Saturday, December 31, 2011

Resolutions? What Resolutions?...

Hmm, I resolve for 2012 to blog every day. I resolve to write 2,000 words a day. Perhaps even do yoga twice a week and ...

Who am I kidding? I sound like a politician, making promises I don't intend to keep. Or can't keep due to extenuating circumstances.

Hehe, see I can even use legal jargon. Maybe I should have been a lawyer?

Okay, so you. Resolutions or no resolutions? Do you keep 'em or do you chuck them aside after the first week like your trash?

Have a happy New Year!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Internet Presence...


There is something pretty spectacular when you read a blog and the person is very professional, light hearted and funny at times.

No, I'm not talking about me. Professional? Me?? *Snorts*Anyway, I've come across some blogs where the people aren't anywhere near decent. If you're trying to get somewhere in the publishing industry or you are somewhere, don't be negative. All. The. Time. Seriously.

Being positive, offering up advice, sharing your experiences... those are important. Make people want to read your blog and keep reading and commenting. I've sort of stopped following or commenting on some blogs because the people are kvetching about not being accepted or how other people are being "mean" in their reviews or comments.

All. The. Time.

I know I have ranted on this blog, but I don't keep gnawing at the same bone every time I post. I do try to move on and look for the positive in things. I've worked hard to get my internet presence and I don't want to lose it by always being pissy.

I dread the day I get the bad review. I'll get more than one and I'll have to suffer through each one. I'll have to focus on the good reviews. I'll need help with it, I'm sure. I can't rise to the bait of the bad reviews. The trolls, they can be tricky and they will make me want to explode all over the internet and all over them. I'm gonna want to find their house, ring the bell and break their knee caps when they answer the door.

But I can't and I won't. No one else would. It isn't professional. Give me five minutes to whine about it and tell me to get over it. It's all good, we're cool like that.

So get out there, make your internet presence a GOOD one and put the negativity outside in the cold, without food and water, where it belongs. Follow people on Twitter, get on Facebook, blog and be positive in your blogs. Don't be a whiner. If you want people to read your work and like you, be selective about what you put out there. Yeah, you're gonna have bad days. Doesn't everyone?

So tell me, do you continue to follow people who are constantly negative or do you put them to the wayside?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Review: Flash Gold...

I'm very, very new to reading Steampunk. Let me just say, I've liked the Steampunk genre... or at least liked hearing about it and was intrigued. I've read my first novella of Steampunk and I'm hooked!

This is one of the first pieces I have read and enjoyed, so here's the review!

Flash Gold, Lindsey Buroker
Available: Amazon, Smashwords
Website: http://www.lindsayburoker.com



Product Description:

Eighteen-year-old Kali McAlister enters her steam-powered "dogless sled" in a race, intending to win the thousand-dollar prize and escape remote Moose Hollow forever. The problem? Fortune seekers and airship pirates are after her for the secret to flash gold, her late father's alchemical masterpiece.

With her modified rifle and a pocketful of home-made smoke bombs, Kali wouldn't normally hide from a confrontation, but taking on a whole airship single-handedly is a daunting task. Unfortunately, the other racers won't assist her--they're too busy scheming ways to sabotage her unorthodox sled.

When a sword-slinging stranger shows up, wanting to hire on as her protector, she's sure he has ulterior motives, but he's the only one interested in helping her. The question is...why?

An 18,000-word (80 page) novella

My thoughts:

This was a really fast read for me. Which sometimes doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot, since I tend to be a fast reader to begin with. But when I state it was a fast read for me, that simply means the overall flow of this story was spot on. Lots of action, lots of fun dialogue and an interesting setting. It has its fair share of typos and errors, but nothing so much as to slow down your reading enjoyment.

I'm new to Steampunk, at least reading it. This is one of the first books I have read and I really enjoyed it. I like the era, I like the concept of steam powered stuff and including magic in the mix just makes it that much cooler.

Kali is a spunky (yes, I used the word spunky) girl with some serious trust issues, but for good reason. I really like some of her inventions, but don't want to give too much away! The fact that there are bounty hunters and even pirates (Pirates!!) make this story even more enjoyable. I really got hooked on this first book and look forward to the rest in the series.

I give this novella 4 out of 5 skull and crossbones.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Holidays Are Over...

Well Christmas is over and we're almost into the New Year! I had an awesome holiday so far and expect to have some fun on New Years. Maybe I'll get totally outrageous and play with my new World of Warcraft Miniatures game!

Woot!

Nerd. I know. We've had this discussion before.

More than likely it will be a night spent with the family, of course. I'm usually not that fond of driving around on New Years. There's some pretty stupid drunk drivers.

I hope you all had a great holiday as well. Have a safe New Years and keep an eye out for another book review of a new author I found. Half the time, these authors are new to me, but maybe not to you. I'd still like for you all to drop by and leave a comment.

The rest of the week will be spent working and doing some housework, maybe do some writing. If I don't post anything else this week, I'll get back on it next week. Have a great week just in case!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Review: The Book of Deacon...

My reviews these days are few and far between. But when I find a book I like, especially by a self-pubbed author, I like reviewing it simply to help that author gain exposure.

So here we go!

The Book of Deacon, Joseph Lallo
Available: Amazon, Smashwords
Website: http://www.bookofdeacon.com/



Book Description:

Myranda is a young woman more interested in staying alive than being a hero. Orphaned by a continent-spanning war that has gone on for decades too long and shunned for failing to support it, she has been on the move since she was only a child. One can hardly blame her when she thinks that the chance discovery of a fallen soldier's priceless cargo is the moment that will change her life. No one could predict just how great that change would be. It will lead her through an adventure of rebels and generals, of wizards and warriors, and of beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step of the way will take her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world.

My thoughts:

I've said it before and I will say it again... I'm a sucker for fantasy. I liked this book. Joseph Lallo has a nice writing style and the story flows really well. I do have to admit, I saw a lot of typos, grammatical errors and repetitiveness. Those are probably the worst comments you'll see from me about this book. However, these are critiquing comments.

The story of Myranda and her faithful reptilian companion is a very good one. It is the first in a series and I am looking forward to the next two books. There are some interesting creatures in this story, different views on magic and how the characters utilize it. I also have to say, that while this is fantasy, the story may be long, but it keeps going and only slows down ever so slightly. Not enough to bore you, though. I've read some books that you just wish they would get on with it, but this story is one that delivers just the right amount of information as it goes along. The information given paints the picture of the world that Myranda lives in and even though it is in some pretty heavy turmoil, there are areas I would love to see in real life, of course.

I would definitely suggest this book to other fantasy readers. I give it 3 and a half Skull and Crossbones out of 5.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Taking A Break...


I want to wish you all a Happy Holidays!

