Thinking About Where Do Book Series Begin? End?

My obsession with series continues. You can blame it on The Grumpy Dragon and its suggestion that I write a sequel to There Be Demons. The thought's scary like jumping off a cliff without a parachute.

Why? All the novels that have come out of my computer so far have grown organically as my characters careened from one situation to the next. The Demons sequel demands a outline. Why? Because if there's a middle, there logically has to be an end. Seems to me setting up the situation is the easy part. The rest has to build an expand on what happened before.

What are your feelings on this?

Cricket McCrae, aka Bailey Cates, poured gas on my fire, aka questions. She's the author of the Magical Bakery Mysteries among others. I recently read the last two in the series ... trilogy? ... close together -- Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti and Charms and Chocolate Chips. Yeah, the titles reek of cozy cutesie, but I read and enjoyed them anyway -- without having to control my gag reflex. McCrae/Bailey has a light touch with murder. I'll take my smiles where I can find them.

The first book,  Brownies and Broomsticks, sets up the series when Katie Lightfoot moves to Savannah, GA. She hopes to start a new career helping her aunt and uncle set up a bakery. Lightfoot's running from a bad job, a relationship gone teminal, and a mother who forgot to tell her she was a witch-in-waiting. The most important "man" in her life is the stray mutt who sets himself up as her familiar though the book sets up two possible suitors.  The storyline follows her trek of discovery -- including a knack for sleuthing when her uncle becomes the prime suspect in a murder. 

Bewitched, Bothered and Biscotti has Lighfoot learning her magical abilities mean more than charming the baked good with herbs and good intentions. She continues finding murdered bodies and solving crimes, in spite of police opposition. She's also in the enviable situation of choosing between two hunks -- one with magic and one normal. Lightfoot also comes to terms with the fact she's a witch and learns about the various permutations the Craft can take. The most important revelation in the second volume is that Lightfoot is more powerful than a common hedge witch ...only she has no one to teach her.

Charms and Chocolate Chips continues Lightfoot's journey -- and leaves me hanging. Is the book the last of a trilogy or the third in an ongoing series? 

Lightfoot is becoming part of the community now and is volunteering for a local conservation group when the director is murdered, supposedly because she opposed the sale of a swamp to a consortium who wants to build a golf course. She settles on the normal guy for romance, but she doesn't know if she can make it work, especially when she puts him in harm's way. 

Her mother coming to Savannah to reconcile with Lightfoot makes me wonder if there will be more Lightfoot mysteries. Many of the protagonist's problems are wrapped up in an acceptable way in this book, including a reconciliation with her mother. I can see where the series could go on as Lightfoot solves more murders in Savannah. But took a look at the author websites, but didn't find any clues as to the writer's intentions.

So what about the writing craft aspects of these novels? I especially admire how McCrae/Bailey draws her characters. Even the tertiary ones are well-rounded. The plots twist enough to be interesting. Her villains are well motivated. McCrae/Bailey puts together a nice paranormal mystery, based on nice people you wouldn't mind knowing. Maybe even make you wish you did know people like them.

McCrae/Bailey stirs up a nice, cross-genre confection. I'm stuffing all three volumes in my overloaded book shelves. Five stars to the series as well as the individual books.

###

Writers write, right? Sometime during the day, I know I'm supposed to write. I try. Really I do. I even have a schedule. Toy with Forbidden Fruit in the evenings. [I still want to publish more novellas about the my Half-Elven world.] 

In the morning, I was working on edits for Black Tail's War. Now, I'm launching a new project. Why?

1. Taking Vengeance is finally up on Amazon, Nook, and Smashwords. I need to promote it.
2. I've submitted The Noticing One, a short story, to Amazon singles.
3. Since it worked the first time with Night for the Gargoyles, I'm writing a short story set in the world of the sequel to There Be Demons. Even have a tentative book title, Crossing the River.

Think that's enough on my plate.

Oh, I've been offering Taking Vengeance free on Smashwords to people who follow me on the various social media that consume too much of my time. The code is EG75E, and it's good until 30 November 2013. Link to buy

If you like it, I'd appreciate a review. Just a short paragraph. No Master's Thesis.

Help Build Your Platform with These Links

Okay, am planning on catching up with all my emails though I'm still revising Dark Solstice, a Far Isle Half-Elven novel. Below are some interesting things I've found that don't fit into my book review blogs. Hope you find some of the interesting too. You'll find some promotion /social networking stuff since that's what I'm studying. -- Don't act on the information much, though.

Platform building. Does it increase sales? Kevin Lucia discusses his efforts On Building a Platform here. I think his discussion is interesting, especially in dealing with time constraints. How do your efforts measure up. ... And, yes. I retweeted it. [Do you follow me on Twitter [@kaytheod & @TakingVengeance] and Facebook [under the Far Isle Half-Elven]? I'm hiding there.]

Back to Blogging

 The world has conspired against me -- though things seems to be working out. First, I couldn't find stuff in the Google+ new format. [The above was written back in April, I think. Anyway, the above article is still useful.]  Then, a good friend had a stroke and eventually died. Then, there were my own health problems ... but the kidney tumor hasn't returned. So far, so good until the next check up.

Have you thunk about: "Turn Blog Posts into Publishers Gold". The Passive Guy linked to another blog with these interesting suggestions. I read a couple blogs that give interesting information on the time period the writer works in, one who's give a lot of frugal news, but I can even think of some writing blogs that discuss writing techniques that are unique enough to publish. 

With self-publishing so easy, it would give you a way to build a platform which would relate to what you write. Might as well use that research for something.

No, I won't be following my own advice/suggestion. I'm trying to rev up my platform by revising my Renna's Tales and turn them into real stories. Yeah, I'm going to try to write another short story, then, self-publish it for free. -- I'm tired of tooting the same two stories.

Then, there's Fabian Pattberg who has decided not to Twitter or Google+. You can read his blog "My Social Media Experiment -- No More Twitter and Google+ for a Month".  Read his justification. He's going to blog. -- Guess he could come up with a short book if he chose his topics well.

Then, how do you tell if all your efforts are working? Well, there's Klout. It's a "score-keeper" of how many people read you and how you influence them. Guess, it's a handy tool if you are interested. My score is 38, not that I know what it means. Though, I can guess it reflects my non-interest.

Snagging a Reader

'Tis no secret. A thousand-and-one things clamor for people's attention. Don't think retirement will bring you the slow, easy life. I've never been so busy as I am now -- even when I worked, volunteered, and raised kids. Writers must work double time and weigh in with a tuna-hook to grab and keep my attention.

So, how's an author to grab my attention? A cover helps ... in both bookstore and scrolling down the new listings at the e-stores.But, the real hooker is an opening and situation that first grabs me and then keeps my interest. 

That said, I'm reviewing Mike Mullin's Ashfall, which starts out with a teen-aged boy throwing a sullen temper tantrum. I'm no fan of jerky teens, so the questions is: Why did I buy the hardcover, something I hardly ever do? The even bigger question is:  Why did I abandon my read-a-paragraph-here-and-a-couple-paragraphs-there pattern? Yeah, I sat down and mostly read through until I finished the book in one day. -- A terrible waste of money if you want your book to entertain you for a week.

First the opening two sentences: "I was home alone on that Friday evening. Those who survived know exactly which Friday I mean."  

The book then tells the tale of how a sixteen-year-old snot survived the eruption of the Yellowstone [like the park] volcano and became a man in the "... post Friday world of ash, darkness, and hunger."  The action centers around his long journey on foot to follow his family's trip [a few hours by car] to the next state to visit relatives. Along the way, he encounters many survival techniques. Some good, and some not so good, in my opinion.

The cover of Mullin's book caught my eye in a local bookstore. It shows two teens, a boy and a girl, looking into a cracked, dusty mirror. The boy wipes a clean streak across the mirror face, to reveal an eye looking back at them. Dark, grey tones add to the feeling of menace, for maybe "death by ash".

Yes, I bought the book in the early afternoon, gave it a deeper checking out, and read until I had to fix dinner, all without going upstairs to do the social media thing. After coffee and the TV news, I made the choice to read instead of writing, something I sometimes do on Friday nights. In short, I read the book in "one sitting". -- What intrigued me so much? Well, my family has visited Yellowstone Park ofter, over the years, and I always felt uneasy on each visit. My sense of danger always rose there, even when just passing through.

One of the neat things about the book was the way Mullin planted his chapter hooks. He spent three chapters on the events of that Friday, 25 pages which included his house burning down. Here is the ending of Mullin's ending for chapter 3:

"Everything would be better tomorrow. I thought: a new day, a new dawn would have to be better than this.

I was wrong. There was no dawn the next day."

Yet, Alex survived and strengthened during his journey through this distopian world and even picked up a companion who saved his grits a few times. The companion's addition kept the book from sinking into a monotonous, teen-aged-boy, one-person point of view. Must admit the action would probably have kept me reading.

Yeah, I think this is an extraordinary book. If I did such things, I'd give Ashfall five stars.Even though this is a hard bound, it's well worth buying to study how Mullin constructs his pacing, complications, and surprises along the way. No, an e-book won't do -- unless you've a secret way to mark pages and make comments on an e-reader.

#

Another take on pounding out 10,000 words-a-day by Zoe Winters at the Weblog of Zoe Winters. I like her steady writing approach. 

#

Then, there's the glow I'm basking in. Just got another nice review for Taking Vengeance. Here's the tweet I posted about it. Or, is that share? Who cares about the terminology?

Swift ... clear motivations.Taking Vengeance. 22niel review: http://wp.me/p1ToIK-1X Info: http://tinyurl.com/3zk8o6g #IAN1 #reviews #ebook #reading

WolfSinger Press has even lowered the price on the ebook to $0.99. So, now's the time to buy it if you already haven't. It's at Amazon [USA and UK], Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble. Just search Theodoratus to find it. 

Remember: you don't have to have an e-reader to download e-publications. 

Just a computer ... and I know you have one. 

Series Writing: Will Sookie Out-live Her Welcome

When does a series and/or character outlive the readers' welcome? Charlaine Harris hasn't outlived her welcome at my house. Just reread Dead in the Family where Sookie Stackhouse tries to reconnect with the remnants of her fae family when she allows her snotty fae half-cousin move in with her. Of course, the vampire and shape-shifter politics is going strong as well. All the elements mixed together is what makes the series endure, I think.

Sookie has grown too. She's no longer the tentative waif she was at the beginning. She has survived all that vampire politics has thrown at her so far, becoming more and more proactive along the way. More important, the secondary characters have grown from book to book, though their importance changes. Perhaps, the most difficult part of the character development, Sookie has retained her good heart. Her grandmother raised her well.

I have friends who criticize the Stackhouse series as not well-written. Yeah, I find nit-picks too, but they never get in the way of the story development. Harris is close to raising another storm. The series has three more books to go, and I predict she'll have fans screaming in protest like she still does for the Lucy Shakespeare series. [She's already announced to her fans that the series will end in a couple of books ... depending upon where you're reading the series.

I'll sit back and wait to see what happens in her Harper Connolly series or whatever new series she develops. You don't knock a master who knows how to tell a good story, wrap up loose ends enough, but not too much not to lead you into the next book in the series. There's a key somewhere in there, but I'm sinking in the NaNoWriMo mess, so I won't dig for it.

Deadlocked is at the publishers, can the mass paperback of Dead Reckoning be far behind?

###

Only four days in [10:30 AM], and I'm 3000 words behind in my NaNo-ing. Granted I was interpolating a future world as well as manufacturing characters, both secondary and tertiary. Hopefully, I get this blog edited before I have to go grocery shopping. 

Yeah, I know. Life's details keep screaming as loud as my internal editor. Just don't want to have the old man screaming because the fridge is empty.

PS:

Enjoy the typos and mistakes. I don't have time to re-read this umpteen times to find them.

PPS:

My free e-story is up on Smashwords: The Foiling of Gorsfeld. I don't know how you could miss the cover. If anyone of you folks would like to read it and take the time to review it ... I'd appreciate it muchly. I'll even mention the review on Twitter, even if it's one star.

PPPS:

Rebecca Harrington mentions Taking Vengeance on her blog. 

To Market , to Market to Sell a Fine Book

Marketing has become an unavoidable basic fact of a writer's life. Even if you have a major traditional publisher, you'll end up doing freelance promotion for your books.  So, I sit in my corner and grumble about my own miniscule efforts at book marketing.

Fact #1, I hate marketing. Always have ... even when I wrote successful ad copy.  Fact #2, I'm not absolved from the Basic Fact. Fact #3, it means I must get the maximum effect from the amount of time I spend on doing. 

So, loved it when Tamela Buhrke [Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Daily] included a blog link to a Maria Zannini article about: Three Layers of Book Promotion, from Tony Eldridge's blog Marketing Tips. Don't know what her sales are for her book, but to me, Zannini seems to be doing quite well with her marketing. I've caught her all over the web promoting her book Apocalypse Rising.  [[How's that for teamwork?]]

On the other hand, I'm not doing particularly well at all. Oh, I've sold a few books, but they're buried deep in the kelp bed and may never see the light of the surf. Maybe regular readers of my blog and a few others might know I have a couple ebooks floating around out there ... if they think hard enough to bring the memory to their fore-brains. So, I wondered what I was missing. If I figured the thing out, I might just jump-start my sales. Study time again. 

Zannini divides marketing into passive, active, and lateral forms. Thought I'd would've covered  the passive forms -- the do it once and leave it alone stuff of marketing -- best. Some of her thoughts didn't pertain to me, but I have a book trailer ... which people even watch and which has more than tripled visits to my Half-Elven website. 

Negatives: I need to revise my website home page. Big time. What needs to be done? Well, add the Taking Vengeance Facebook link and redo my business cards so I have links to the two ebooks for sale. Plus other stuff like getting an email catcher, something I haven't figured out a "prize" yet. There're some other things but I forgot them at the moment.

On the proactive side, I've touched all the bases except for book signings which don't apply to ebooks. I've heard some rumblings about ways to sign ebooks, but the technology escapes my understanding. [Yeah, I'm a computer klutz and can't even get the "like button" to appear at the top of the Taking Vengeance Facebook page.]

Then, there's the lateral forms of promotion. I surprised myself when I learned I was covering this base -- the blogging, Facebook, Twitter, social forum things -- more thoroughly than the others. One thing I haven't done is write articles on a consistent basis. 

So, if anyone wants to reprint this as a guest blog, you are more than welcome. You have my permission as long as you give me links to where people can buy Taking Vengeance and Cavern Between Worlds. Or, you could to give reference to this blog since the buy info's in the sidebar. Guess I could add I'm available for interviews, but that might be dangerous. I tend to say what I think.

My thoughts on my mixed achievement? All these are nice given time constraints. At the moment I'm leaning more and more to limiting my social networking activities to the afternoons where they compete with errands, doctor's appointments, gym visits and whatever else shows up on the calendar, including coffee with friends.

Hey, I have a life and set priorities according to my energy levels. I write first and foremost. Marketing's going to get squeezed in at the end.

When is Enough, Enough?

Scrounging for  Books Reviews:

To market, to market to sell a fine story or two. Unfortunately, selling a story to a publisher isn't the end of a writer's efforts. Whether you self-publish or are publisher-published, you still end up having to create some buzz about your book. One of the best ways of creating buzz is having your book reviewed ... especially if your social networking platform is on the small side -- like mine.

Slow me took a while to learn enough to implement the book reviewing process, and I thought I'd share what I learned. If you got a publisher who's free with the ARCs [advanced reading copies] and a marketing department, your efforts will be supplemental. If you are the sole marketeer, like me for Taking Vengeance, you're going to end up creating your own buzz.

One of the best ways to create book-buzz is to have others give your work four and five star reviews. To find book reviewers, you can Google-search book bloggers, and you can drag Twitter, Goodreads, and other networking sites to find people who accept requests for reviews. These places will also help you jump beyond your immediate social network into larger circles.

For me, the simpler way was to look for lists of people who review e-books. Then I took several weeks sending review requests to likely looking reviewers/book bloggers. This took time because each reviewer has their specific requirements as to the type of books they review.  I then checked out their audience and a few of their reviews.  All told, I sent out about 60 requests. Ten/eleven reviewers have emailed back to say I'm in their queue to be read/reviewed sometime between now and Christmas.

What was my magic procedure? There weren't none. I gave the details of the book I was requesting a review for [title, genre, number of words], gave an elevator-type pitch for the book, and explained I could send a PDF or text file if they were interested. Of course, some reviewers hated PDF files, so I didn't send a request to them. The reviewers I liked best were the ones who had a request form on their site.

Who were the best lists? I think Simon Royle's list was the best, mostly because he updates the list. Step-by-step Self-publishing has a good list too, mostly of people who will review indie works in several genres. Another useful list: Lauri J. Owen and Pippa Jay offer a Comprehensive List of Book Reviewers at Owen's blog "Embers". There are others of course. Google indie book reviewers and who knows who'll show up in the links.

How many contacts are enough? Only you can decide based on the time available and any writing deadlines you might have.

One word of caution. You'll find duplicates on the above lists so you need to keep track of who you email your requests to.       

[In case you're wondering, the buzz about Taking Vengeance is more like air fizzling out of a flattening tire. I'll report if sales increase once reviews start appearing. Of course, the ebook may get universally panned. I'll tell you that too. So far, one four star review is out by a guy who liked my different take on elves.]

This Week's Fantasy Review:

Finished three more Skulduggery Pleasant books, one after another and didn't get sick of them. The Skulduggery books are written by award winning, Irish author, Derek Landy. While I wasn't as happy with Mortal Coil as I was with the others, the book stood head and shoulders above most books I read. I'll nit-pick that Landy is letting the character development of his villains slide. All too often they appear, do their thing, and go away to come back and fight another day -- twirling their mustaches as they go.

Why do the books hold up after reading six of them? The same mordant sense of humor and  snidely named characters doing dastardly things, some of them even unexpected, keep the reader entertained. Of course, the various villains all want to conquer the world. The old and new villains try their best, but Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are there to get beaten up while they save the day. The duo may be powerful magicians, but they get clobbered enough to let the reader know that saving the world is dangerous business.

Valkyrie's still making the wrong decisions but now is often getting out of the jams without being rescued by Skulduggery and her other friends, as she was often in the early books when she was younger. Mortal Coil has some minor shifts in allegiances which may cause some greater emotional conflict in the future than was previously contained in the story line. 

The next book in the series, Death Bringer, came out September, 1. Cheapo here is going to see if New Yorkie kids will buy it and send it on.

One of the things I like best about the series is its delicious darkness. The books have been translated into Spanish and German, but the last three don't seem to be published in an American edition. I wonder if the Mrs. Grundies got to the sales reps?

PS:

I've joined the e-reader revolution and am now the owner of a Kindle. It's a Kindle because it was given to me and the price was right. 

First thing I loaded? One of my critique partner's story published by TRW Press, Just Desserts. It's a funny little story well worth a buck to watch some kids outsmart the devil ... who also wants to take over the world. [You'd think the bad guys would have better things to do with their time.] Whatever, look up Steven A. Benjamin and preview the story on Amazon. A novel of his is a finalist at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's Conference.

PPS:

Sorry to be late with the blog this week, 

but had too many doctor appointments between the old man and me.

Is Your Writer Bio Shopworn?

Is Your Writer Bio Shopworn?

