All right, I know there are some of you writers out there who don’t mind editing. And some who actually enjoy the process.
I am not one of those people. Hate it with a passion. I find it particularly tedious, even though I love the results once I finish with it and send it on to my editor. And I’m sure she appreciates my efforts.
I’ve heard the saying that your first draft is you telling yourself the story. The edits are you refining this story for your audience, and I suppose it’s true. I just hate the process. It gives me a headache.
I’m hoping to have Whiskey Jug Genie out later this year and I’m struggling through it. I may have to start adding a splash of whiskey to my coffee at this rate.
It’s like I can see the story unfold in my head, but capturing those thoughts on paper as I paint those pictures for others is another matter.
And it seems in each story I write, I pick one word to continually repeat–sometimes several times on one page. What is wrong with me?
At any rate, this is only an update on my trials and tribulations. Wish me luck as I fight my way through.
Writers, drop me a comment and tell me about your woes as a writer.
And tell me which version of the cover you like best. It is still a work in progress. Remember, this is a redneck genie…
I mean, why is it so difficult to get people to review your book?
As an author, you get notified that you’ve sold a book, or several books. And you wait. And wait some more. But the reviews never come. Even if the one or two reviews you’ve manage to obtain are top rated reviews.
Why review?
It isn’t to give the author a good feeling about their book, even though that’s great.
When it comes to selling on Amazon and getting their help to promote your book, they go by the number of reviews you’ve received. It doesn’t matter whether they are one star reviews or five star. They only look at how many reviews you have.
Until you have at least 25 reviews for your book, you really don’t get recommended at all. After 25 reviews, your book starts showing up in the recommendations. You’ll see it in the “customers who liked this also liked…” area when you buy a book in a similar genre.
After 50 reviews, an author really starts gettine promoted on Amazon.
But until then, you’re pretty much sunk.
So, why is it difficult to get people to review a book? It isn’t hard to do. Takes maybe two minutes. But that two minutes meas a lot to an author, especially an indie author struggling to get a book into the public eye.
So, please, if you read a book, stop by Amazon and review it. It means so very much to those of us putting all that blood, sweat, and tears into writing them.
If you’re looking for something to read, check out my Mellie’s Romance page.
I swear, Mother Nature needs to get back on her meds or something. Maybe see a shrink. She seems stuck in bitch mode. Yesterday was a little chilly and rainy, but not really cold. I think it was in the mid-50’s And during the night the temperatures slowly climbed until it was around 60 degrees this morning.
Of course, since then, the temperatures have been dropping, with an expected low in the 20’s tonight. From spring to winter in one overnight jump. Our animals can’t figure out what to do. Should we grow fur and feathers or begin shedding again?
What am I saying? I can’t figure out what to do either. I have winter clothes out, summer clothes out, clothes everywhere. And I’m still not comfortable. I’m either too hot or too cold, but never quite comfortable.
In the meantime, I’m working on the next book in the Esperance Series. No, not the next one for you, but the next one in the series I’m writing. The next one for you, Too Many Talents, is in its final edit. And after that will be Ben of Blackstone’s Forge. Finally we’ll get to the one I’m working on now, Gregor Thayne.
Yes, I do have new books planned, but they take a little while for me to get them out to you.
But if you haven’t read the first books in the series, this would be a good weekend to give them a try.
Why?
All the Esperance books are on sale this weekend over at Smashwords. Take your pick, or pick all three. They’re only $0.99 each through Sunday evening.
Come on. You can’t even buy a cup of coffee for that any more. And at Smashwords, you can choose which format ebook you need for your reader.
So keep warm. Or cool. Or whatever it is you need today. Maybe Mother Nature will get her act together soon.
But before I go, how about a small excerpt from Too Many Talents?
Too Many Talents
Excerpt from Chapter 2–Connell
“But Mom, why do I have to go live with Grandpa? I want to stay here with you,” Connell complained for the hundredth time.
“You know why, young man,” his mother scolded. “And as soon as your father and I can take care of everything here, we’ll join you.”
“But how long will that be?” he asked, rolling his blue eyes at her. “I don’t know why we have to go anyway. I don’t want to be First Lord.”
“Now that is enough. We don’t have time for this. You’re ten years old and you know better.”
“I’m almost eleven,” he countered.
“Then start acting like it,” his mother snapped, exasperation beginning to show.
“But what about all my friends? I won’t have any friends there,” he continued.
“I’m sure you’ll make new friends.”
“But I like my old ones.”
“Connell, find something to do besides complain, or I’ll find something for you to do.”