I'll be taking this week off due to work and of course the holidays. If I am able, you'll see me the week after Christmas, otherwise, I will see you all in the New Year!

I've had a wonderful 2011.

Moved into a new place, got a job, had surgery (which has made me feel SO MUCH better), spent time with my mom, had my son move up to Alaska and was accepted by Hellfire Publishing.

Woohoo!

So I am off. But will leave you with some Christmas/New Year's funnies.






Saturday, December 17, 2011

Holidays...

Christmas is creeping up on me so fast! I don't even have my tree up yet. I'm sort of sad about this as Christmas is one of my most favorite holidays. Ranks right up there with Halloween, usually.

For some reason, I just don't feel much in the Christmas spirit. The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas music was already on the radio at my work. Black Friday, well that is always a joke. I can't imagine people mauling others for the latest deal on a DVD release or new video game.

Is that truly the "Reason for the Season"? I certainly hope not.

These last couple of months have been stressful. We moved, we had to put our oldest kitty, Colby, down. Our family unit has been split up and work has been increasing for me gradually. Seems like every time I asked my boss for more hours, I got them and something would happen. She's been a very understanding, kind boss and I am thankful for her and my supportive co-workers.

Things just still seem 'off' for me. Probably because my daughter is out on her own and my son is living with us. All sorts of changes and adjustments that I am still not used to. Don't get me wrong, I am happy about having both my kids here with me finally. But all of this has been a hard change. I'm feeling more of an "empty nest" syndrome than I thought I would. I'm dwelling on the fact that my son will be 18 in February and well, he'll be next to move out.

Sometimes the holidays get to me. I don't mean for this post to be all doom and gloom. I look forward to spending time with my family and perhaps we can get that tree up this weekend. Then it will feel more like Christmas and I can focus on having a happier New Year.

If I don't post much this week, I want to wish all of you a safe and happy holiday!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Revealed: What Am I...

Alright! You've had a day to post your comments to my little writing prompt from yesterday. If you didn't get a chance to read it, go ahead and do so now.

If you did read it and left a comment, I'm going to reveal to you what point of view I was writing from.

Ready?

Are you sure?

Okay, okay, I'll stop.

I was writing from the point of view of a glass sitting too close to the edge of a table. How's that for a writing prompt, eh? You guys were awesome with your guesses and practically spot on! Way to go!

Prompts are usually a good way for me to break out of a writing funk. I have a couple of short stories I wrote for the Writing Dot Com "Writer's Cramp" contest. You have to write 1,000 words in a day with the prompt they give you. I had one win and another got awesome reviews. They were so close in proximity of posting, I couldn't be greedy and win both, could I?

Would have been nice, but no. So I took the comments to heart. Lots of people wanted me to expand both stories. So I am working on that and perhaps I can place them all up for you to see. I've hit the 3,000 word mark out of 10,000 on my short, "The Wicked One" and will hopefully have that up soon as well.

Have a great day and see you all tomorrow!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

What Am I...

Yesterday, my blogger's block kicked in. So I went over to my favorite prompt sites and I have a little something for you. Try to guess the point of view I'm writing from if you'd like a bit of fun.

Here goes...

"I'm going to fall," I say to no one in particular. "I've never been quite this close to the edge before. What if a good stiff breeze comes along? Will I shatter? Will everything inside of me spill out to be exposed?"

"I've seen it happen before, you know. Perhaps I will survive the fall, but if I hit just right I may break. I can't believe how close to the edge I am. I have never been in this position before and quite frankly, I'm scared."

"In all of my existence, I have been on more stable ground. I have always known my place, how far from the edge I've been. Sure I have come close to the precipice, forgotten a few times, even. Once, I stood upon a pedestal for days on end. But I've always come down. Secure in a firm grasp."

"I don't know what will happen this time. Perhaps the dog will walk by, his tail wagging carelessly and I'll be done for. Once I have gained any sort of momentum, there will be no stopping my fall. Even if someone were to see me and dive under me, I may very well break. Perhaps I will hurt that person as well, cutting into them like that, should I crack. What am I to do? I've never been taken advantage of like this in the past. People just think they can place me anywhere, not giving a second thought to my surroundings. They all think that I'll be all right. That nothing can happen to me. Perhaps I should just push it from my mind. If I fall, that will teach them to be more cautious of anothers fragile state. Would they learn the lesson? Or will they be just as careless with others as they have been with me?"

Okay. Think about what I have just written and tell me if you can guess what I am. I look forward to hearing your guesses! Have a great day, everyone!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

One Of Those Days...

I'm sitting here watching Twitter scroll on by and put up a Tweet myself.

"What to blog about... What to blog about..."

I get a response from Tahlia Newland: "Blog about not knowing what to blog about. Staring at the blank page, etc."

Good idea! There are days I just don't know what to blog about. I will scan through the other blogs and most times an idea will trigger or I will expand (hijack) someones topic.

There are days when I am on a roll and can blog several different things and then schedule them in advance.

However, yesterday was a bit of an emotional strain. Today, I'm tired and drained. My daughter was driving to school, hit black ice and went off the road. She is fine, banged up, bruised and shook up, but fine. She wasn't wearing her seat belt. After a look at the scene, she's lucky to be alive.

She'll be spending the next few days with us. Then we need to determine what to do about her car.

So yeah, today is an off day for me. I can't conjure up much to blog about but feel the need to blog.

What triggers non-blogging days for you? Do you force through it or do you just wait until something inspires you to post?

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Best E-Mail Ever...

Okay, well, second best email ever! I got a notice from Publish America yesterday that my book has not sold a single copy in over a year.

Woot!

I know, strange thing to be happy about. But seriously, I have been waiting for this day for some time now. They are releasing my rights back to me two years early!!!!

OMG!!! I'm so happy and excited and it couldn't have come at a better time.

I no longer have that Damocles Sword hanging over my head.

I just had to share! Woohoo! ::Does the happy dance::

Monday, December 12, 2011

What's Worse Than A Query...

Getting endorsements!! *Gasp!*

I spent a few minutes before work yesterday looking over some blogs. As you all know, my sister-in-law, Cheri Chesley, published her first book last year with Cedar Fort.

I've been following the blog ever since. Their authors all contribute their shared knowledge and experience on the blog site. That is where I stumbled upon this little tidbit. Getting Celebrity Endorsements.

If you can brave querying, submitting or even... yes, even self publishing... do you think you have the guts to ask for an endorsement? From an author you love and admire?? Can you? Can you really!?

Yeah. You can. Silly. What did you think I was going to say? That you can't?? Pssh. You should know by now that I have absolute faith in all of you and you can do whatever you put your mind to. Especially asking for an endorsement.

So, I certainly did not mean to hijack the blog subject from Trina Boice, but I took it to heart. So I figured it might help any of you out who may be looking into something along these lines as well.

Did I email anyone? Actually, I did. Two of my most favorite (well technically three) authors/artists out there. Sorry, I couldn't get that appointment to hold a seance to contact Tolkien from the other side. Who knew mediums were so booked up this time of year?

Hope you all have a super Monday! I'll see you all later this week.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Wheee! It's Friday again! My work Christmas party is tomorrow. Should be fun. Doubt it will be the kind of raucous affair you see in movies, lol!

Anyway, on to the topic of Friday!

Favorite books/authors: K. C. May has remained in my mind as a favorite. I'm beginning to like Joseph Lallo as well as a shameless plug for my friend Carol Marrs Phipps. What can I say? I'm a sucker for Fantasy.

Favorite movie: This is an oldie but a goodie! Well, old for me anyway. When I listed my top 10 favorite movie quotes, it reminded me of it. Near Dark. One of the funny, campy things about the movie is how the vampires are a bunch of cowboy-like misfits. Okay, well vampires are misfits anyway... lol! But these guys are just... well can't explain it very well. Have to see the movie.

Favorite music: I'm going to go with the Pogues and add to it, Flogging Molly as well as The Tossers. I love the music! Rowdy, fun, Irish!

Fantasy art:



And the funny:


Have a great weekend!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Day After...

I want to thank everyone for all your comments yesterday. And a huge welcome to my new followers!

I love all the topics that come up during IWSG, the comments, the discussions. Alex, you've come across something wonderful and thanks for thinking of the idea!

Everyone seems to have Mr. King in their sights, wanting to knock him off his "lofty perch", someone said. I find that rather amusing, actually.

King was big in his day and it just seems to me that when he fell to the wayside it hurt his feelings. He tried too hard to get his glory back without just letting it go and accept it gracefully and tastefully.

Now, you all know I am not much of a Meyers fan, but King takes it a bit too far, trying to rub Rowling's success in Meyers' face. I saw a couple of minutes of a YouTube video where a fan of Meyers was telling King where to go. That's putting it nicely. But I couldn't watch the whole thing. Why?

Weeeellll.... to be honest, I sort of agreed with one of King's comments about Meyers. I don't want to get into details, I know some of my followers like the 'Twilight' series.

While having a fan like that could be flattering, I don't know that I would want anyone that fanatical about any of my books broadcasting their opinion of me like that. Honestly, it was sort of creepy. It felt like this person was, while sticking up for Meyers, acting as if it was her job to put King in his place. Will King ever watch it? Maybe. Maybe not. But the fan seemed to be trying a bit too hard to use large words, but when her temper got the best of her, she faltered. Maybe it was just me. Either way, I don't usually watch those sort of things on YouTube. I prefer watching episodes of "The Guild".

King just needs to step out of the limelight and let the others in his field have their moment of glory. I like his books, don't get me wrong. But it did get to a point where I did get bored with a couple of his books. Sadly, I haven't picked up a new one since. I guess I am an Old School King Fan. We'll just leave it at that.

What about you? Did you have a successful IWSG day? If you ever make it big (or not so big) will you know when its time to bow out and just let your books speak for you?

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Insecure Writer's Support Group...


Wow, is it the first Wednesday of the month already? I almost forgot!! Glad I didn't.

If you don't know what the IWSG is by now, you can still find the information over at our Ninja Captain's blog. Click here.

I'm torn between two topics this time around. So I think I will go with the one I have seen the most about these days.

As authors and writers, published or unpublished, we all have an inner secret desire. We look great on paper. We answer the repetitive questions over and over with rehearsed answers. We don't want to look like we're desperate, greedy or vain. We don't want to seem as if we might be jealous or envious of our successful colleagues. We don't want to lose a possible fan or a good review.

So what is this inner desire I speak of? We all want to be SOMEONE. We want to stick out of the crowd. We want our stories to be told, yes. Of course we love to write for the sake of writing! We are absolutely addicted to the written word. We put ourselves through so much to become published and we're totally devastated when we aren't.

But what happens after we get published?

Some books seem to just pop right out at you and have TONS of rave reviews. You go to the author's blog and they have a couple thousand followers, they're talking about all the fan mail they get and their website. Woo! To die for. We friend them on FaceBook and stalk them on Twitter. They're on the bestseller list.

But doesn't a small part of you wish that your book was that successful? Don't you want that kind of fame?

Who doesn't?

I have to admit, I have visions of fame dance in my head now and then. It is a basic human desire to want to become immortalized. Why do you think women strive to look younger as they get older? The fascination with vampires and wanting to BE a vampire. (There are people out there who state they are vampires in real life...) All the cosmetic surgery and scientific breakthroughs to live forever, what's it all about? It is about individualization, immortality.

We all want our books to be popular, overnight sensations and yes, even best sellers. We dream of them being turned into movies and making millions.

And you know what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Everyone dreams.

But when you find yourself unhappy with second best... stop. Breathe. Take a look back down that road you just traveled. What really is more important?

Becoming famous?

Or...

Getting your story out there and having it be loved by a total stranger as much as you love it and loved writing it?

Depending on what you have written, don't you want your story to help someone? To change a small part of their life? Because, quite frankly, it is the people you have affected in your life that immortalizes you. They pass your story on to their friends and family and so on and THAT is how you live forever.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Help A Fellow Author!!...

I was browsing through my blogs that I follow and happened upon Anne Bradshaw's recent blog. I will copy and paste the post here but I want you all to go over to her blog for links and details.

Click here for links (Just in case they don't work) and read below. From Anne's blog directly:


Danyelle Leafty, author of the Fairy Godmother Dilemma series, has become really sick, and it would be great to help her out. Here is a message from her husband about what happened:

Danyelle had been working very hard to get her series up before Christmas.Then "IT" hit. Some kind of pain was there all day and by 10:45pm, she started experiencing unbearable pain that went until 12:15am when I got home. I got our four kids out of bed and loaded up, then helped Danyelle into the car and drove her to the ER.

As soon as we pulled into the hospital parking lot around 1:00am, our
six-year-old autistic son flipped out. He hates doctors. He didn't want to
be there, and I didn't want to leave my wife. I contacted someone from our church who volunteered to sit with our kids at home so I could stay with Danyelle.

Turned out to be a kidney stone. We got Danyelle home around 4:00am.
Luckily, during the last two days a great lady has filled in for me at work, so I could wait on Danyelle hand and foot, and tomorrow my mom is coming.

Having Danyelle get sick right when she was working on releasing her books has been very stressful. We'd appreciate any assistance anyone has to offer to help us get the word out before Christmas.

Three of Danyelle's books are available as eBooks, and she has five total for this series. Here are the three on Kindle: The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell, The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Firespell, and The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Applespell.

Her website.
Her blog.
Her Facebook account.
Her Facebook Author Page.
Her Twitter Account.