Still using the same bio you wrote last year or the year before? If yes, shame on you. According to Duolit, your author bio is a key plank in your author platform, It doesn't pay to neglect it ... like I've been doing. [*cringes*]

My bios have been static since I sold Taking Vengeance to WolfSinger Press over a year ago. Though I had thought about rewriting my bio recently, I hadn't done anything about it because I was drowning in other marketing junk, ... sorry, duties.  Then, I read Robin Sullivan's blog about bios, asking "Is Yours [Bio] Working for You? Talk about a kick in the pants!

Her premise is you need three bios: short, medium, and long. Plus, you should change them often. Wondering what to put in them? She gives you a good example from one of her clients for your long bio. More suggestions for medium and short [Twitter] bios is to come.

Why not check your bio? According to Sullivan, your bio should (1) give your readers some insights into you, (2) be engaging, (3) be truthful/heartfelt, and (4) tell a story.

But your task doesn't end there.  The other parts of your author platform need polishing too. The Duolit team did a blog that can help you create a More Cohesive Author Brand. Their five tips threatens to give me two weeks worth or more of work to build my coherent online author image. Just what I need since I'm still scrounging for bloggers to review me ebook, Taking Vengeance.

Where do I stand? Neck deep in do and do more.  I don't think I've changed my bio in over a year. Granted, I don't have much to brag about, but marketing is all about presenting a polished image. My online image is totally haphazard. The good news? I found two links that'll help me polish my image ... if I ever get ambitious.

Fantasy Book Review: 
Derek Landy, The Faceless Ones

Found Derek Landy's third Skulduggery Pleasant, The Faceless Ones, while cleaning out some boxes under the table last week. My reward was great in new reading because I found two other books in the series, the ones that were published in Britain. I'm looking forward to a Skulduggery read-a-thon over this weekend without even attempting to progress on The Game of Thrones, no matter how much I like George R. R. Martin's character sketches. For my reading enjoyment this weekend, it's Skulduggery all the way.

Yeah, YA print books conquer the might of the TV series. The Kirkus review summed it up so beautifully I think I'll just quote them. "A high-intensity tale shot through with spectacular magic battle, savage mayhem, cool outfits, monster, hidden doors, over-the-top names, narrow escapes, evil scheme, and behavior heroic ..."  

I'd add double crosses and false trails or is that red herrings? Whatever, Valkyrie aka Stephanie and the reader are left hanging on her own devises when Skulduggery saves the day in a way Valkyrie doesn't expect.  How can I not read on to the next book, Dark Days. Skulduggery Review, continued. Look for the next episode next week ... if I'm diligent.

This book is dark enough and moves so fast, that even adults who don't groove on fantasy will enjoy. Hey, the series even tickles your funny bone. Best yet, the Mrs. Grundies haven't started complaining about this middle grade book's darkness ... yet.

Trivia:

Have a Facebook page up for Taking Vengeance, but don't really know what to do with it yet. At least I figured out what kind of stuff to add to it.  

Think I'm going to change the page to the Far Isles Half-Elven though. 

As I said, I don't know what I was doing. 

Incidently, I'm looking for people to like the Taking Vengeance page.

Romance Rising -- Above the Cliches

Kay's Book Review:

Discovered Lee Roland's book, Viper Moon, on the grocery store bookshelves, where I seem to be finding a lot of the books I read lately. The cover featured the standard sexy lady in tight leather pants ... eh ... with red hair even... eh ... but she had a red and black banded snake draped over her. Yeah, a paranormal romance tempted me, and I read it.

The front cover blurb read: Evil waits for the dark of the moon. I almost didn't buy the book because of it. What kind of smarmy evil lolly-gags around? True evil blind-sides you until you have to pull your arse out of the blood. -- Maybe: Evil gathers in the dark of the moon?  Maybe not.

Fortunately, the back cover blurb developed the primary story line: Cassandra Archer is the Earth Mother's Huntress who rescues children from an imprisoned evil entity fighting to break free of his confines. So the dark of the moon is meaningful because that's the thriller deadline. The book opens with MC running from monsters in the town's sewers, probably without leather pants. The beginning timeline: the full moon. Cass has about two weeks to find and rescue two children from being sacrificed.

One disappointment with the book.  I think it's a stand-alone which is too bad since Rowland developed some interesting twists on the concept of the Mother Goddess and her servants. Both Cass and the love interest are well-drawn, but don't quite rise above the paranormal hero cliche. But, the secondary characters, the setting of an urban world in decay, and the twisting villains shine. A lovely little adventure.

Grumbling About My Lessons:

Had coffee with a successful writer a couple days ago.  [Yeah, our town has bunches of them.]  Among the the things we discussed was editing.  He doesn't.  I do because I'm so dyslexic I don't know if what I'm reading is really what the print on the paper/screen says. From reading a bunch of free stories on Smashwords, I'm thinking more people than me need a good editor before they publish.

I can hear everyone groaning at the cost of self-publishing books.  Yeah, it can be expensive ... especially if you write loooong books. The Passive Guy gave a link to the price guide of the EFA, the Editorial Freelance Association. It'll give you an idea of what you'll need to pay a competent editor.