“Fine!”
The little boy of almost eleven spun on his heel and ran out the door. Arriving at his favorite spot by the stream, he dropped down onto a large gray boulder and fought back the tears. No, he would not cry. Selecting a flat stone from the bank, he skipped it expertly across the water.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there before he heard someone behind him.
“Connell? Can I sit with you?”
Great! The voice could only be little Nell. She was all right for a girl, but, well, she was a girl. And she was always trying to help him with whatever he was doing. Two years younger than he was, they’d grown up together in the village, and he’d always liked her, even though she could be annoying.
“I guess. Sure,” he answered with a sigh.
He turned to give the little blonde, blue-eyed girl a hand so she wouldn’t slip on the bank. Once seated on the rock bench, she smoothed her flowered frock down over her knees.
“What are you doing down here? I thought you guys were moving.”
“Mom’s mad and told me to find something to do. So I came down to skip stones.”
“I could never do that. Can you show me?”
Even if she was a girl, Nell took his mind away from his problems. They skipped stones until the light began to fade.
“We should probably go back, Nell,” he told the little girl. “Mom was mad before I came down here. If I’m too late getting back, it won’t help anything.”
“Will I see you before you go, Connell?” she asked.
“I guess. We’ll be here a few days yet, and anyway, I’ll come back sometimes.”
“Can I still be your friend when you’re First Lord?”
“Of course. Why couldn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I just wondered. Thanks, Connell.”
About a week later, over the weekend, his father got the cart ready for the trip to Belfort Manor. Connell had determined ahead of time not to cry, no matter what, at least until they were out of town.
Though his mother said she was fine, he saw a few tears threatening to fall before he looked away. He so wished his parents could come with him right now. The idea of living with his grandfather, the First Lord, was intimidating
Of course, Nell had been there, tearful, and sure she’d never see him again. The pretty little bouquet of wildflowers was a sweet gesture, and after a quick hug, she buried her face in her mother’s skirt with a big sob.
“He’s not going away forever, Nell,” his mother had said. “He’s going to train his skills so he’ll be a good First Lord.”
I went in for my second cataract surgery yesterday. I had the first cataract removed a month ago, which helped quite a bit in the reading department. I’m hoping this one goes just as well. It’s nice to be able to read labels in the store, newspapers, magazines, and print books again.
Thinking about the same thing yourself?
Don’t sweat it!
The surgeon at Gainesville Eye Associates does laser surgery. It’s quick, and virtually painless. From the time I went in until I was back in the car was about an hour and a half. And that included the post surugery check up. What takes most of the time is getting your eye dilated, IV hooked up, and all the things you need to do before you reach the OR. The surgery itself takes about ten minutes.
Ten minutes?
Yep. That’s it. I will have eye drops to put in several times a day for a month, but that’s no biggie. And for the first few days, my vision will be a little blurry as everything heals. But the results will give me vision like I haven’t had in years.
So what’s happening in my writing world?
I’m still working to finish Gregor Thayne. Too Many Talents should be about through editing, and a few other things are in various stages of editing.
So this weekend, reach out and take home a little magic!
Master of the Fleet will be on sale at Smashwords for only $0.99 this weekend.
So reach for the magic, settle into a comfy chair, and visit the Cote d’Or!
My favorite time of year. The summer heat is beginning to ease off and the winter chill hasn’t set in yet. Of course, that’s not so much a problem here in the Southeast. While it gets chilly here, and sometimes down in the teens in the deepest part of winter, there’s nothing sub-zero.
Growing up in farm country up North, autumn was harvest time. All the late fruits and vegetables were coming in and the walnuts were falling off the tree. And I dearly love black walnuts…
Yes, they are a pain to get out of the shells, and the husks are just as bad. So what we did was rake the fallen nuts into the driveway. As the heavy equipment ran them over, it tore the husks off the walnuts for us. Of course, we still had to get the shells off, but that’s why there are hammers and small anvils…
Dried apples were always one of my favorites, with thoughts of pies made later in the winter full of cinnamon. Of course, I love to eat apples any time and our family could go through a bushel of apples in a couple weeks.
And the scenery was beautiful, with the leaves turning bright fiery red and orange, with splashes of gold amongst the others. Of course, as kids, raking up a huge pile of leaves to dive into was always fun. I’m not sure our parents appreciated it, but we had a blast.
It was also time to unpack the sweaters for the cooler temperatures, and I love sweaters and knits of all kinds. So when the temperatures began to drop, I was ready to dig back into the closet for my winter clothes and find my favorite knits to wear.