Thanks everyone for showing her some support!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Promised Pics...


So I promised you all some pics awhile back. I wanted to finally post them up here and share, so here you go!

To the left you'll see the cool hourglass my kids got me for my birthday.


In the middle here is the view from my new house. I took this pic while standing in the sun room and looking out the window. Notice the moose if you look closely! Sadly, he has Christmas lights tangled in his antlers. Didn't seem to bother him, but maybe the other moose were making fun of him...



And the next one here is the cool little niche in my house where my bookcase resides at the moment. (Ignore the mess!)It will soon be my cool little writing area. My husband is going to build me a desk and then to make sure company doesn't see my huge mess, we're going to build a nice folding screen that I can decorate. That way my area will be hidden from sight and private enough for me to hide behind and write!

And finally, the one on the left I took while the leaves were changing color. We were driving by the lake in town where all the float planes land and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Especially seeing the way the clouds were reflected in the water.

So there are the pics I promised. I like to share Alaska when I can. Oh! And I will share one last one. This one is of my kitty, Gir, acting like a bibliocat and perching on my bookcase as if she were the Queen of the Paperbacks. She's so cute!



Hope you all had a great weekend and have an awesome Monday.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Writing Work...

It's funny. Since my announcement of signing my first book contract, I've found myself still browsing blogs with writing advice.

Do all authors still work at trying to be better? Do they work at making the next book better than the last?

Yes. They do.

At least that is my sincere hope. I would hate to think that they just keep writing and cranking out their work without giving it a second thought after getting the first one published.

I have taken a bit of a break since signing my contract. My next project is going to be a short, 10,000 word piece called "The Wicked One". It is one that I am going to self publish on Smashwords when it is done. Then back to work on revising "Veritas". In between, I have a couple of other short stories I want to expand on and put up on Smashwords as well.

I've got a friend that is willing to do artwork for me. In the meantime, is there a way to work on cover art for myself? I don't have Photoshop.

So do you still work at being a better writer or do you just let it all fall where it may?

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Author Support Post...


Well, it has been awhile since I have done a post like this. I'm trying to keep up with these and promoting as I discover people. I've just begun reading a new author by the name of Joseph Lallo. Click on his name to get over to his website.

While I am only at the beginning of this book, The Book of Deacon, I'm finding that I like his writing style and his idea for this book. I'll more than likely be getting the rest of his books as soon as I have some spare cash. (Ha! What is this thing I speak of??)

You can find a list of his books over at Smashwords.

Once I am done with the book, I will put up a full review. But he's a new favorite and seems to be self published. I love finding these little gems when looking for books.

I'm also looking for some suggestions as far as books go. No romance unless it has a really good plot, please.

Another author I've stumbled across and not exactly sure how long she's been at it, is Cricket McRae. I read her book, "Lye In Wait" and adored it. The MC is a home crafter and she even supplies some recipes for things at the end of the book like lotion bars. I used to love doing stuff like that and the recipe sounds amazing. I can't wait to try it!

So there are two authors I'm supporting. Who's on your list?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Top Ten Movie Quotes...

I'm a huge fan of movies. If you couldn't already tell. I'm a horror movie buff, with the occasional chick flick thrown in the mix. I do love a good action flick and adore epic movies. Over the years, I find myself quoting from movies more than I do from books.

Thank goodness for Goodreads! I find quotes I like all the time!

But to pass some time and to get back into the swing of blogging again, I thought I would post up my top ten favorite movie quotes.

And in advance, pardon the language.

10. "Well I'll be g** damned! Shit-kicker heaven!" ~ Zephyr from Near Dark.

9. "Normal denotes a lack of courage." ~ One of the aunts from Practical Magic.

8. "I'm feeling a little woozy over here!" ~ One of the killers from Scream, after being stabbed.

7. "Where do these stairs go?"
"They go up!" ~ Venkman and Co. from Ghostbusters.

6. "And there was much rejoicing." ~ Monty Python's Holy Grail.

5. "Why cut his heart out with a spoon?"
"Because it will hurt more!" ~ Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood.

4. "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a peso. All for Zorro, stand up and say so!" ~ Zorro from Zorro the Gay Blade.

3. "If you can see me, what am I doing?" ~ Sydney from Scream on the front porch, picking her nose.

2. "Feel better?"
"Yeah. Hey, wanna get pancakes?" ~ Marvin from Red after shooting the bad guy in the head to make sure he was dead.

1. "Did you really call my parents? My mom and dad are gonna be so mad!" ~ One of the killers from Scream.

Yeah, more than one reference to Scream in there. Sorry. And for the life of me I can't remember the characters name!!!! Oh well.

Hope they at least made you giggle. Have a great day!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Monday Again...

Usually the Monday after Thanksgiving is pretty slow for me. On Black Friday, I typically would hide out in my house. Being in a small town, though, I had to work and that was all right. The stories kept pouring in about how crazy people got.

Cyber Monday, well normally I don't hang out on the internet on that day either. Things tend to slow way down. But I haven't posted in awhile.

I was watching Vampire Diaries on Netflix. It's not bad. But it got me to thinking...

Who started the whole Vampires walking in daylight stuff? I know Blade could. Then again, he's one bad ass vampire slayer.

Edward, well, we won't go there. Sorry to any Twilight fans....

Now we have Stefan with a special ring. I think. Hey, I only watched a couple of episodes. Don't even know if Damon can walk in daylight.

My gripe with vampire and zombie novels has always been this: Do something different for pity's sake!!!

Well, these days, most authors are doing something different with vampires. Not sure about zombies simply because I am not a big zombie fan. I don't know why, please don't hurt me for that statement.

One thing is for sure, though. Vampires have been brought out of the darkness over the years. They can walk in daylight, so they are no longer the Creatures of the Night we once knew. Oh, and I will give kudos to Ms. Meyers for making her vampires vegetarians, so to speak.

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. Where applicable of course. Hehe!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

I've missed doing these. I enjoy adding my Friday posts to all the others out there, even if it isn't part of a blog hop or meme.

Well, getting right to it, I have a new author to add to my favorites, so here we go!

Favorite books/authors:

Jessica Bell. Yep, that's right. Her book, String Bridge, really touched my heart. I'm sure you all got to see my review of her book. If not, you can go here. But I really connected with Jessica's MC, Melody. As I said in my review, this is a super rare thing for me. Most characters I read about are dear to me, they become beloved, but I don't always get that super strong connection. I have been in similar situations as Melody, that is what pulled at me most. So now Jessica and her wonderful writing talent have become one of my favorites!

Favorite movies:

I'm a sucker for a chick flick once in awhile. And I have to lump these three movies together because I will absolutely watch all three of them over and over and over again. Usually when I'm on my own because otherwise I'll be picked on horrendously. So what are they? Becoming Jane, Pride and Predjudice with Kiera Knightly (even though I don't like her much) and Matthew McFadyen (who I do like lots!) and Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and the delicious Alan Rickman.

