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At Loose Ends

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 17, 2013| 2 Comments »

Well, not really. There’s plenty for me to be working on. But . . . but I’ve finished most of the revisions I was planning to carry me into next month.

  • BLOOD IS THICKER is done and already available on Smashwords. (By the way, my other published stories are on sale on Smashwords through the end of the month. Some are even free. Check them out here and remember to use the coupon code listed right below the price.) You can also read the first three chapters of BLOOD IS THICKER free on wattpad.
  • MAGE STORM is basically done, although I’m still waiting for feedback from a couple of beta readers. I still need to work on the query and pitches some more. The synopsis could probably stand a bit of polish, too.
  • And, surprisingly, I feel like the third draft of MAGIC AND POWER is probably just about the final draft–at least until I can get it in front of a few beta readers. After the last pass, there’s just one more thing I think I need to take a look at. I suspect my characters do a lot of taking deep breaths and breathing out. Using a physical response to show emotion is good, but I probably need to introduce a little more variety there.

So, it looks like I may be starting that weird Oz story about a month sooner than I’d planned. I’m going to have to spend a little time getting myself into the right frame of mind. This one will be in first person and my character has (I hope) a distinct voice. But I don’t like taking more than a few days without doing some actual writing. Gotta keep those writing muscles in shape.

Of course, I also need to continue preparing to officially launch BLOOD IS THICKER (October 20). And continue trying to promote FIRE AND EARTH, mostly by trying to line up reviewers.

Maybe I’m not at such loose ends, after all.

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Step One

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The first steps to planning the publication of BLOOD IS THICKER are under way.

Blood Is Thicker Cover

Blood Is Thicker Cover

The tentative official publication will be in the middle of October. Specific date to be announced.

And BLOOD IS THICKER is already available on Smashwords. (I’ve actually already sold one there and it only went up last night with no fanfare.) This makes it possible for me to start trying to line up reviewers for around the official release.

In getting it up on Smashwords, I needed a pitch.

In the sequel to BLOOD WILL TELL, the newlyweds, Rolf and Valeriah, face a new crisis.

Born half-werewolf, Valeriah’s life has never been simple. Her recent marriage to a dragon has led to a transformation–Valeriah is now a dragon, too. But, taking the form and knowing how to actually be a dragon is not the same thing. Her life has even more complications than ever. So many, in fact, that she doesn’t recognize the signs of her own pregnancy until Rolf rushes her to the Hatching Grounds to lay their eggs.

But then things only get worse, because something’s wrong on the Hatching Grounds. The underground source of heat that sustains the eggs is slowly dying. Valeriah and Rolf have to scramble to discover what’s gone wrong and find a way to fix it before their eggs die.

Meanwhile, the first three chapters of BLOOD IS THICKER are available free on wattpad.

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Publication Planning

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Sorry to be late blogging today. I got sidelined by a power outage.

I have a final draft of BLOOD IS THICKER and a cover. Now the real work starts. I mean to do a better job of it this time. Promotion is where I’m weakest. So, I need to make a list.

  1.  Pick a publication date. Right now, I’m leaning towards mid-October, roughly three months out.
  2. Now would probably be a good time to get a decent blurb and pitch worked out, too.
  3. Line up some fellow bloggers for a formal cover reveal, announcing that publication date.
  4. Go through the Smashwords formatting process so I can have e-copies for potential reviewers. I can turn off further distribution until just before the publication date (if I choose). But, at least this will be done and setting it to go live beyond Smashwords will be trivial.
  5. Start lining up reviewers. This time, try to work it so the reviews will coincide roughly with the release.
  6. Tricky part. I want to make a two-for-one deal available. Buy either BLOOD WILL TELL or BLOOD IS THICKER and get the other free for a limited time (say, oh, I don’t know, through Christmas). But the only way I can see to make this generally available (as opposed to available only to people who have some contact with me on Facebook, through one of my writers’ forums, or through my blog) is to create a sort of omnibus edition of both books and price it the same. That way it’ll be available everywhere. Plus, it’ll be available for reviewers who want to start with the first book. (Some do.) That’s another formatting chore. Plus, I need another cover. Stumped on that one right now.
  7. Bite the bullet and try to set up a blog tour. Introvert me believes this will kill me, but I think I can survive it.
  8. Go through the formatting for print on demand, too. That way I can schedule a Goodreads giveaway along with the release. (Both books? Or the Omnibus edition?) Decisions, decisions.
  9. What else? What else? I’m sure there’s more I need to do that I haven’t figured out yet. 