We always went to the county fair, which came around in September where we lived. Dad always went through the cattle and stock barns. Mom wanted to look at the cooking and canning items on display. And of course my sister and I went for the snacks and rides. It was a once a year family thing we all enjoyed.
Some of this love of autumn comes out in my writing. In Esperance, you’ll find fall festival gathers, with all the excitement I loved at the fairs. I also write about spring gathers. Couples form during the gathers, old friendships are renewed, new friendships are born. Gathers are a special time of year to celebrate the abundance of the harvest.
Haven’t read the books from Esperance? They’re all available at Amazon and Smashwords, as well as most other major book sellers. Watch for the next book to be released later this year–Too Many Talents.
Too Many Talents continues the story of Viviane and Jareth, while bringing in the story of the new heir of Belfort–a little boy of ten and a half years old named Connell. He’s having some of the same troubles as his Aunt Viviane as he tries to develop the Talents he’ll need to become First Lord.And he’s not happy about the whole affair, especially when his old friends come to see him at the gather.
Anyway, check out the Esperance Series and watch for Too Many Talents.
I don’t know about you, but it has been crazy around here since I last visited with you. I’m not sure what all has been going on, but we’ve been super busy and away from the house.
But I have done some writing, so don’t worry. And some editing, mainly on Whiskey Jug Genie. That Bubba is a character for sure.
And writing? Mainly on Unwilling Soulmates. All Trevor wanted to do was his job after he’d been transferred to Soeranza. And everything would have been fine except for Theresa, or Ms. Langley as she insisted he call her. From there first meeting, before he’d said more than hello, she’d had it in for him, and no one knew why.
Theresa was irritated. Of all the people on Gambler’s Folly, why did she get stuck with this rich kid on her team? What do you do when you can’t stand a person and Mother Nature decides he’s it? Granted, the reason you don’t like him has nothing to do with him personally. It’s his background–the whole wealthy class thing–you can’t stand. A couple incidents in your past have poisoned your mind against rich kids playing cop, as you see it. And you’re not having any of it.
And Mother Nature means business, going so far as to have her look him up over the weekend and issue her mating challenge. But when she wakes up in the morning and realizes what she’s done, she has no idea where to go from there. Someone must have a way to reverse the bonding process, mustn’t they?
Where will it all end? Who knows? But we’re working on it.
Have you read the other books in the Gambler’s Folly Series? If not, go ahead and catch up while you wait for the next book in the series to come out. The first book, Gambler’s Folly, sets the scene on Gambler’s Folly. Book 2, Dante’s Angel, follows our first couple to Earth, where another match is formed. And Book 3, The Russian, brings a new love to a 500 year old wolf shifter who has hunted alone since his soulmate died 200 years ago.
What else is going on? Still working on Gregor Thayne forEsperance. And of course, editing on Whiskey Jug Genie, which will be published as Sultonna Nadine.
Gregor Thayne will bring in new characters and romance, as well as advance the overall story of Esperance with it’s trials and tribulations from the previous books. We reconnect with Jareth and Viviane, as well as other First Lord’s from the first two books.
Whiskey Jug Genie is a lighthearted tale with a hint of magic and romance. Picturea young Englishman touring the Southeastern United States. A collector of antique bottles and jugs, he finds an old whiskey jug which would be perfect for his apothecary shop in London.
Imagine his surprise when he cleans it and pulls the stopper and a redneck genie appears, having been trapped in the jug for two hundred years. And for many years before that, he’d been in the American south and picked up a lot of country along the way. Bound to the jug by a curse, our Englishman now finds himself stuck with this character, who is so out of touch with the modern world, he sees everything from the refrigerator to mobile phones as magic.
It’s the first day of May today. I believe spring may be here to stay this time, even though it did get down into the high 40’s last night. I think they’re predicting a high today of around 85.
So what’s happening in your world today? I’m thinking about taking my walk early to avoid the heat this afternoon. I’ve never gotten along well with heat, so I try to do all my outside work early in the morning before the sun gets too high in the sky.
I’ve nearly wrapped up Lady Calloway. Yes, I know, but life has a way of getting complicated. And after this one is wrapped, I really need to get finished with a half-finished book in the Esperance series. This one will come after Ben of Blackstone’s Forge, which will be Book 5 in the series and is in a second round of edits.
Gregor is the heir of Clan Rowan. In his younger days, angry with his father, he left the family home and went to the other side of the clan to join the guard. To further distance himself, he took his mother’s maiden name. When he and his father finally reconciled, he agreed to come back and take up his place once again, but chose to keep his mother’s family name. Gregor Thayne–Heir of Rowan brings in a new cast of characters to join those already in the series.
