I did it!
Excuses, Excuses, Exuses!
You may have noticed that my book isn’t out yet. I hope this post will serve as an explanation or at least an excuse.
When I started writing I would have never considered self publishing. At the time there were places you could go to self publish your book. They were often referred to as “vanity press” of “vanity publishers” so my feeling was I didn’t want to be seen as vain. I decided that if I really wanted to make it as a Continue reading “Excuses, Excuses, Exuses!”
Forsaken Realm – Chapter 2
2. Lameel’s Simply Amazing Magic Shoppe
“Why are you wasting your time on that?” Meg demanded, fuming as she paced back and forth, her long red hair billowing behind her like flames. “We both know that the only thing of any real value is the amulet! The old man admits it himself. ‘It’s my most treasured item,’ he said. ‘So very powerful that I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.’ You heard him.”
Jamine held the single pearl on her necklace between her fingers to allow her the strongest reading. ‘Be quiet, Meg! Do you want to be overheard again? I am tired of casting charms of forgetfulness on Mrs. Hagelbeck just because you can’t keep your voice down!’
Forsaken Realm – Chapter 1
1. Seagate Palace
If Meg had known the significance of this one act and how it would change her life and possibly the lives of everyone on Adonia, maybe she would have had second thoughts. Instead she only thought of the reward: enough gold to not only retire and disappear, but to live like a queen for the rest of her days.
And that was just her half.
‘Are you in?’ Jamine asked, using her mind. Mind speak was not common but Meg and Jamine had been able to share their thoughts all their lives.
Meg smiled and considered not responding, just to see how panicked her sister would become. Continue reading “Forsaken Realm – Chapter 1”
Fosaken Realm – Prologue
Prologue: Washed Away
Blood and rain dripped from the wagon onto the cobbled street of the busy market district of Kerjeel. A crowd made up of neighbors and other bystanders flanked two young girls in mourning. Jamine was crying.
Meg was too numb to cry as she stared at the sheet-draped shapes laying in the back of the wagon. Mr. Horak, their landlord, was telling the whole story to one of the city guards.
Mr. Horak paid no mind to the rain soaking his head.“Warreb worked in the slaughterhouse. His wife, Salora, helped the missus in the shop at times.”
In Which Rick and I Begin to Understand George
“The only kind of writing is rewriting.” ― Ernest Hemingway
So, a funny thing happened on the way to publication. We had a little crisis. These things happen in beta development, I’m told.
The book was sooooo long. Personally, I like long books. And Rick’s style is epic, which you might have noticed, invites books of Biblical proportions. But his epic fantasy is very action-adventury. Lots of things going on, lots of cliffhangers, lots of activity. Action-adventure stories aren’t generally super long books. We don’t want people getting “readers’ fatigue” (or something real which I don’t know the name of) and maybe get tired of the story. We want excitement! Joy! Anticipation! Continue reading “In Which Rick and I Begin to Understand George”
I Don’t Know How to Dress
Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking? – Derek Zoolander
Here’s today’s confession: I’m super confused about what I should be wearing. I know: wear what you like, and I do that. But it’s out of inertia more than anything. Left to my own, I still dress like I did in college: jeans, tshirts and black and white sneakers. I kid you not. I still have some of the same tshirts. In the summer, I trade the sneakers for the $1 flipflops from Old Navy (I have them in several colors, because, hey, they’re a dollar), and for work I have fancy beaded flipflop “sandals.” If I am feeling particularly posh I might throw on a colorful glass bead necklace. I like it, I’m comfortable. Continue reading “I Don’t Know How to Dress”
Theft of Swords – a comparison review
So in general I read a lot of fantasy. Over my lifetime, I’d estimate that I’ve read a thousand fantasy books, maybe?
Rick, dear C.R. Francis of Epic Writer fame (not yet), writes epic adventure fantasy. What does that mean?
Epic – the story is not based in reality, like Jim Butcher’s Dresdon series, where a wizard solves crime in Chicago. That’s urban fantasy. Epic fantasy is set in Middle Earth or Earthsea or Elan. Or even places that don’t start with E. Continue reading “Theft of Swords – a comparison review”
Read More Books, You Cheapskate
No two persons ever read the same book. – Edmund Wilson
I’ve been exploring options for how to get the word out about our upcoming books, and came across a site I thought you might find useful: BookBub!
BookBub is a subscription service that will send you an email filled with cheap and free books to read, in whatever genres you like, every single day. They are careful about curating their list, so though you may not like a particular book, you can be sure that the books that are advertised are of decent quality, even if they are free or only $0.99.
That’s all for today. Carry on!
Random picture of the week:
Happy Pumpkins!
I only wish I could carve like this: