Darden North, MD

http://www.youtube.com/user/dardennorth#p/a/u/0/zq4ZIVFIvBg Recently I was asked to be the featured speaker at my local library to kick-off the annual membership drive for the Friends of the Jackson (MS) Library held at the downtown Eudora Welty Library. At the last minute, I handed my digital camera to a friend and asked her to take a few pictures. My presentation included a discussion of my writing career balanced with being a doctor and then was followed by a reading from my third novel FRESH FROZEN. I also threw in an excerpt of my work-in-progress, planned fourth novel, WIGGLE ROOM. My friend had the insight to use the video feature of the camera and recorded the majority of the talk, even though handicapped by the absence of a tripod or HD camera features. I took my "free" video and had it professionally edited by Leslie LaCour of Hazel House Marketing for an hourly fee and then posted it on YouTube. I think it turned out to be a nice piece, suitable for inclusi...

Thanks for stopping by Recent Musings on www.dardennorth.com . While here, please explore my website which includes the book trailer for my third novel Fresh Frozen . When you're ready, jog on over to http://www.thegoldenpathway.blogspot.com/ . If you would like to visit a different Blog in the jog, go to http://blogjogday.blogspot.com . Enjoy! Darden North

When I attended the International Thriller Writers' Conference in New York City during the Summer of 2009, those who registered for the AgentFest portion of the event were allowed to pitch themselves and their work one-on-one, face-to-face with literary agents. As I courageously pitched my current fiction manuscript, Wiggle Room , to a beautiful female Manhattan agent, she asked, "Do you have any strong female characters in your manuscript?" Suddenly, I was struck by what many agents, publishers, and readers are seeking ... strong female characters. I answered the agent truthfully, "No, but I can fix that!" Luckily, I was recently able to pose my own question to freelance editor and author Helen Ginger on The Blood-Red Pencil blog . I asked Can you define a strong female character? Ginger's detailed answer and the comments to follow have been enlightening. I invite you to the link: http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/ The specific blog post written by Helen...