Merry Christmas

So on this eve of a special night, while we're all running around like crazy people planning for a day of chaos. I hope peace and serenity find you all.  I hope everyone has an amazing day tomorrow, filled with fun, laughter, and those who are important to you.  My prayers go out to all of you who are not where you want to be for Christmas, that soon you will be!  God bless our troops that are far from home.

Finding my way to the world of ePublishing

I 've read several blogs with people telling their story of how they started out.  I really don't think my story is nearly as intriguing as theirs, but to my surprise I guess I do have  some information that  at least a few people wanted. 

I've debated writing this blog.  I don't have the extensive background in writing that most of the people I follow, nor the years of experience.  However, as of recently I have met several people who are on the same struggling journey that I am traveling.   They've written a book or know someone who has, but they (or their friend) don't know what to do next.  The fact that I've only published one book so far is irrelevant, they wanted to know what I knew.  So I tell them what I had learned, and watch the fire ignite in their eyes  as they can now see the possibility of getting their book published is so tangible.  Well, that was inspiration enough for me.  I can write this blog today, and even if most find it boring,  some, who are just as confused as I was, will stumble upon it, allowing them to find the help they are looking for.  

 When I looked into how to publish a book everything I found gave the same advise.   Write a great story (Check, did that), revise and edit (Check, did that), revise and edit again and again and again and....(Check, did that too).  Find a publisher (Um... okay).  The directions I found were as follows: Find publisher names.  I went to the book store and looked for publishers who published books of the same genre (or what I thought was my genre), wrote the names down, went home, and started researching how to get my manuscript to them.  Each company said I needed a literary agent.  I said, "A what?"  (I quickly learned that I needed to find someone who had ins to these publishers).  Of course, my next question was, "How do I find one?"   Lord knows that the scam artists feed on people with dreams.

I hit a wall.  I knew no one who new the answer to that question.  Most people would ask my first question.  (That at least made me feel better.)  I had only found one place that would take a manuscript from me.  And of course there was a catch.  I could not send my manuscript anywhere else until I heard from them (about 4 months).  Okay, control what?!  Needless to say, I became very discouraged. 

Sometimes venting to your friends works in your favor (well it did for me).   A couple of my friends began talking to me about epublishing, and they continued to talk about ebooks just about every time they saw me.  I hadn't thought about epublishing, I knew nothing about it, and I was very skeptical.  Then one of my friends sent me an article about  Amanda Hockings.(Click here for the article)   It was a Godsend, the inspiration to know that it was possible.   She was writing because she loved it, same as me.  More importantly, she was someone who could help guide me to answers, which  re-energized my belief in my dream.  Just knowing that there was a market that would allow for a nobody like me to take a chance and publish a great story, was a rush!  

I of course looked to see if she had a page on Facebook, which in turn, led me to her blog.   I was in total awe and a bit intimidated.  She is an amazing writer.  I was instantly drawn in.   She opened doors that I hadn't even thought of.  And instead of feeling discouraged at all she had accomplished, I was filled with excitement.    I read through her advise and followed the links that led me to more information that I was now very hungry for.   I knew research was important, but I had been looking in all the wrong places.   Finally, a window had been opened.

If your struggling with why epublish, here are a couple of links that I loved: Amanda Hockings on Indie vs. Traditional.    I would also highly recommend checking out Joe Konrath's blog A Newbies Guide To Publishing.  His site is stock full of useful information.   His recent blog for December 7, 2011 is awesome, full of great defense for epublishing, and entertaining (it might just be me though, but I like his blog for that reason).   He is a strong advocate for the Indie writer.  Once you've read your fill, or, if you're more like me (sure that I won't ever get my fill), and you feel more confident about jumping in, take a look at Smashwords.  Mark Coker is a genius.

So this is where I started:  A name of a author who made her dreams come true, an author who wants Newbies to succeed, and a website that not only shows you how to format your manuscript for e-reading, but will also distribute it to online retailers. 

If you like the idea of traditional publishers on the basis of Marketing (read the links above).  There seems to be a lot of opinions about marketing, here are two opinions that I had to agree with: rethinking book marketing, by Mark Coker, and of course the blog by Joe Konrath that I mentioned earlier.  