Most of my time recently is spent writing ... and asking for book reviews.  In the process, I've found a list of book reviewers that features mostly romance and sci fi/fantasy: Lauri Owens' Embers. Got Taking Vengeance in another queue to be reviews.  Took me some two days to work through the list. Guess marketing trumps networking time.

Oh, I should mention I've given up on downloads/readers? for Cavern Between Worlds.  After almost 250 downloads, I've started charging $0.99  for it. Yeah, it's up on Amazon as well as Smashwords.Yeah, the inevitable happened. The downloads stopped dead.

Last but not least.  Opened my personal email this morning ... and there was a review sitting it it.  Okay, the notice that a review of Taking Vengeance was posted. Richard Hays of Stuff I Wrote did a very kind review. He writes better poetry than my Bad Haiku.

Trivia:
I may be spending a lot of time in my computer chair, 
but Wiggles sees to it that I get 
my exercise.
He likes to be twirled in an office chair best and
meows loudly if I don't jump up and turn the other chair.
 

Does Writing Openings Paralyze You?

My Book Review [aka Comments]:

Okay, I know about the importance of a book's opening sentence, paragraph and chapters.  They perform the important hooking function of luring the reader deeper into the book, but oh, is it sweatful.  That and the cover and book blurb are major selling points when you look at a book on the rack.  Yeah, Nora Roberts' The Search hooked me with the first chapter and the  blurb about rescue dogs.  I picked it up because rescue dogs interest me even though I'm a cat person. In short, Roberts lured me out of my reading zone.

Then, reality set in.  The book's almost 500 words long, long enough to be a pain in the butt if you try to read it in less than a week.  But, that wasn't the reason I found myself skimming the book half-way through.  I felt the thriller [suspense novel ?] got bogged down in the detail.  

Still, there's a lot to like, especially if you're a romance reader. [I'm not.]  Still, I liked Roberts lip-lock scenes in this book.  They weren't all sugary and weak-kneed but kept a fair amount of heat between two interesting adults.  If you want to read a book about a survivor,  The Search will give you a good read ... provided you are trying to kill lots of free time.  I'll even grant that you might like to read romances.

Bonus Review:

Sins Out of School  [a Dorothy Martin mystery] by Jeanne M. Dams ... starts with the premise: what can go wrong when a teacher takes on a substitute assignment. [We'll pause while teachers shudder.]  In this case, it's a murder. The book is a nice, if somewhat predictable, cozy mystery about an sleuth who's an American living in Britain.  Again, I guess my definition of fantasy stretches to this book since I can't quite accept that such places ever existed except in never-never Britain.

Lessons in My Reading:

Slow but sure does it.  Still haven't done much on the book review front, but I did discover a blog about the Five Best Ebook Stores at Lifehacker. In short, the places where your ebook should be.  They list these ebook stores: Google ebooks, Project Gutenberg, Kobo, B&N Nook, and Amazon Kindle.  WolfSinger Press took care of the Kobo, B&N, and Amazon for Taking Vengeance. 

Ugh.  I have more research to do for Cavern Between Worlds since I self-published it.  It's up on Smashwords which includes Kobo.  The rest will have to wait until I start charging for the book in August.  [Just like that, there's another item added to my to-do list.] --  One bit of information for self-publishers:  you can set your book up for Pub It [B&N] and Kindle [Amazon] on Smashwords.

Yeah, the book review requests keep going to the back burner, mostly because I'm really concentrating on writing new stuff so I can publish something else, maybe.  I'm trying write more pointed scenes in the draft rather have my characters drift around in an interesting situation. Found Kathryn Craft's blog about Critique Speak at the Blood Red Pencil quite pertinent.  The goal is to present sharp, crisp scenes that intrigue my critiquers the first time around.

There's another reason for the slowness in the review process -- time.  Finding places to submit your review means you have to read several possibilities to make sure they review your genre.  Then, there's no guarantee you'll get reviewed once you get added to their queue.  Still, I image much of my not-so-free time on the web will be spent going through my lists.  The two best lists I've found stress indie books:  Simon Royke's the Indie Book Reviewer and the Reviewer List.  I'm hoping for two reviews from 100 cold calls.

Trivia:

Okay, in spite of complaining about how busy I am, we're going to see the last Harry Potter.  I expect a grand spectacle after a nice lunch.  No, I'm not all sad that Harry Potter's ending.  I enjoyed reading the books, but often the movies did a better job telling a story.  

My recommendation:  all writers should read to marvel at the world J. K. Rowling created.  Her writing would make an anthropologist proud.

Dealing with Writer Envy

Writerly Fantasy Book Review:

Got Kevin Hearne's  Hexed read.  First, I want to say, I hate Hearne -- in the teenaged angst sort of way.  He only wrote for 19 years before he sold his trilogy.  --  [He deserves the success -- and makes my use of some of the same motifs look pedestrian.]

