I can live with this.

27^thAnnual Self-Published Book Awards. Judge’s Commentary:

AGE MATTERS

by

Peggy Dougherty

“This is a fresh and humorous story about the unintended consequences of deception amid the complications that go into writing a screenplay and then selling it. Hollywood’s preoccupation with youth, which extends to writers, leads to a 60-year old woman convincing her 30-year-old daughter to pretend to be her at a meeting with a producer about her screenplay entry in a contest. One deceit leads to many others involving a co-producer and his wife; a niece of one producer who also entered the contest with her screenplay; an ex-husband unhappy over a role in the screen patterned after him; and a bunch of others swept up in the confusion and turmoil which includes a threat of script infringement. Roiling the heady plot are a pair of IRS tax evasion cases which temper the plot a great deal. The final outcome, affected by emergence of a love story, has some surprises in a satisfactory nod to age as well as ability.

The suspense factor of whether the screenplay will be purchased keeps the plot moving. More chapters, though, need suspenseful endings to make the reader wonder what the next twist will be.

The writing is crisp and often humorous. All the characters are well delineated. The snappy dialogue works to give the characters more dimension, and the use of interior monologue is very effective.

The title is intriguing with various interpretations. The cover image, however, is too obscure. The cover could use a subtitle that alerts potential readers to the novel’s amusing contents about a screenplay and its ultimate fate.”

Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 4

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 4

Production Quality and Cover Design: 3

Plot and Story Appeal: 5

Character Appeal and Development: 5

Voice and Writing Style: 4

 

 

 

 

 

READ ABOUT ONE OF KAY’S ESCAPADES

Hoping no neighbor watched, Kay slunk beneath the windows toward the front driveway. A wide-open space lay between her and the street. She couldn’t risk sprinting to her car. She had better hide behind the oleander until Olivia left.

Her desire to apprise Mona of the origin of her husband’s unreported perks had been trumped by intrigue regarding the overheard conversation. What had Simon done? Who was Trey? As she waited, pressure on her bladder heightened. She shouldn’t have drunk all that water.

Excerpted from AGE MATTERS by Peggy Dougherty.

 

Read My Interview …

Here is a transcription of an interview conducted by Kristen Caven of California Writers Club in Berkeley, California prior to my participation on a panel discussion at their monthly Speaker Program. Discussion Topic: “The Working Writer.”  (Yes, I’m retired but once upon a time I wasn’t 😉

On Being a Working Writer: an Interview with Peggy Dougherty

 

EXCITING NEWS!

I’ll be participating in a panel discussion at the

California Writers Club, Berkeley Branch on May 19th.

 

5/19 PANEL: “The Working Writer”

 

A panel exploring the writer’s relationship to work, featuring

Peggy Dougherty, Thaddeus Howze & Paul Corman Roberts

on Sunday, May 19^th@ 3:00.

1204 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612

 

———–

 

My play Strange Bedfellows is being produced in a short play festival

in Milledgeville, GA.

Visit the facebook page of Birdhouse Theatre, the theatre where my play Strange Bedfellows will be performed the weekend of May 24-25.

https://www.facebook.com/birdhousega/

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Readers Are Saying:

“Delightful mix of twists, turns and new surprises. Couldn’t put it down.”

“This fun, fast-paced read also deals with the important topic of ageism. I would love to see the movie!”

“Age Matters is a clever first novel by the author. It’s an old-fashioned page turner that holds your attention throughout. The story is a creative take on the theme of ageism with a dash of romance for spice. The plot twists and turns along the way keep the reader coming back for more. Kudos!”

“! was hooked with the opening sentence. Well paced, with character intrigue, and plot twists and turn, I found it hard to put the book down. And then, I didn’t want it to end. I had that letdown feel, when coming to the close of a captivating good read.”

“A quick-paced story that pulled me in and kept pace throughout the book. Funny, great mother/daughter banter, a side of romance, and good observations about age in Hollywood.”

Excerpted from Review Page on

 

 

 

The Importance of Reviews

I want to thank those of you who have purchased my novel Age Matters, and I want to give a double, triple, quadruple shoutout to those of you who have posted a review on Amazon.  If you have purchased either the paperback or the Kindle version on Amazon but have not had time to write a review,  I would be ‘over the moon’ if you did so. The number of Amazon reviews is what drives sales. See below for instructions on how to do it.*

I have dreams of seeing Age Matters on the big screen. As my protagonist, Kay, says:   “ … why not reach for the stars?” I believe that the path to Age Matters: The Movie is paved with hundreds, probably thousands, of reviews.

If you haven’t purchased Age Matters, I hope you’ll consider doing so. And I’d love it, and would be very grateful, if you posted a review on Amazon. Your review can be short and pithy (two or three words) or as long as you wish.

WARNING: Readers say that once you start reading Age Matters you can’t put it down.

*To Post a Review on Amazon:

Go to my Amazon Book Page

Once you’re on my book page click on ‘Customer Reviews’ or on the  row of yellow stars. It will take you to the list of reviews. At the top there is an option: “Write a customer review”.  Voila!

Thank you!

And all of you book lovers will relate to the following “Book Lovers’ Quotes”:

“I tried everything to get to sleep last night. Well … everything except closing the book and putting it on the nightstand. Let’s not get too crazy.”

“Never judge a book by its movie!”

“I am a reader, not because I don’t have a life, but because I choose to have many.”

