Tag Archives: e-book

September 15, 2012 · 10:41 pm

REVIEW: Save My Soul

I just finished reading Save My Soul by K.S. Haigwood.  WARNING… there may be spoilers ahead…

http://www.amazon.com/Save-My-Soul-ebook/dp/B007LB76A8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1347746654&sr=1-1&keywords=save+my+soul

This is a story of one woman’s struggle to save her own soul by saving someone else’s soul. That someone happens to be her soulmate, but she doesn’t know that yet.  The action starts right away when Kendra makes a deal to save Adam’s soul, but she was tricked. If she doesn’t succeed, she loses her own soul.  Wow… throw in a guardian angel to help and a guardian demon to mess it all up and you have a thrilling, hot roller coaster romance.   The only thing that was difficult at all was that this Kendra seemed to have multiple men falling at her feet. While that seemed a bit far-fetched, it wasn’t impossible and also the rest of the plot wouldn’t have worked without it.  It wasn’t too hard to swallow, and not everyone in the story was on her side, so it was good.  The characters were interesting and each one’s personality came through. It was well written and once I got into the zone, I didn’t stop reading until my kindle died!

It was worth the read.

Leave a comment

Filed under characters, creative, para normal, Uncategorized, urban fantasy, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

June 18, 2012 · 7:32 pm

50 Shades of what?

I just read a blog on how well the “50 Shades of Gray” books are faring… very well I might add.  http://thatfantasyblog.com/2012/06/18/erotic-book-beats-potter-to-be-fastest-selling-paperback/

After reading this blog and spending the last two weeks hearing about the Gray book from all of my friends and co-workers who just HAD to read it, I’m wondering what it says for all of us struggling writers. Is it hope? Is it frustration? Jealousy? Inspiration?  Do we have to write smut books (or mummy porn as the other blog says) in order to get our books to sell? [not that there is anything wrong with that – a lot of my all time favorite books are smutty and favorite authors write them]  Aside of the sex and the curiosity factor, why has this book done so well?

Ok – I have not read the book. I don’t know if it is well written, if it is intriguing, if it is complete crap, or what. I have to think if it sold 100,000 last week alone that it can’t be all crap. There has to be something more than sex here.  Is it timing/luck/well written and a bit of elbow grease all rolled into one mega-success-pack?

Don’t you just love blogs that ask all the questions, but don’t provide any answers?

I don’t have any.  If I did, I would have written and published a 50 Shades of Book Sells already myself!

1 Comment

Filed under agent, authors, creative, e-book, fiction, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 24, 2012 · 6:49 pm

Coming soon…

Selena is excited to have an entire summer in the Wolf Game. Shifting into the red wolf is only the beginning. She is positioned for greatness and she is ready to do whatever she has to in order to take control of the pack. But when everyone forgets it’s just a game, the stakes grow higher and higher. Who’s strong enough to save the pack? Who will be willing to walk away? Who’s going to survive? Wolf Games – coming soon!

I’m planning on publishing this next month, so I hope you’ll be looking for it!!   Wolf Games!

2 Comments

Filed under authors, characters, creative, dark fantasy, e-book, fiction, fun, games, Uncategorized, urban fantasy, wolf, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 18, 2012 · 2:43 am

Beta-reading Bliss!

Here’s part 2 of Facebook Lives… I just finished beta-reading a novel by another one of the Authors Critique Group writers. He is also in the process of beta-reading my novel, Summer Blood. I can’t wait for the feedback! In the meantime, I thought I should write a bit about his story.

It was an inventive look at wizards called Foundling Wizard. The first in a 3 part series, I believe. The author is James Eggebeen. James is a software designer from San Diego, California who has turned to designing books.

Foundling Wizard, to be released soon, is about a young wizard’s journey and how he learns and grows. He not only learns to use his powers, but also learns about life and responsibility. The journey is exciting and fraught with danger. The wizard comes to know himself and others in his journey, and yes, he has a mentor, a snarky old wizard that doesn’t always tell him everything he needs to know.

I also got a sneak-peek at the book cover which is startlingly beautiful. With the great cover and fresh writing, Foundling Wizard stands to be a success, so keep your eyes out for it!

For more on Foundling Wizard: http://www.jameseggebeen.com/

Follow James Eggebeen at:  @JamesEggebeen

1 Comment

Filed under authors, characters, creative, e-book, fiction, names, review, tweet, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 10, 2012 · 7:22 pm

Facebook Lives!

I had all but given up on Facebook. I don’t like the changes they made and I was beginning to think it was useless. Perhaps I felt like it just wasn’t moving fast enough. Twitter is like Facebook on steroids – right!!~?!@?  So, I was hardly ever on Facebook and when I was on, I just checked on family and close friends, which is great, but I like to use my on-line time to network with other writers and to try to promote my own writing. So, Facebook was feeling pretty dead for me. But, the salvation was right before my eyes! Woot!

Do I sound excited? Well, I got very excited when I realized that one of my Twitter friends, Patti Roberts, was hosting a Facebook page for writers. So, I checked it out.  So glad I did! Patti and another writer, Lenore Wolfe, do a fabulous job on this awesome site:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/ParaYourAbnormalAuthors/

This is an Authors Critique Group where authors can help each other. The object is stated as: “We’re trying to catch typos, plot holes, all the things that readers pick up on.” 