A second volume of a trilogy usually sags.  Hexed breaks that rule.  The plot arc flows as the gods, demons, witches, and dangling problems from the first book complicate things in the second volume.  The story?  Atticus O'Sullivan, the last remaining druid, survived an attack by gods and demons in Hounded, but one demon managed to escape and plot revenge.  Atticus must defend his southwestern US turf with the suspect help of the local Polish witch coven and the interference of religious fanatics seeking to destroy all magic workers.  The writing is fast and funny and totally deserving of envy.

I'm looking forward to Hammered, the third volume.  Del Rey Books has turned the trilogy into a series which should be a fun ride.  Hearne mix and matches a variety of the world's belief systems into one delightfully funny romp.

Social Networking and Other Web Stuff:

I don't know how Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware does it, but an awful lot of her blogs hit problems I'm facing on the nail head.  A recent blog on how to get out of contracts when a publisher goes belly up or some other reason is worth saving.  Guess I'm a disgustingly median writer.  

[Yeah, I got a contract dangling ...  but I've also got a book derived from it almost ready to submit.  Book trumps short story ... so guess which one I'm putting into play.  The short story can fester for the time being.  I also have another contract promised when the small publisher finishes their current project.  Have the draft for that one waiting for another revision.  So, I'm interested in contracts as well as marketing.]

Have just survived the cover wars with a cover I like [Cavern Between Worlds] so I found N. R. Williams blog at The Blood Red Pencil last week a relief.  Basically, she runs through the items your book cover should contain, a pertinent point now that so many writers are self-publishing.  As she puts it:  What Your Cover Should Not Do.  Even if you have a royalty publisher, the article will give you some arguing points.

[Now, excuse me while I dream of some famous author writing a cover blurb for my novel.  Of course, first I have to find a major publisher.]

Speaking of major publishers.  It's becoming more and more important to go over your contracts with a magnifying glass ... or is that a microscope?  The Passive Guy commented on Kristen Nelson's blog on Random Houses change to blanket e-royalties.  Seems to me the publisher changed the e-royalties without notifying anyone.  Also, I think I read something about one publisher reducing the royalty payout by contracting out to one of its subsidiaries.  --  Anyone taking bets on whether the authors on the messy end of the stick will sue?

For all you thinking of self-publishing, the Passive Guy also links to a self-publishing flow chart by the Self-Publishing coach.  If you don't know what good the old-style publisher does for an author, your eyes will open.  --  No wonder I don't have any time except for marketing.  When you self-publish you become the whole smeil.

My Writing Lessons:

My head's still spinning over my Half-Elven bible.  When Dark Solstice got rejected, yet again, I went back and looked at the mess of files I have on the world -- some seven crammed folders.  *rude noise*.  -- So, much for thinking I'll be writing something new.  Actually, I am -- another Half-Elven story set just after Taking Vengeance.  Something called book reviews.


Oh, the trailer is doing well, according to Big Burrito Media ... but I haven't seen any results in the sales figures for Taking Vengeance.

No.  That was not a criticism of the trailer.  The results won't be in for at least six months.   Mostly the lack of sales is my responsibility.  So far, I haven't lined up any reviewers for Taking Vengeance.

Trivia:
The couple generic friends' deaths didn't disrupt things much as my good friend's,
which is sad in its own way.   

Cover Art 's Here & More

Cover Art
Taking Vengeance:

Artwork: Marge Simon

Don't know what progress has been made on getting the printing on the cover.  I thought I'd wait until today to bug the publisher ...  after I take my friends good jewelry to the estate buyer ... and whatever else rears its time-consuming head.  I think I'm going to get five chapters revised today?

One thing surprised me.  The WolfSinger Publications site mentions the book is coming out in trade paperback ... or maybe that got misplaced from another pub.  Another thing I have to ask them about.

Okay.  I have trailers on the mind too, just one reason why I enjoyed Got YA's blog on book trailers so much.  Actually, they've posted 20 reasons to like their blog.

My trailer for Taking Vengeance?  The script is done and the work under way.  My daughter will be doing the music.  Fortunately, she has a huge number of special effects pedals.  They were made of guitars, but she's used them to good effect with her harp.  Yeah, I'll be posting it along the side.

All in all, I don't know what I'm learning here -- except to paddle fast enough to keep my head above water.

Once I get "Taking Vengeance" semi-settled, I'll be self-publishing a short story which has been rejected by all the major and semi-major- paying zines.  Another Half-Elven story:  Cavern Between Worlds.  "They" say sales increase with the number of e-offerings you have listed ... but I don't think "they" mean that two pieces are enough.

Publishing Blues

While procrastinating before writing this blog, I discovered Rachelle Gardner's blog on how she "invented publishing".  Actually, she was asking for writers to be understanding ... and don't kill the messenger when the agent has bad news ... whether on a query or a rejection by a publisher.

Her discussion pointed out some things I'm doing right [which made me feel good].  Blogging.  Trying to social network.  Sticking to a genre [sort of since I write fantasy for both for adults and older middle grade].  She also confirmed my suspicion that my writing, even if decent, may not fit into the guidelines publishers and their marketing departments prefer. 