 

Thanks for your help and support!

 

 

Pleased and Grateful

My novel, Age Matters, was celebrated at a Book Launch on January 17, 2019 at the beautiful Dollar Clubhouse, (a registered Historic Site) in Rossmoor Retirement Community in Walnut Creek, California. I was thrilled at the large turnout. For me it was an exciting and fun event, and I believe the attendees enjoyed it as well.  There was food, there was drink, and there was a conversation with the audience about the novel.

Rather than read an excerpt of the novel to the audience, I invited two excellent local actors, (members of the Drama Association of Rossmoor) to act out Chapter One of the novel. They did a terrific job and the enactment was the hit of the event. Thank you, Linda Kelp and Gail Wetherbee.

I also want to thank Published Writers of Rossmoor for naming me Author of the Month for January of 2019 and for giving me the opportunity to mount a Book Launch following the publication of Age Matters.  Holding a Book Launch is one of the many benefits of membership in Published Writers of Rossmoor.

 

I wonder …

WILL KAY SELL HER SCREENPLAY? OR … IS SHE TOO OLD?

WOULD HAVING KAY’S 30 YR OLD DAUGHTER, LORI, IMPERSONATE KAY — HELP KAY SELL HER SCREENPLAY?

IS KAY MANIPULATING LORI?

WILL KAY EVER FIND LOVE AGAIN? OR … IS SHE TOO OLD?

DOES KAY DARE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH JOEL THE PRODUCER WHO WANTS TO BUY HER SCREENPLAY? — WHO DOESN’T KNOW IT’S KAY’S SCREENPLAY BECAUSE HE THINKS IT’S LORI’S SCREENPLAY?

WHAT ABOUT SIMON? HE SEEMS TO HAVE A SKELETON IN HIS CLOSET … MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT!

AND … WHY IS MONA, SIMON’S WIFE, PRESSURING SIMON TO BUY OLIVIA’S SCREENPLAY — INSTEAD OF KAY’S? (OR IS IT LORI’S?)

WHY DOES SIMON SEEM TO HATE LORI’S … I MEAN KAY’S … SCREENPLAY?

IS KAY FALLING IN LOVE WITH JOEL? IS JOEL FALLING IN LOVE WITH LORI?

ARE JOEL’S FEELINGS FOR KAY and/or LORI SINCERE? CAN HE BE TRUSTED? I MEAN … AFTER ALL … HE’S A HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER. YOU KNOW HOW THEY ARE!

WAIT! HAS KAY GONE TOO FAR IN HER EFFORTS TO SELL HER SCREENPLAY?

WILL KAY BE CHARGED WITH TRESPASSING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY?

WILL THE IRS CHARGE KAY WITH A FEDERAL CRIME?

WILL LORI EVER FORGIVE HER MOTHER?

WILL JOEL EVER FORGIVE KAY?

WILL KAY LOSE HER HOUSE?

AND WHAT ABOUT KAY’S SCREENPLAY? WILL SHE EVER SELL THE DAMN THING?

To learn the answers to any, all, or none of these Q’s read my novel Age Matters. Available on Amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Day is Upon Us

My novel, Age Matters, will debut at a Book Launch on Thursday, January 17, at 4:00 at the Dollar Clubhouse in Rossmoor Retirement Community.

I have been named Author of the Month for January 2019 by the organization, Published Writers of Rossmoor.  PWR helps its writer-members launch newly published work and this writer is very grateful for this opportunity.

The novel has traveled a long road from first draft to publication.  As I said in an earlier post, during those early years of working on the novel, when the going got rough and the muse turned mute, I would take a break and return to playwriting, an easier endeavor for me. However, during the last four years, I have focused exclusively on the novel.

Thursday’s party will feature light snacks and beverages including coffee, tea, and wine. There will even be some ‘surprise’ entertainment. I’m feeling excited as this fun event approaches.

Books will be available for sale at a 35% discount.

You can also purchase Age Matters on Amazon

as well as my award-winning self-help book The Ten Minute Cognitive Workout. 

 

 

 

 

WRITING A NOVEL VS. WRITING A STAGE PLAY: A COMPARISON

As many of you know, I am primarily a playwright. I’ve written eleven plays and I plan to write several more. Three years ago, I put playwriting aside in order to concentrate on finishing my first novel.  I don’t mean to imply that it took me only three years to write the novel.  I wish! In fact, the process took much longer. Prior to three years ago, I would work on the novel for awhile and then, when the going got rough and the Muse became Mute, I’d go back to playwriting. It wasn’t difficult to put my novel aside. I felt much more at home writing plays.

For me, playwriting is easier than novel writing. There are many novelists who would say the opposite. It depends on one’s skill set. I love to write dialogue and a stage play is close to 100 per cent dialogue. Novels contain dialogue, but they also contain descriptive passages. Scenes and settings have to be described. The actions and behavior of the characters have to be described. The characters themselves have to be described. All of this description is, for me, more difficult than writing dialogue.

Several years ago, when I was in the clutches of the ‘Mute Muse’, I gave a talk at Toastmasters in which I compared the two processes. At that time, I was learning how one writes a novel. I was taking classes and workshops. I was plowing through a stack of how-to books. I learned a lot. I learned even more a lot while actually writing the novel.

I learned that playwriting and novel writing have many things in common. I also learned that the two endeavors are significantly different.