First Word

Grains of Truth Elizabeth Ferry-Perata 3L Publishing (2017) ISBN 9780996677691 Reviewed by Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (3/18) “Grains of Truth” by Elizabeth Ferry-Perata revolves around a small town in Texas where two friends learn to deal with the reality in life that no matter what they do, it will never be good enough for some. Each friend has their own past history of dysfunctional families, relationships and learning to accept that one can’t change everything. Sarah and Zoe are best friends fighting all the odds against them, especially in the perception of their “feed store” help label. According to Otis, owner of Otis Feed Store, both his female employees are the lowest of the low, and have no right to act like they are anything else. Tom, Otis’s son, has no back bone when it comes to standing up against his father. The plan is for Tom to marry Angela, daughter of another rich businessman so both fathers’ can merge their business interests. I found the initial intent of th...

I get asked all of the time how I write my novels and my techniques. I am a unique writer in this way. I don't have a specific technique. I write straight from my imagination and allow the words to pour on the page. It's how my brain works. I can't really give "my" method an explanation. I like to think of it like a pipeline from the Universe to my brain. Maybe it's much like those math people who can look at a problem and solve it in their heads. It works in their minds. If I look at a math formula it looks Greek to me.   What I do tell writers is to develop their own process - the one that works for them. I can though provide some tips on how to develop "a" process. So, I thought I would share some ideas I've read about that other writers use.   Create a cast list and give each character a back-story and history . Describe their lives outside of the book. You don't have to use this information in the story, but it wil...