Favorite Music:

Have I mentioned Jimmy Eat World? I'm sure I have in other posts, such as the April A-Z blog challenge. I love this group and the other day at work, I swear the radio station was having a marathon of their music. I got to hear lots of my favorite songs. This is one of my favorite groups and probably always will be.

Okay, now for the Fantasy Art:



And because I am not a Dallas Cowboys fan AT ALL, I particularly like this funny:




Haha! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving...

The holidays are upon us! I'm tempted to just run away screaming. But this year is going to be extra special because my son is here with us. I feel complete as a family once again.

Around my house, we alternate years in the way of Traditional Thanksgiving or Traditional Christmas meals.

One year we'll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey with all the fixings and then a non-traditional dinner for Christmas. Such as Chinese food, Mexican or Italian. Then the next year we switch that around to have the non-traditional Thanksgiving and then the traditional Christmas feasts.

This year, we're striving for Greek. Anyone know what a traditional Greek Christmas dinner consists of? I might just have to make it up as I go along. I just want Gyros. Hehe!

I've also been working all week. I asked for the extra hours and got them. I'm not complaining, we need the money to make up for our hasty move. It just means I have to make sure I get the major things for the meal prepared in advance. Most likely I will be doing lots of baking tonight. I have a couple of pies in the freezer all ready to go. I can mix up the green bean casserole (yuck!) and have it ready to just throw in the oven. My family likes it, I don't. I don't like sweet potatoes or yams either.

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving! I will see you all after the madness.

Monday, November 21, 2011

It Is Official...

Yep, I signed my contract with Hellfire Publishing and mailed it off. Apparently, they got it, lol! I was told on FaceBook that they had received my signed contract.

Now comes the hard part, right? All the work in getting it ready to make available for sale. The marketing, the blog hops. All of it.

As soon as I have a release date, I will be making plans to do a virtual blog tour. Have the virtual release party and all of that. I would love for any of you willing to have me over for a book blog tour to either leave me a comment here or get a hold of me via email. I have it listed over there in the "About Me" section.

I will provide all the information you will need to make it as easy and painless as possible. If anyone would be up for reviewing my book, again, let me know!

It is Fantasy. Just giving you a heads up. Not everyone likes the fantasy genre. However, I have had people who don't like fantasy tell me that they like what I write. Just sayin', not braggin'. Lol!

So let me know. I absolutely will return the favor. I know a few of you have some release dates coming up and even though I was in the middle of moving and trying to sort my internet issues, I did manage to help Jessica during her release of "String Bridge". Which I adored by the way!!! (Nice extra plug, huh?)

Have a great week, everyone!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I Feel Good...

It is nice to be back online and catching up with you all. I had far too many posts to filter through, so it might take me awhile to get to most of them and at this point, don't expect much response from me. I will keep up with the newer posts of course.

My husband will be making me a desk soon. We have a nice little niche with recessed lighting that I can cover up with a folding screen to hide the mess when need be and to open up while I am working. Our new place has an awesome view of the bay. I'll take some pics and show you maybe tomorrow if I can find my SD adapter for my computer.

One thing about the new place, we can view the small airport from here, so at night we see a flashing light and figured out it was coming from there. Funny, the strange things you notice about the new places you move into.

I also have one wall with three huge windows. My husband and my son both put their computer desks in front of those and covered one with a blanket to keep out sunlight until I get some bamboo blinds.

I just can't wait to get my desk so I can finally put my map back up and get back to work on my writing stuff.

Speaking of, keep an eye out for a post from me. I am hoping to have a short story completed and ready to go for sale. It is called "The Wicked One" and should be around 10,000 words. I'm trying to give myself a deadline, now that I actually have internet back up and can possibly make that deadline rather than sitting out in public somewhere trying to make it available.

All right! I hope you all have an awesome weekend. I'll see you around. Finally!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Interview Re-Post...

Hey everyone! Hope all is going well for you this week. Things have finally worked themselves out on my end of it all.

My good friend, Carol Marrs Phipps, co-author of Elf Killers, reposted the interview she did for me on the Hellfire Herald over on her blog. She has very few followers, but she's new to the blogging and all that and I thought perhaps I would link you all over there. If you didn't get to see the interview, well, here's your chance!

Go here to read it. Tweet it, FaceBook it, send some people on over and show some bloggy love.

It is good to be back! And I will be posting again soon. I have lots of catching up to do. Whee!

I'm Back!...

Well, up until yesterday our internet was still down. I had a post all planned lamenting this fact while I sat at McDonald's yesterday.

So we were scheduled to have internet on the 16th. My husband got home from work, busted out the modem and our new router and got all set. Then I got a text message while I was at work about how he couldn't get online. He had tried to call tech support, but the phone company said he wasn't listed as a person who could discuss the account... whatevs. I had him on there.

As luck would have it, there was a phone outage in our area and they put in a repair ticket. So I went home and checked the phone out after preparing a blog post for you all about how I was still offline. Just as I got in and kicked off my shoes, the repair guy showed up!

Woohoo!

So yes, after that whole long diatribe, I am back online and now have to get back to work. My second job, you know, the writing and entertaining you all. Woohooo!!!!

Can I just say how much I have MISSED YOU ALL!!!!!! <3

Thursday, November 17, 2011

String Bridge by Jessica Bell Review...

This was supposed to go up today and it is listed in my blog as October 31st, for whatever reason. I need to post this so you can all see it. I was a draft at one point and apparently saved it for the day I created it.

The original post is here.

This is the re-post:

While I am still doing book reviews over here at My Chaotic Ramblings, this one is a personal favor and honor for me to do here on my own blog.

This one is for Jessica Bell, also known as The Alliterative Allomorph.


Jessica has written a book, String Bridge, and has done an album to go along with it.


I've already posted lots of this info on Nov. 11th for the Chart Rush on Amazon.com, this post is for the review. So, here it is.

About the book:

Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits ... "Jessica Bell's STRING BRIDGE strummed the fret of my veins, thrummed my blood into a mad rush, played me taut until the final page, yet with echoes still reverberating. A rhythmic debut with metrical tones of heavied dark, fleeting prisms of light, and finally, a burst of joy--just as with any good song, my hopeful heartbeat kept tempo with Bell's narrative." ~Kathryn Magendie, author of Sweetie, Tender Graces and Secret Graces, Publishing Editor of Rose & Thorn Journal

"Poet and musician Jessica Bell's debut novel String Bridge is a rich exploration of desire, guilt, and the difficult balancing act of the modern woman. The writing is lyrical throughout, seamlessly integrating setting, character and plot in a musical structure that allows the reader to identify with Melody's growing insecurity as her world begins to unravel ... String Bridge is a powerful debut from a promising writer, full of music, metaphor, and just a hint of magic." ~Magdalena Ball, author of Repulsion Thrust and Sleep Before Evening

My thoughts:

I have to say when Jessica first asked me to read the book for a review, I was slightly hesitant because ... well, I'm not much of a women's fiction sort of gal. But upon reading the very first sentence, I was hooked. Which is yet another thing that doesn't usually happen to me.