Oh, and one more thing an article I read last February on the rise of eReading devices, talked about how many people own an eReading device.   It said that it had surpassed 7 million. I suspect its much higher now... and especially after this Christmas.

Good Luck!

A new story

I cannot believe it is December already.  November was a blur.  I have been working diligently on a book that I am hoping to get out a few months after Taken, book 2, is released.   However, one thing I've learned is that my timeline is not always reality.  The reality is I want to write a story that you will love as much as I do, which means I want to make sure you can see what I do.  

So, the run down as of right now looks like this:

Taken book one is out, Taken book 2 is almost ready to be released and I have more stories coming.  I am currently working on three other stories.   Does this mean that the story of Ava and Gabriel is over?   No, I just have a few other stories that I am excited to get out to you.

The next story is in, what I hope to be, its last edits and revisions, and should be following on the heals of Blades of the Ytinu Srebas.   The other two stories are not quite this close to done.  BUT, if you enjoyed Taken, then I am sure you'll like what's next.

This time you will see the story through Karissa's eyes.   She is a no nonsense, very focused alien that believes that there is always a way to get a task accomplished.  Karissa is one of many daughters serving Omatha - the most feared female in the galaxy.  Life is not easy for Karissa.  After all, she is not nearly as beautiful as Omatha, or her sisters .   Karissa is sent to a planet that she detests from the moment she awakens.    Omatha has sent Karissa to obtain a gift that seems to be too difficult for her sisters to acquire, as usual.  Only this time,  the adventure takes her through uncharted territory.

Taken Marks of the Satrii ~~ Chapter 2

I thought just for fun that I would post a page for Chapter 2 (it's on the left under the Cover Art and Chapter One).  It's a great chapter and introduces a few more characters!  Smashwords.com has the first 30pages to view for free!  Taken: Marks of the Satrii  title at the top of this page is a link that will take you to the page that smashwords is selling my book,  if you'd like to take a look!  This book is also selling at ibooks, Barnes&Nobles, and Diesel. And should soon be at Sony, Amazon, and Kobo.   Very exciting stuff! 

Anyways, enjoy Chapter 2!

Babbling

"Dreams and Dedication are a powerful Combination" -- William Longgood

I  read Stephen King's, On Writing, and one of the many things that stood out to me (which is probably because I already do it - just thought it was a bad thing) was: write the story for you and then go back and write for the reader.  I was never an outline girl - once again a show of what meant that I couldn't write (grr...).  I like to write down the story and then read and fix.  I write the story as I see it in my head and then revise it (a few/several times) to make sure that everyone else can see what I see.  Of course, I still have to take a deep breath before I hand it off to someone else.  I say a deep breath because fear is a wretched thing.  I love the story of Taken, but I, perhaps, am biased.  I handed the 300page story to a couple of people that would just be proud of me writing 300 pages before I handed it to someone who would honestly care about telling me the truth even if I didn't want to hear it.  Which again I am blessed to have those people in my life, because they pointed out the areas that needed more clarity.  Taken took about 4 months to get the guts out.  I wanted to believe that it was ready then, but with it being my first book it was far from over (lesson learned and now appreciated).  I worked diligently at it as often as I could, believing that maybe, just maybe, I had potential.    I now know that having belief and the courage to try is awfully powerful.  The quote above shows that I'm not the only one who has learned this.  My biggest obstical is myself, but with this knowledge I know to remind myself that if I can read the book a hundred times and still get lost in the story, someone else is going to enjoy it too.  So what if some people don't like what I write (everyone is a critic), at least I was able to defeat my insecurites and share a world that other people have already fell in love with. 

Ahg... a knock at the door and train of thought lost.

I CAN write!

You can't write.  Where's the effort.  My papers came back bleeding from all the red ink that my teacher's had used.  I remember thinking why even try.   I threw out all my stories that I had written, stored away all my poems, and tried to figure out what I was going to do when I grew up.   I sometimes wonder if someone would have said, "we need to work on your grammar because you've got talent", if I would have stuck with my aspirations to be a writer.  Oh well, what ifs don't work in the life of today. 

Today, is where the story is - where the dream came alive - and no one is going to tell me otherwise.  It did help that I actually have people wanting me to succeed this time.  It's definitely nice to have a cheering section (even if it's just one person).  Especially for those days when my past tries to hold me down, and the whispers that built my insecurity feel like hurricane strength winds pushing against me.  