 Argh! And while I’m at it, I need to order some more copies of FIRE AND EARTH to send out to reviewers, too.

You can read the first two chapters of BLOOD IS THICKER for free on wattpad.

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Ahead of Schedule

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2013| 1 Comment »

First, my books and stories are part of Smashwords’s Summer/Winter Sale this month. All of my shorter stories: “Heart of Oak“, “The Music Box“, and “Becoming Lioness” are free. BLOOD WILL TELL is 75% off, just in time for the launch of the sequel, BLOOD IS THICKER this fall. FIRE AND EARTH is 50% off. If you ever wanted to read one of my stories, here’s your opportunity. If you want to make an author happy, don’t forget to leave a review where it will count, like Amazon or Goodreads.

I’m currently working through the second draft of MAGIC AND POWER–and I’m way ahead of schedule. I expected to get through about chapter 9 this week. I’m now working on chapter 23 (of 26). I might even finish the second draft this week. Now, the second draft is a long way from a finished draft, especially for a modified discovery writer, like me. But it’s really good progress and I’m pleased.

Then I need to do some additional work on the query and pitches for MAGE STORM. My goal for MAGE STORM is still to have it ready for WriteOnCon. I’m still waiting for some of the critiques on that one, though, so I’ll probably switch back to trying to finish and polish up BLOOD IS THICKER. A finished manuscript would allow me to start taking steps to line up reviews and maybe a blog tour in advance of the launch, for a change. I need to create, at a minimum, an e-book version that I can distribute to reviewers. It would also allow me to set a publication date about three months out. Both good things.

Sometime after that, I’ll be ready to start on my next new project–my weird Oz story. For some reason, August and September do tend to be my most productive period for first drafts. I have no idea why, but I’ll just go with it.

BLOOD IS THICKER is being serialized on wattpad, but since it’s not complete, I’m only updating once a week. You can read the first chapter here.

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What I’ve Learned (So Far)

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2013| 4 Comments »

Well, not surprisingly, I’ve done things backwards, again. Typical.

What I’ve learned so far from my experience with FIRE AND EARTH:

Fire And Earth Cover (Provisional)

I need to start planning and taking action much earlier. I planned a month in advance with FIRE AND EARTH. Most of that went into formatting and cover art, though, so I hadn’t done a lot of preparation for a launch. With BLOOD IS THICKER, I’m going to start a minimum of three months in advance.

So, I won’t know the date until I have a finished, polished manuscript in hand. Then I’ll pick a date at least three months out from that. I’ll need to go ahead and do the formatting, for Smashwords at a minimum, and then start approaching potential reviewers in the hope that some of the reviews will be up at about the launch date (or even a little earlier).

I also need to do more in the way of a blog tour, cover art reveal, etc. Introvert me has resisted this, but I’m going to have to push myself out of my comfort zone. Well, what else is new? I knew that’d be part of learning this promotion thing, didn’t I? And that was part of the point. Beyond wanting to get my stories out there, I want to start learning the other side of this business that I’ll need no matter what path my writing takes from here.

I still have to figure out how to do my two-for-one offer of BLOOD WILL TELL and BLOOD IS THICKER together. I have a couple of ideas, but nothing’s final yet. I want it to be everywhere, not just one bookseller. And I want it to be wider than just my writing communities. For that, I may have to create an omnibus edition which can temporarily be priced the same as either book separately.

Meanwhile, I have started serializing BLOOD IS THICKER over on wattpad. If you want to see how the story starts (or continues, since this is the sequel to BLOOD WILL TELL), you can check it out for free over there.

 

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Early Launch Preparations

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2013| 2 Comments »

Sometime this fall, I’ll be e-publishing BLOOD IS THICKER, the sequel to BLOOD WILL TELL. I haven’t picked the exact date yet. This time, I’m really determined to do a better job of preparing for the launch. This is a learning process for me

There’s a lot to do.