By the end of the first chapter, I had bonded with Melody in a way I have rarely bonded with a character before. At least not one that wasn't of my own creation. Jessica packed a pretty solid punch. Melody, or Mel, is a wife, a mother and is working to make ends meet in a career she really didn't want. When she met her husband, Alex, she hoped that his being a promoter would help her get some gigs. Stage fright be damned.

Mel gets pregnant and has a beautiful daughter, smart as a whip, too! But what really connected me to Mel (aside from her name of course) was the fact that she was worried about ending up like her mother. Mel's mother has some serious issues, not your typical mother picking on daughter kind of issues either. The sort of things that make you want to call up your own mother and say, "OMG thanks for not being like THIS!".

I can't say much more without spoiling the book. But I will say I cried when Mel cried, I celebrated when Mel celebrated, I became frustrated when Mel became frustrated and angry when Mel became angry. There were lots of different things that happened to Melody that I have had happen to me, so I connected on lots of different levels there. But Jessica's outstanding talent brought it all home to me, pulled me in and allowed me to share in this woman's life. I got to peek inside the windows and watch events unfold.

Thanks, Jessica, for asking me to read this book. Thank you for writing it and for having the courage to submit it to be published. Excellent book! I am certainly going to recommend this book as much as possible.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Not Quite All There...

So I am sitting at my local McDonald's (yuck) to use their internet today. I still have not heard from the phone company on when to expect my broadband to be up and running. I had been on top of this just before we moved and was getting it all set up and now they dropped the ball.

SO.

I'm still not sure when I will be back online. I'm completely missing out on NaNo. Good thing no one has sponsored me, I'd feel highly embarrassed and ashamed. I am working on my revisions of Book Two: Veritas as well as a short story that I'm looking into putting up for sale on Smashwords or something, myself.

I want to thank everyone who has left me comments on the past couple of posts! I normally am very good about responding, so thanks so much! I look forward to getting to know my new followers when I return.

I hope all is well with everyone. I'm enjoying my cute, quiet, little place very much. Good thing we moved when we did, as it has begun to snow here and I put off getting my snow tires on. Gah! So now I have two on, by Monday I will have all four. But I don't exactly enjoy sliding all over in the snow.

Take care and see you all (hopefully) soon!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Hellfire Herald...

Hey everyone! Unless things were changed, there should be an interview with yours truly over here at the Hellfire Herald!

Drop on by and check it out! I'd love to hear from you over there as well. Thanks!!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Another Author Support Post...

So, I posted last week about promoting new and self pubbed authors. I've got one more for you today and then I will post again next week.

And if you are reading this, I'm in the process of moving and have decided to schedule several posts so as not to get too far off track of the blogging.

Okay so here we go:


Lacey Weatherford, author of "Of Witches and Warlocks: The Trouble With Spells". From what I understand, Lacey is a self pubbed author. She has a whole series out with the above mentioned book as well as several other books. I have a blog link here where you can rummage around and find the books.

I did a review for this first book here. Now, I have to tell you and I'm being completely honest. I rated the book 3 stars. Why? Well, read the review to find out. But I will add this: While I did rate her book low and was sort of snarky in my review, I would have liked the book better had certain elements been dropped. Again, see the review. Her writing, however, was very good. She did manage to create images in my head of characters, but didn't develop them as much as I would have liked.

She's gotten tons of reviews on her work, though and the majority rules. She's gotten four and five star reviews from lots of different people. Mine is just a drop in the bucket and only my opinion. I'm also not a young adult who might find this book really good. Matter of fact, I would recommend it to my niece in about a year when she's a little older. I think she would enjoy it if she stays in her paranormal phase. We'll see.

So there you have it. Another indie author I want to promote, although she and K.C. May probably don't need the help. Lol! Simply because they seem to have a good, solid following. I'm just adding to it.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Moving Update...

Well, looks like I will get internet next week. At the moment, I can use dial up for free.

...

Meh.

Anyway, things are going well. I have a couple scheduled posts and should be back up and running in time for a few upcoming things.

Thanks everyone for your comments on yesterdays post! I will have to take some time to catch up with all of you once I am back online. In the meantime, keep on keeping on! Or ... whatever.

Have a great week, weekend and all that jazz!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

IWSG...

That stands for Insecure Writer's Support Group. It is the first Wednesday of every month, of course, and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex Cavanaugh. ::Cheers::

This is where we, as writers, stand up and either whimper about our insecurities or try to give helpful advice.

Well, I have whimpered a lot in the past couple of weeks and so last time I went with being supportive. Sorry for scaring the pants off of some of you. Not my intention, was trying to be helpful. Hehe!

I'm going to try and give it another shot here.

Writing is hard as hell. I know, yet again not a great way to be supportive or give good advice, right? But bear with me.

We write, we edit, we polish and wipe the sweat from our brows. We repeat the processes over and over til we just know we have it right. We start shopping around for an agent or publisher and submit our work. Rejection seems to come in droves.

How many of us follow the rules of the person or place we're submitting to? Do you read the guidelines and sort of gloss over what they are asking for? Do you look at your manuscript and shrug and say, "Eh. It'll do."?

I hope not. But, there are those out there who don't do the research necessary to the agent or publisher. And this is the supportive part.

Do yourself the favor of doing the research of what each individual wants. Modify things to form what each agent is asking for or how the publisher would like you to submit your work.

A few examples: Tor Books ~ These were the FAQs for submitting to Tor Books. They want things done a particular way, just like Penguin/Daw Books do. While Tor wants the first three chapters, nothing more than 40-60 pages or less than 10,000 words, Penguin wants the entire manuscript with a cover letter. Tor wants a dated cover letter AND synopsis of the entire book. Penguin doesn't mention a synopsis and wants you to mail the entire MS, unbound, no electronic submissions allowed. Tor wants a physical copy as well. 7 Realms Publishing only accepts submissions by invitation.

Of course, these are all fantasy places and all places I researched for submission purposes. But you get my point. You can't just create a generic package and expect everyone to want the same thing. I suppose it is different for agents, but even the few agents I scouted out all wanted different things as well. Different word count synopsis, cover letter, no cover letter... You have to tweak your submission package as much as you have to tweak your writing in the editing stages.

If you do your homework/research and send EXACTLY what people are asking for, you may get farther than just a simple form rejection. I've been rejected by Tor, (But that was before editing...) didn't even get my foot in the door with 7 Realms, chickened out on sending to Penguin until I got things polished up... rejected, rejected... and this was all before I started blogging or even knew what the hell I was doing. So I went about things a little backwards... meh. Story of my life. Now, however, I know and understand the importance of each and every hoop we jump through to get published and just how much RESEARCH affects our chances of moving forward.

Now, go get 'em!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Darkspell Releases Today!...

Oh, imagine the bliss author Elizabeth Mueller must be feeling at this moment! Why? Because her book, 'Darkspell', releases today. On Halloween!



It is a perfect day for her book release and we couldn't be more proud of her!

So hop on over to Elizabeth's blog and find out where to purchase this book!

Go on, shoo! Don't make me egg your house...

Review: String Bridge by Jessica Bell...

While I am still doing book reviews over here at My Chaotic Ramblings, this one is a personal favor and honor for me to do here on my own blog.

This one is for Jessica Bell, also known as The Alliterative Allomorph.


Jessica has written a book, String Bridge, and has done an album to go along with it.


I've already posted lots of this info on Nov. 11th for the Chart Rush on Amazon.com, this post is for the review. So, here it is.

About the book:

Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits ... "Jessica Bell's STRING BRIDGE strummed the fret of my veins, thrummed my blood into a mad rush, played me taut until the final page, yet with echoes still reverberating. A rhythmic debut with metrical tones of heavied dark, fleeting prisms of light, and finally, a burst of joy--just as with any good song, my hopeful heartbeat kept tempo with Bell's narrative." ~Kathryn Magendie, author of Sweetie, Tender Graces and Secret Graces, Publishing Editor of Rose & Thorn Journal

"Poet and musician Jessica Bell's debut novel String Bridge is a rich exploration of desire, guilt, and the difficult balancing act of the modern woman. The writing is lyrical throughout, seamlessly integrating setting, character and plot in a musical structure that allows the reader to identify with Melody's growing insecurity as her world begins to unravel ... String Bridge is a powerful debut from a promising writer, full of music, metaphor, and just a hint of magic." ~Magdalena Ball, author of Repulsion Thrust and Sleep Before Evening

My thoughts:

I have to say when Jessica first asked me to read the book for a review, I was slightly hesitant because ... well, I'm not much of a women's fiction sort of gal. But upon reading the very first sentence, I was hooked. Which is yet another thing that doesn't usually happen to me.

By the end of the first chapter, I had bonded with Melody in a way I have rarely bonded with a character before. At least not one that wasn't of my own creation. Jessica packed a pretty solid punch. Melody, or Mel, is a wife, a mother and is working to make ends meet in a career she really didn't want. When she met her husband, Alex, she hoped that his being a promoter would help her get some gigs. Stage fright be damned.

Mel gets pregnant and has a beautiful daughter, smart as a whip, too! But what really connected me to Mel (aside from her name of course) was the fact that she was worried about ending up like her mother. Mel's mother has some serious issues, not your typical mother picking on daughter kind of issues either. The sort of things that make you want to call up your own mother and say, "OMG thanks for not being like THIS!".

I can't say much more without spoiling the book. But I will say I cried when Mel cried, I celebrated when Mel celebrated, I became frustrated when Mel became frustrated and angry when Mel became angry. There were lots of different things that happened to Melody that I have had happen to me, so I connected on lots of different levels there. But Jessica's outstanding talent brought it all home to me, pulled me in and allowed me to share in this woman's life. I got to peek inside the windows and watch events unfold.

Thanks, Jessica, for asking me to read this book. Thank you for writing it and for having the courage to submit it to be published. Excellent book! I am certainly going to recommend this book as much as possible.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Okay...

So the move is coming up. Looks like I might be without internet for like a week, hopefully less, but I am not holding my breath.

In that time, I will be revising book two of my series, Veritas. I know, I was supposed to make Veritas book three, but when I started thinking of the content in each of the books, the truth starts to come to light about some things in book two rather than book three. And Bellum (which means War in Latin) is the final book. I'm going to love writing some war scenes!

Once book three is done, I have the stand alone book about Black Rose ready to revise. It was completed and tucked away. Then I have two more stand alone books. One about Nightshadow and one about....

Sorcha!

Yeah, the idea popped into my head the other day while cleaning. Sorcha will get her very own book. A few people have mentioned how much they like my pyrate, so there we go. It will be a good story on the high seas. I love pirates!

I'm thinking of switching my story for NaNoWriMo to one of the historical fiction books I have had simmering in the back of my brain. Might be a good time to work on those. At least hammer out the details of it all.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! Happy Halloween and bring on NaNo!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Moving Next Week...

No, not moving my blog. Moving into a new place. That means I may not be online for a week or so. If you don't see anything posted, don't fret. I did schedule two posts, though.

One being the IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group). That is always a must.

Can't recall the other one. Lol! Oh well.

I'm going to be spending lots of time finishing up whatever packing I have to do. So everyone have a great rest of the week and an awesome weekend! Do some trick-or-treating for me too, as I will be moving. Woot!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Idea Hacking...

I was over at C.K. Bryant's blog and am sort of tapping into her latest post.

How many is too many in a series?

The discussion was based around the House of Night series by Kristen and P. C. Cast. These are young adult paranormal romance books. Key word here is Young Adult. They're fast reads, well done and all, but I stopped at like the 5th one. There are 13 in the series.

The premise of the story is good, but when I left a comment, I referred to fantasy series.

Two authors that I adore were very good at writing series. David Eddings and Melanie Rawn. Eddings wrote a series of books, five in the series. The Belgariad. Then, using those same characters, wrote five more books, The Malloreon. Then, two more books sprung from those, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara. I devoured every single one of those books. I loved the characters, the humor and the fact that the story kept moving.

Rawn did the same thing, sort of. Three books in The Dragon Prince series and then three more in the Dragon Star series. She used a majority of the same characters. In the first series, the children of the main characters were young. Then in the second series, the elders are really elders and it is the children, grown up, who do the fighting. Well written stories that moved along.

Of course, I have read other series and trilogies. But once the third book is done, there are very few "spin-off" books. Unless of course you read Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. Those characters intertwine in lots of other stories, make cameo appearances...

I'm trying to think of other series I have read, but can't focus on what is on my bookshelf because my books are packed. Lol!

But anyway, the original question was, how many are too many in a series? You have Harry Potter which has seven, plus three books associated with it. Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. You also have the whole Redwall series of books by Brian Jaques. I still don't know how many books are in that series. A Series of Unfortunate Events... I could go on.

So what do you say? How many is too many?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

This Is One Post I Can't Schedule...

I'll be making a small change to my blog profile, but even though I will only be changing a couple of words, its a super huge deal.