My cheering section started with a ten year old boy that was so excited about me writing a book that he imagined me famous before the idea ever settled into my head that maybe I could be a writer of something that anyone else would want to read.  This boy, now twelve, read my first book in two days and with excitement said "you need to write more."   My family and friends are doing their part to not let the strength of my dream falter in me. 

I used to be told "You can't write", and now I'm told "This is great!  I can't wait to read more!"  I used to be worried that people were just saying that because they couldn't believe that I wrote it, but then I realized that they were being honest - I really could write a great story.   And now, for the last  two years, instead of writing  just for me because I believe that no one will like it anyways, I wrote for everyone because I know that people enjoy a great story.   For the last two years I have begun several stories.  One is published, one is just about ready, another is close, and several more just need my undivided attention. 

I can write great stories!   

Taken: Marks of the Satrii

Taken: Marks of the Satrii is now epublished at Smashwords where you can find my book available in multiple ebook formats, including Epub(for Apple, Nook, Sony Reader, Adobe Digital Reader) and Kindle! If you don't have an Ebook reader don't worry, you can download apps to your computer at either: http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ (For Adobe Digital Reader) or http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311 (for Kindle).

I have added the link to my book at the top of this blog! I hope you enjoy the rest of the book as much as I did writing it! Feel free to let me know what you think!

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do." --Sarah Ban Breathnach

I am proud to be a dreamer and a doer!  I thank the Lord for giving me the ability to write - for allowing my inspiration to be over-flowing.   I had been praying and looking back I think he had been trying to talk to me for a while I just wasn't listening - or more honestly I wasn't willing to believe it was even a possibility.   I remember waking up one morning, and feeling compelled to write about a dream that I just had.  I was reluctant, but the thought was persistent.   Once I sat down to write though, it became an obsession.  The story just flowed from my mind - I really couldn't stop the ideas.   As the story began to grow, it ended up nothing like what I had dreamt.

Writing Taken was inspiration in itself.    The idea may have came from a dream I had while I was sleeping, but it became the dream that I had always had for myself.   Not just to actually publish a book, but to be able to write a story that captivates people and keeps them turning the page.  I wanted to write a story that when the last page is read, the reader says I hope she writes another. 

Listen to your heart.

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” -- Steve Jobs

 I am so glad that I listened to my inner voice (the Spirit that lives in me)!  It rescued me from the darkness that I had allowed myself to be swallowed by, to fight against the insecurity that others had instilled in me about my writing, and now I'll be sharing Taken with you in less than a week - not to mention, I have a few more stories that I'll be sharing in the near future!  The quote above grabbed my attention and I had to share it with you.   It is the perfect motto for living your dream!

Taken Marks of the Satrii: Chapter 1

Less than 2 weeks left!  I am very excited about epublishing my first book.  Here is a sneak peek at Taken: Marks of the Satrii.  To the left I have included a page which has the first chapter of my book.  For those of you who haven't been on a blog just click on Taken:Marks of the Satrii underneath the Cover picture.

A story develops

Ava's day started out just like every other.  She had no idea that when her best friend, Ashley, told her they were going out for a "girl's night" that her very normal life was about to take a turn that she never saw coming.   She runs to the woods to escape the reality that she doesn't want to face, only to be hunted by shadows that shouldn't be there.

An idea arises

Did you ever have one of those days?   Everything seems normal, until what should have been kismet becomes more than you can handle.  You run to the one place that always calms your soul only to begin the biggest adventure your normal life never dreamed of, taking you beyond the the world you know, and causing you to become more than you believed was possible.

And so it begins...

A dream is a perfect way to realize that what the heart desires can be accomplished, especially when these desires are surround by a thick fog of insecurity.   My dream didn't make sense - even to me, but I sat in front of a computer almost everyday and wrote two 300+ page stories while dabbling with a few other ideas.  

A dream is the perfect insturment to promote courage - to help you look fear in the face and say I'm going to do this anyways.   My friends say start a blog, you love to write!   I continuously said, what if...

However, I have a dream that is bigger than my fear.   So, here I am - starting my first blog because I had a dream that became a story and I am almost ready to share my dream with the world.