  1. The final draft would be a good thing to have, I think. Actually, I’m almost there. In the past, though, I’ve always had the final draft essentially burning a hole in my . . . my storage drive, I guess . . . and it’s made me the thing out a little too fast. Like I said, it’s a learning process.
  2. I still have to write a blurb and a pitch, which I haven’t even started.
  3. I have to finalize the cover art. This is what I have so far:
    Provisional Blood Is Thicker Cover

    Provisional Blood Is Thicker Cover

    There’ll be a formal cover reveal when I’ve settled on the final cover. What do you think?

  4. I’ll need to start working soon on things like a blog tour and lining up reviewers much earlier than I’ve done for FIRE AND EARTH.
  5. Mostly, I’m still trying to figure out how to do what I really want to do–offer a short-term two-for-one deal. Buy either BLOOD WILL TELL or BLOOD IS THICKER and get the other free. I know other people have done something similar. I just need to figure out how to make it work.

Meanwhile, I’m still lining up reviewers for FIRE AND EARTH. Fire And Earth Cover (Provisional)Yeah, should have done that sooner. Oh, and answering questions for an author interview to go along with one of those reviews. That’s new for me, too.

The last chapter of BLOOD WILL TELL is now available on wattpad. I’ll start the sequel, BLOOD IS THICKER, on Sunday, hoping to get some people interested in advance. This one, I think I’ll update once a week.

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Looking Ahead

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Well, we’re about half-way through the year and I guess it’s time to look ahead to my plans for the rest of the year.

I’ve got a number of revisions under way.

  1. MAGIC AND POWER: I’ve just started the second draft. It’ll take at least one or two more drafts and some beta readers before I decide what I’ll ultimately do with it. It’ll need a new title, at the least. This is the story that grew from a planned novelette into 75,000 words.
  2. BLOOD IS THICKER: This is the sequel to BLOOD WILL TELL. I’ve just completed a revision on this. I’m finally happy with the story. (Did I mention lately that sequels are hard?) It needs at least one more pass. I plan to start serializing it on wattpad as soon as BLOOD WILL TELL is complete there. (Next Sunday, in fact.) And I need to start planning a launch for this for sometime this fall. Note: This time I do actually intend to plan about three months ahead. Guess I’d better get started.
  3. MAGE STORM: I’m just beginning to get feedback from my beta readers on the newly revised version. I’m excited about this one. It’s my middle grade fantasy and I want it to be ready to pitch at WriteOnCon in August. That means I need to rework the query and synopsis, too.

Hopefully about the time I finish these revisions, I’ll be ready to start writing my “weird Oz” story. I’m getting excited about that one, too. It’s likely to be the first novel-length work I’ll attempt in first person. At a minimum, that’ll be an interesting adventure.

Meanwhile, at least until MAGE STORM is ready, I’ll continue querying THE BARD’S GIFT.

Eh, when I put it all down like that, it’s no wonder the house is a mess.

The next-to-last chapter of BLOOD WILL TELL is up now on wattpad. Final chapter to come on Wednesday.

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Potpourri

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

A little of this and a little of that, today.

Work progresses on the WIP, MAGIC AND POWER. It had slowed to a crawl for a couple of days as I had a really difficult scene to write. It’s one where my main character is assailed by doubts and is unprepared to make a difficult choice. I’m sure that it’s one that’s going to need plenty of work in the revisions to strengthen it. Sometimes int the first draft, you just have to put down what you can and move on. Now I’m on the scene where my characters can get really angry with each other. This one’s going to be a lot more fun to write.

In other news, Amazon made me really happy this morning when this turned up in my inbox.

AmazonHappy

Gotta love free advertising.

On the chain mail front, I know I haven’t posted anything recently. I finally ran down a new set of instructions for European Four-In-One. This is the standard pattern of actual chain mail used as armor back in the middle ages.

Sometimes, it just helps to try something a different way. That’s what finally worked for me with the helm pattern. The different perspective can just help it make sense. It works for writing, too, by the way. Stuck on something? Try writing it from a different point of view.