And Ben of Blackstone’s Forge? This is another story inset into the story, a vignette of Ben Blackstone, son of the local blacksmith. Now a journeyman smith, working on becoming a master, Ben inherited his father’s Talent with iron. Though his father keeps hinting it’s time for him to marry, the one girl he’d always thought would be his seems out of reach. Tired of waiting for him to come around, his father arranges a marriage for him. Can he and his new wife find a happily ever after?
Watch for Too Many Talents later this year. And wish me luck on wrapping Lady Calloway and finishing Gregor Thayne.
Here it is Friday again, and here I am back at my desk, getting ready to do some writing.
But what do I have on the table once Lady Calloway is out of the way?
Several things come to mind… The first one is the first book I ever wrote, which I call Mistaken Identity, which will be from Sultonna Nadine. It is no where near to being ready to publish, and my editor is going to have a job. As it was the first, there is a lot to weed out, but once it’s ready, it will be a great story.
This is another book which came to me in a dream and wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it down. And as I wrote each bit down, another bit would show up. Putting the pieces together was the trick, since the bits weren’t necessarily in order.
Where does this piece belong?
How did we get here in the first place.
And where do we go from here?
In this story we have a young woman, who is a martial artist as well as a piano instructor who is mistaken for someone she’s not. Taken to a world hostile to her own, she finds she will be forced to stay and put to work as a servant wherever the state chooses.
But what they decide will risk her life, as well as the lives of others, in a bid to save both their worlds.
The next one that comes to mind is Whiskey Jug Genie, a book from Sultonna Nadine. It will be ready much faster and is more about magic than romance, though there is a bit of romance mixed in. Set in London, this features a young apothecary owner who finds an old whiskey jug while touring the American Southeast. Imagine his surprise when he opens it up and a red-neck genie appears.
That’s when the trouble begins. It seems anyone with sufficient magical ability can sense his presence, and someone is determined to steal the jug and the genie.
From Esperance, after Too Many Talents, we will have Ben of Blackstone’s Forge. The girl Ben has always thought would be his suddenly turns an icily cold shoulder to him when he comes back from completely his training for Journeyman and nobody can tell him why. But his father wants to see him married, and her father needs for her to marry so her sisters can make plans for their futures. So the two men arrange a marriage for the two of them, turning their world upside down.
And from Gambler’s Folly, we’ll be meeting the characters in Old Flame. They first met thirty years ago at university and haven’t spoken since graduation. Her world is in the East, near the Cherokee National Forest. He’s from Texas, but has based his business out of Northern California. Meeting just before they both catch the shuttle for Gambler’s Folly, a spark which had been missing between them at uni begins to blossom. And it turns out they share a common enemy.
So, that’s what’s happening in this writer’s life. If you have any questions about what I’m working on or something I’ve written, drop me a line in the comments.
After dragging her feet for the longest time, summer arrived in a rush. Last week the temperatures around here were in the 60’s, but today the prediction is for up around 90.
I’m not sure I was quite ready for such a jump, though the tomatoes and herbs will be basking in the heat.
With the first draft of Whiskey Jug Genie tucked away for a bit, I’ve pulled out the next book in the Esperance Series. It is completely written, but needs editing. And it has sat there in its folder long enough to give me the distance I need to view it more objectively.
Where does Talents fit into the story?
Right afterViviane, First Lady finished. While Morgan is Book 3, it is more of an inset into the timeline, a vignette of one particular character and her life. Talents continues the original story of Viviane and Jareth, and pickes up the trials and tribulations of Connell, the new heir of Clan Belfort.
As a little boy of almost eleven, he is overwhelmed by the changes in his life. Moving to live with his grandfather and grandmother–First Lord and Lady of the clan, he leaves behind his lifelong home, his friends, and even his family for now.
He’s not overly fond of working on his Talents either, but finds a friend in his Aunt Viviane, even if her husband scares him silly.
Not sure when this will be ready to be published, but I’ll keep you posted.
Not mine, particularly, but our daughter’s. The last of the grandsons has gone to Ft. Benning today to join his brother in the army. So now all of her kids are out of the house.
She’s not completely alone. Her husband’s two kids are still at home, but it’s not quite the same.
Working on my promotions today and thought I’d give you a heads up. I decided to give Author Uproar a shot. A couple of my friends recommended it, so I thought I’d give it a go.
So if you online and want to give me a boost, go over to my author page, give it a like, and maybe share some of my books to your social media.
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