Yeah, there' a system with guidelines on how publishing works.  Thus, a problem for my writing.  I've skirted "proper" rules for decades.  I don't think my psyche is going to change at this date to get my writing accepted.  

Is this the time to say:  "Thank the powers for e-publishing?"  

The charms of self-epublishing's are growing in the back of my mind.  I just discovered bookbaby.com, thanks to an AW Water Cooler forum.  They only distribute through four sources:  Amazonkindle, B&N Nook, Sony Reader, and iPad.  More important they format your doc or rtf manscript for distribution, can supply a cheap ISBN, and do covers.  

Being me, I wondered how bookbaby.com handles the money.  Even though they deposit though PayPal or your bank, they could hold your money for weeks or months.  Not to worry said my NewYorkie daughter.  Seems bookbaby.com is a new venture by CDbaby.com, and she distributes several CDs through them without any complaints on the money front.

So, why is this spinning around in my head?  The "Taking Vengeance" cover art has been sent to WolfSinger Publications, and the "check is in the mail" to the trailer maker.  So, I'm sitting here in wait mode, probably thinking too much.

Did decide one thing though.  I'm going to self-publish a Half-Elven short story as soon as I get the trailer settled.  Reason?  That way I'll have two things up for sale.  Given my computer klutzieness, paying bookbaby.com their fee is worth it in aggravation to me.

If I get the Renna stories combined and rewritten in proper format, I'll have three -- but that'll be a novella and more worth the fee per word.

Stumbling Towards Publication

Went to New York City ... and DC ..., and the one thing I didn't expect was no internet connection.  Had access to computers but the signal was too weak to use where I could sit without my hip throwing a tantrum.  So, no blog.  Sorry.  Didn't even get much of a look at my emails ... so I didn't know what was happening with the WolfSinger cover art.

WolfSinger Publications has sent "Taking Vengeance" to an artist for a cover art!  It's enough to warm the cockles of a pessimist's heart.  I'm working with her now.  She has drafted an okay picture, but my Half-Elven are much darker than Tolkien's elves.  She drew Mariah as a "sweet young thing" ... which she definitely isn't.  [From the prequel partials, I doubt if she was a "sweet young thing" when a child.]  I'll be getting back to the artist today, once we finalized the last details of my nursing-home friend's funeral.

Also, the contract is in process for the trailer.  I've got to sign and send money.  I've read several comments lately on blogs and in forums that writing is much more expensive than it used to be.  I can remember when I only spent money on paper, postage, envelopes and miscellaneous.  

Now?   Having a computer is just the starters.  Where do the trailers, websites, editing, and marketing campaigns ... figure in your writing?  My hat's off to any reader who has landed a traditional publisher for their book.  {Of course, I don't wear hats.  Not since Vatican II and before that, I wore a mantilla.} 

Also, "Dark Solstice" came in at 76,500 words.  Probably, another reason it won't sell.  It's too short.  Novella, anyone?  --  I should have never removed the redundancies and passives and incomplete revisions.  Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot.

Trivia:

Last year sometime, I wrote  a review of The Ghosts of Crutchfield Hall, and gave the book to a step-grandkid after he said he like to read about ghosts.  He ignored the book.  

Two weeks ago, his non-reading, school-hating sister devoured the book.  When she started talking about Sophia doing this, and Sophia doing that, it took her mother a day to realize the kid, who doesn't read, had finished the book.  She immediately launched into Wind in the Willows, which she thinks is the funniest book ever.  --  Can this be an argument for giving free books to kids just to have them sitting on a shelf and accessible?       

Reality Hits the Fan

News ... Progress ... or Something ...

WolfSinger Publications sent me a contract to e-publish "Taking Vengeance" in 2011.

I'm working through the details,

BUT

the publisher wants a bio, picture, and back-page blurp.

So, my brain is stuttering, wondering how I'm going to do a decent marketing pitch.

Truth in advertising summary sentence for short story:  Mariah has given up fighting with the ruler of the Marches and wants to live her life in peace ... until her daughter is attacked by privateers who turn out to be more than they seem.  --  Hey, thanks guys ... Writing this blog helps me clarify my muddled thoughts.

In case you were wondering:  Taking Vengeance is part of what I think of as my "Mariah mess".  The piece is the first three chapters I excised from "Dark Solstice" last year.  The story chronicles the beginning of the feud between Mariah and Linden, the ruler of the Marches and her former lover.

Big Problem, though ...

I'm no longer a pretend writer
[basking in my own brilliance].

I have to work.

[All that said, I must tell you we're talking 12,000 words here, but the poor lil' thing
will have to stand
on its own two feet.]

The Read ... I sort of had a read, a mystery/thriller with a romance.  Felt it was overwritten  ... couldn't get into it even though I skimmed over a third.  Just didn't like the character (written in first person) -- even though she shared some of my favorite habits, and she was smart, persistent, and didn't take no sh*t from nobody.  I cheated.  Read the ending, but didn't read enough to guess the villain, before I put it back on the trade pile.

Used books serve a purpose by making it cheaper to buy a book you might not like.  Glad it was a used one.