heard from hundreds more, so I am grateful to have helped them along the way.

These are some of the countless reasons I am grateful to God as I begin my ninth decade of a fulfilling life as a nonagenarian.

Aug. 9, 2011

The calendar shows that I’m to become a nonagenarian this month, so that’s a good time to reflect on where I’ve been and were I hope to go –along with you readers. You’re important in those reflections, so I hope you’ll add your thoughts to what I write here.

The tracking system used on my website shows that this blog is consistently the most viewed item there. That includes regular visits from at least 25 foreign countries. Yet these guests generally leave only electronic footprints, and rarely a comment. That makes it difficult for me to know their needs that I may fill in two areas which are hopefully evolving into my two-part Mission Statement:

TEACHING: “To teach aspiring and growing writers proven, practical ways to save years of struggle as a beginner and more rapidly grow into published authors. Instruction is based on my having gone from decades of 11 book rejections to more than 50 books bought by royalty-paying houses, plus teaching fiction across the nation for 30 years.”

BOOKS:  “To write fun-to-read, exciting and wholesome novels for young readers and adults which entertain while supporting traditional family values without sex, violence, drugs or bad language.”

The wish for my 90^th birthday on 8-22-11 is that those of you who are concerned about the issues listed above will write a comment to help me help you as I enter the ninth decade of life.

I’m blessed with good health, and plan to continue my work as long as God allows me to do so.  I hope to read your comments as you write them – NOW.

OPNAD  IS  an acrostic that I created several years ago when my first kids’ novels were approaching a million copies sold and I began teaching fiction writing across the nation.

The word means Other People’s Needs and Desires. It’s a variation on “Find a need and fill it.”  OPNAD now involves you, so I invite you to interact and provide feedback to me.

I’m motivated by my mission statement: “To write fun-to-read, exciting and wholesome novels for young readers that entertains by supporting traditional family values without sex, violence, drugs or bad language.”

What I do is both useful and unique. The former is apparent; the latter is because I”m among a very small handful of selling authors catering to young readers and concerned adults. All of my exciting books feature boys (and some girls) in action-adventures  or mysteries. Still, the need is so great that book sellers complain, “There aren’t enough stories for boys.”

Some indication of  how my mission meets needs is the the fact that I still have 27 young readers’ novels on the market; and six more about to be released as e-books through Amazon-Kindle. I’m also writing a new young adult novel. As always, this is possible because of wife Cicely’s invaluable assistance.

We want to meet your needs. Answering the following questions will help us do better:

1. How many Lee Roddy books are in your home, school or church library?

2. What is your opinion of these books?

3. Have you read “The Lonely Journey,” my first E-book boy-dog story on Amazon-Kindle?

4. If  your children grew up on Lee Roddy books, do you now give them as gifts?

5. Have you read (or will you write) a book review of any of Lee Roddy novels?

I plan more frequent blog postings, so please submit your e-mail questions now, and then watch for your comments to appear in my blog.

Thank you. — Lee

As your on-line writing mentor, I challenge you aspiring writers to jot down how many helpful  tips  are in the following comments by former writing student Marta Pravica Trklja.  Her first novel, “Wounded Dove in Honor &  Disgrace,” has just been published.

April 26, 2011

“Dear Mr. Roddy,

“It was in Toronto in  the 1970s when I attended your seminar on how to write fiction. Your understanding of the subject and an ease with which you presented it, had left a lasting impression on my young mind.

“You made me realise two things: that yes, I did have a story to tell, and no I was not ready to begin telling it yet.

You see, Mr. Roddy, I immigrated to Canada just a short while before I attended your seminar and my English was at the beginners’ level.  My wish to continue where I stopped when I left my home country, was great.

“It was thanks to your ability to motivate and inspire me so profoundly, that I applied myself to studying English literature at the university in order to bring my written English skills to the lever at which I was able to communicate my story.

” It has been many years, Mr. Roddy, but I never forgot invaluable tips you gave us.  One of which I have practiced continuously.  You told us that if we were serious about writing, never to leave home without a little notebook and pencil because when an idea or a thought first comes to our minds, we need to put it on paper right away because, yes it will occur again, but it will never appear in exactly the same form as before.

“Thank you, not only for being an excellent author, Mr. Roddy, but also for your ability to stimulate your listeners to remember your advice always with gratitude. ”

Marta Trklja, Toronto, Canada

Readers and writers are learning that publishers are involved in an ongoing struggle to see whether traditional print novels will remain dominant, or the recent upstart e-books phenomenon  will largely replace them.

Either way, there will always be a need for authors of well-told stories to entertain and enrich readers’  lives  To that end, I am shifting the emphasis of my blog to become an on-line mentor for aspiring writers, and to introduce my award-winning stories to a new generation of readers.

First, an overview of what I now envision, followed by some guidelines to utilize  my free service as your writing mentor.

1. NOVELS.  From my blog, you know that I  specialize  in exciting, wholesome and  fun-reading novels that uphold traditional  values. Readers have given my novels…

… 15:   Five Star  ratings

…. 1:  Four-and-a-Half  Star  ratings

… 6:  Four Star  ratings, (none under 4 stars), and…

…5:  Silver “Angel” Statuettes ” for excellence in quality moral media.”

2. WRITERS.  Having taught fiction for 30 years (and with two books published on writing),  I now  envision a way to help  “newbie” writers achieve their writing goals . What I teach really works. Many of my  former seminar students took what they learned in my sessions and sold their first (and often  many) novels.

I cannot engage in correspondence or critique manuscripts because of my schedule.  Neither can I answer individual queries, but I will respond in this blog to assist struggling writers to get started right.

My goal is to encourage and assist writers to prepare themselves for publication, whether that will be in traditional print or the thriving  new electronic format.   Please  submit a maximum of three pithy one-sentence writing-related questions to the Comment  Section on of this website, and let me help  prepare you for your writing future.

* NEW!  A GUIDE TO WRITING YOUR NOVEL  by Lee Roddy.  142 pages of practical instruction on writing and selling your novel, $24.95

* HOW TO WRITE A STORY by Lee Roddy. An instructional Guide to Understanding and Teaching Basic Story Writing. 89  pages, $24.95

Cicely and I returned from celebrating our 63rd wedding anniversary in Hawaii to find that my first e-book  had been published on Amazon  Kindle.

Before we left for the islands, I received some statistics on how dramatic the growth of electronic book publishing has become, and is still growing at a very fast pace.

I don’t want to risk losing your attention by citing those impressive figures, but do want to tell you a little about my newly-released e-book.

I have written many dog stories for young readers which sold well in print, so ventured into the electronic novel field by submitting an original short story of a dog named Lance.

He is a half-grown German shepherd pup that  a man dumped into a wilderness area to survive on his own — if he can. The story follows his many hazardous mountainous adventures as he tries to find his way home to the boy who had loved him. It has emotion as well as drama which will appeal to any reader who has ever loved a dog.

We priced this e-book as low as possible: $1.99.  I hope you’ll enjoy the story along with the young readers in your life.

Happy e-reading!