Also, as usual, new chapters of FIRE AND EARTH and BLOOD WILL TELL are available on wattpad. You know, though, it’s going to take over a month to get to the end at two chapters a week. Both books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other places.

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Fire and Earth is Launched

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on April 21, 2013| 2 Comments »

It’s finally here. The launch day for FIRE AND EARTH.

Fire And Earth Cover (Provisional)

Seventeen-year-old Casora has been raised to be a fearless warrior, commander of the faceless war band known as the Deathless. Nevertheless, she and her company are helpless to stop the invasion of their homeland. Without a country, the Deathless offer their services as mercenaries to the next land attacked by the same raiders who conquered their nation.

As the youngest prince and the one least likely to be of use in the war, Tiaran is about to be forced into a political marriage to a girl he hates. Rather than be used to secure the loyalty of an opportunistic general, he secretly goes off to fight in the war himself. His first battle is about to be his last when Casora rides in to rescue him.

When these two unlikely partners join forces on the battlefield, they’ll shake the foundations of kingdoms.

You can find it in these places:

Amazon ebook

Amazon print

It hasn’t turned up on Barnes and Noble, yet, but it is on Kobo.

Please, spread the word.  There’s nothing like word of mouth.

As always, new chapters of FIRE AND EARTH and BLOOD WILL TELL are also available free on wattpad (but it’s going to take you a long time to read it that way).

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One Last Deleted Scene

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on April 17, 2013| 2 Comments »

First, new chapters of FIRE AND EARTH and BLOOD WILL TELL are available on wattpad.

The files for the print version of FIRE AND EARTH, to be released along with the e-book version on the 21st, are finally ready. That was an interesting process. So, in honor of that, here is one more deleted scene:

Fire And Earth Cover (Provisional)

The northern scouts had nothing to report and the southern scouts had not yet returned. Casora worked out her impatience by taking the berserkers for a training drill. The horses tended to be restive after the long winter and they were even worse with a berserker on their backs. It was almost like learning to ride all over again and they had to be able to fight from horseback as well as on foot.

They were executing a wheeling maneuver, more raggedly than Casora liked, when she spotted the riders. The flash of flying red hair was all she needed to identify her returning scouts and the dust cloud behind them explained their hurry. At her signal, Casora’s berserkers formed up into a flying wedge and galloped into place behind the fleeing scouts, covering their retreat.

Casora’s unit slowed, letting the lightly-armed scouts outpace them, and turned to hold the road. They waited while twice their number of Yriri became visible through the dust of their headlong gallop. As she braced herself for the conflict, Casora took a hard look at the Yriri’s mounts. Skeletal faces were topped by one, two, or three horns. What kind of beasts did these Yriri ride? She took a deep breath. Whatever they looked like, they smelled like horses. Narrowing her eyes, she took a closer look. Masks. The Yriri’s bridles were attached to fanciful masks. She sat back. Horses that had become accustomed to berserker riders weren’t likely to be spooked by that.

The Yriri pursuers shouted their war cry “Yririri” and clashed their weapons, eager for battle. Casora smiled. They thought their superior numbers would carry the day. They were in for a surprise. She gave the signal and the berserkers spurred forward.

The skirmish was mercifully short. Only two of the berserkers Changed, although all the others were caught mid-Change when the last opponent fell.

They’d have to stay out here until the berserker madness passed off for at least most of them. Casora did lead them half-way back to camp, though. The Change would be quicker from here, away from the overpowering smell of blood and shit and battle. Eager as she was for the news, she’d have to wait to get the scouts’ report.

Most of the berserkers were well on their way to being human again by the time Derian rode up with a relief force. Totally unnecessary, but she appreciated that Varana had kept her head and her priorities straight. Make sure of the battle first.

“Good,” she said to Derian. “There are enough of us now to keep the berserkers under control. Let’s get back to camp. I want to hear what the scouts have to say.”

“It looks like Artria,” Varana said as soon as they rode back into camp, not even waiting for Casora to dismount.

Casora smiled. The Deathless had a direction and a purpose again. “Derian, oversee the breaking of camp. The Deathless are going south.”

“What about Lord Haver? He’ll come back and find nothing but hard-packed ground,” Varana said.

“Serves him and Feloria right. It’s all they deserve from us, now.”

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