*Ahem*

I have gotten a contract from Hellfire Publishing. My book, Shadow of the Rose, Book One: Adversarius, has been accepted and will most likely be a Spring/Summer release!

This is sort of why I was scrambling to get the query and synopsis done. Awhile back, on FaceBook, Dawn Binkley (HP Editor) had mentioned to me that they accept Fantasy submissions. So I thought, hmm... why not? That is when I began editing, looking for beta readers, working on the query and synopsis.

I polished them all to the best of my ability and followed the submission guidelines to a 'T' and was accepted. I submitted the work on my birthday. XD That was my present to myself.

I've done my homework this time. The only thing I can find out there that slams Hellfire is on the Absolute Write Water Cooler about grammatical errors on their website. The contract is sound and pretty average. In my heart, I feel this is a good fit for me, a better start than before with the Evil PA.

So there ya go! I'm super excited! Woohoo!!!

Blogger Block...

I feel like I am having Blogging Block. Not really writer's block, but close enough. I just know I will be offline for a week when I move and I'm trying to get some posts up.

I may put up some new pages here and gear it up for more of a website look and feel. I'm really liking my new look.

If all else fails I will, at the very least, pull some old posts. Maybe even drop some excerpts on you guys. That would be good. Wish I had a scary story to post for Halloween. Meh. Oh well.

So let's see what I can pull from the dredges.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Support Your Fellow Authors...

First of all, I have a new look. Took me freakin' days of obsessing over it to get it the way I wanted. But that's just how I am. I get my mind on something and I can't break away til it is done or I get so frustrated I just drop it.

And thank you, Michael, for suggesting I use my blog as my website. (I wasn't following your blog OMG ::Facepalm::) I think that is what I will do, but at the moment I am very much in love with my cute little flash site. Here is the link for that.

Now, back to my title. Supporting your fellow authors. There aren't enough hours in a day to do what we do, let alone help another author push their books. We have jobs, we have families and friends and other commitments and obligations.

Completely understandable!! But, what if you took some time out every so often to just mention a brand new or indie author you have read? I am not proposing a blog hop. I'm not even asking you to do a review. Just simply, if you find a brand new author or self pubbed author that actually has a good book, post it up here and give us all a link.

I sort of make it a habit to look up books on Smashwords to see if I can find ones that have no ratings or reviews yet. If the book description looks decent, I'll read it. If I don't like it, I don't post anything, but if I do like it, I review it and give it my honest opinion.


The first people I want to post about are brand new authors from Hellfire Publishing. Husband and wife, Carol and Tom Phipps (This link takes you to the blog). They wrote 'Elf Killers'. I met Carol right out of the blue and she and I have become really good friends. I'm looking forward to the series they are working on right now. But, by all means, if you like fantasy, check out my review. If you know someone who likes fantasy, maybe you could recommend the book. Also, I know the blog is simple and I don't know if she has a website. I've offered up my services if she needed any help with anything. Since, you know, I'm such an expert... ::snorts:: But I did get my blog all pretty.

Anyway.

On to K. C. May. She is an indie author and I first came across her book, 'The Kinshield Legacy', while be-bopping around Amazon looking for some books for my Kindle. Being the El Cheapo that I am, I was looking for free or under $2 books. I found the first book for like .99 cents and paid whatever the full price was for the second book in the series because I loved it that much!
K. C. has a website here. Her book is here. And I don't even know if she has a blog... I'll check. Aha! She does. Right here. I did a review for her book over on My Chaotic Ramblings and I also posted the review on Amazon.

Okay, so there are two authors I have promoted. You can either share a link to my post to get their name out there or you can write your own post. I'd greatly appreciate it and so would these authors. It would also be cool if you would do the same on your blog. You know, pull a newbie out of the hat and promote the hell outta them. We need all the networking we can get!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Character Names...

And how the heck to come up with them!

Laura over at Writing Unleashed left a comment for me the other day. She wanted to know how I come up with fresh names in fantasy and story ideas.

Well. Let me tell you! ::Rubs her hands together gleefully::

I have a couple of name generators I go to. Seventh Sanctum, Rink Works, Serendipity, etc. They're all very good, but Seventh Sanctum is my fave by far. But half the time a name in their list sort of works for me. Others are perfect. But even if I use a generator, I still want to make my names unique. So when I saw 'Bassin', I thought... ooh! Alabassin. He's my young prince and Kayta's love interest.

Speaking of Kayta, she was my original Dungeons and Dragons character. When coming up with her name, I used my middle name, Kay, and added the 'ta'. She's been around since I was 19.

Nightshadow was a character in Cosrin, the online role playing game, and she was an assassin there as well. I just figured she was good at hiding in the shadows and wore clothes black as night.

When trying to rename some of the characters from Cosrin for my books, lots of names just came off the top of my head. Like Talaver (Tale uh ver), Farrehn (Far ehn) and Vendras (Vehn drahs). I just plucked those out of the ether. Same with Senweis (Sehn ways).

Now that list I showed the other day of what not to do when writing fantasy, I said a couple of them applied to me. One was "don't use an apostrophe in a name". Well, bugger that, I have a couple of names like the world itself is named Eir du'Brusai (Air do brew sigh). Kayta's last name is Ni'adzul (Knee add zool) and Alabassin's is Li'endrin (Lee en drin). I also have a continent named Istlandu'us (Ist land us). Those sort of came off the top of my head as well.

Now Nightshadow is an assassin and part of the D'raetus Pastiniir (There's that apostrophe again) and it is pronounced 'dee ray tus past ih near'. They are the elite of the elite as far as assassins go. I got that name mixing Latin and Drow, a form of Tolkien's Elvish language. I have translator sites for those. There are lots of things I used Latin and Drow for. Some names I don't want to use the traditional and go for the mix. When I wanted to call my wizards something else, I thought of the Magi and decided to spell it 'Mahjii'.

A friend of mine came up with the name Kefferlings (kehf er lings) for my elf cat race. My husband came up with Dargorians (Dar gore ee ehns) for my humanoid dragon race. I think I got Firlochians (Fur low key ehns) off of a generator. I didn't think Firlochian sounded much like a name and more like a race.

As for story ideas? I'm going for a somewhat generic plot with this trilogy. Tyrannical king wants to gain more power and is trying to wipe out the only force that can stop him, which happens to be Kayta and her family and armies. An arranged marriage where the intended groom would rather be married to another and a few more twists and turns I won't mention because it will spoil it. I also have another book in the works that will focus on Black Rose. He was my husband's character from Dungeons and Dragons and we've made him a champion of a deity. He'll be fighting an Elemental, in this case an Earth Elemental, that accidentally stepped into the summoning circle of a Mahjii and got possessed by a powerful demon. You'll have to ask my husband how he came up with that one.

Okay, so sorry to ramble on! But hope that answers some questions.