What a great way to share your work and get help from others doing the same thing. I really needed this and hope I can get some great advice. 

The other great thing about this is that spending time reviewing the work of others helps writers review their own work. I know from past experience that my work improves when I’m regularly critiquing others. I used to belong to another online group www.critters.org.  This is still an active site, and I’m sure it is fabulous. I just never had enough time to do enough reviews to keep my ratings up high enough long enough to get my work reviewed (yeah – that is a mouthful).  They have too many writers now so it takes forever to get your work up in the queue and meanwhile, you have to keep your review rate up. It became too much work for too little pay back for me. But, the advice I received was fabulous, and the reviews I did helped me as well. So, if you have the time, this is a great group.

Patti and Lenore’s group is a lot more loosely based and relies on reciprocity of the writers. So, I’m in… I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/lenore.wolfe1

http://www.facebook.com/#!/PattiParadox

Leave a comment

Filed under agent, authors, characters, creative, e-book, fiction, fun, inspiration, review, school, short story, tweet, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 1, 2012 · 2:27 am

Are you relevant?

Apparently, I’m not. What?! How can that be, you ask! Well, I have no idea. How does someone just starting out become relevant? Further, don’t you lose your relevance if you are trying to be relevant? That’s like an oxymoron or something, right?!

I think that I’d much rather write what interests me, than to try to be something I’m not. If I cross the line over to relevant somewhere along the way, good on me! If not, I’m not sure I’m going to be overly concerned. Afterall, I think there are a lot of people out there like me that want to be entertained or read something they are interested in, maybe check out a new perspective, and I don’t think they are concerned about whether it’s relevant.

If you’re looking for relevant, maybe check out some political sites. I’m going more for, uh, you know…  fun!

1 Comment

Filed under agent, authors, characters, creative, fun, inspiration, political, review, technology, tweet, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 19, 2012 · 2:16 am

I did it… OMG!

After so many hours of searching online for the perfect writing program… hours and hours! I finally settled on the program I wanted to do AND applied for it. I officially applied for the MA degree in creative writing online at the Southern New Hampshire University!

I’m really excited. I have everything completed that I need, and now I have to wait. I’ve done my FAFSA, submitted my writing samples, and requested my transcripts. Now, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!

I haven’t been in school for a while, but I love writing and I’m hoping that this program will help me improve my writing and maybe help me move my career in a more creative direction.

I’ve been unsure of what I wanted to do for a while now. I’ve been sitting in a crossroads, if you will. I could move forward with pursuing my doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (sound interesting, huh?)… OR… writing. I’ve been leaning towards the writing. I think it was just a matter of finding the right program. I think this is a good one!

http://www.snhu.edu/English-and-Creative-Writing-Fiction-MA.asp

Once I finish this, I’ll have three Masters degrees ~wild, huh?!?! Well, maybe I’ll consider a doctorate afterwards, but right now my life is all about writing, and this program will be a good boost in the right direction. Woot!

Ya’ll cross your fingers for me too!!

4 Comments

Filed under authors, creative, e-book, inspiration, review, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 5, 2012 · 6:15 pm

Who are you?

One of the most frustrating things I’m facing in my writing journey is naming my characters. I want the names to fit the character. Some times it comes to me quickly during my outlining stages. At other times, I’m frustrated.  The perfect name doesn’t want to come to me. I think this happens when I’m trying to write the story quicker than my brain wants to process.

In any event, here is a link to a blog with five tips for picking names. They are really good pointers to keep in mind:

http://voices.yahoo.com/five-tips-naming-characters-fiction-228710.html

Here is a slightly different take on naming that is entertaining to read. This one uses some great examples to emphasise important points and perhaps some inspiration can be gleaned:

http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/write18.htm

Finally, Writing World offers these tips. I particularly like the one about not using names that end in S. Also, there are some good points about considering how your character might translate on the back cover.

http://www.writing-world.com/romance/names.shtml

This last article also spells out some differences in naming in genre stories. I think that is important. I tend to write dark fantasy or urban fantasy and some of it is futuristic. You can have a lot more leeway in naming, but if the name is too far out, it isn’t effective within the story. There is a purpose to a name and whether the story is in modern-day real life setting or a futuristic alternate universe or another planet, it has to work in the story.

Ultimately, I want a name that fits the character, flows well, doesn’t end in S, and is just otherwise perfect for the story.

Yeah… easier said than done.  Time to put on my thinking cap and get creative.

4 Comments

Filed under authors, characters, creative, dark fantasy, e-book, fiction, horror, inspiration, names, sci-fi, short story, urban fantasy, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 28, 2012 · 10:51 pm

Integration?

Part of this new writing experiment I’ve been conducting this past year, is marketing myself and mywriting. So, I have this blog, a website, a Twitter Account, and a Facebook account. I’ve tried to give them all the same look/feel for consistency and branding. My problem is they don’t all look/feel the same and they don’t really represent my brand. I have the right ideas, but my execution is less than average.

In addition to all of that, I’m going to be shopping my new novel around to agents very soon, and I’d like to have a website and web presence that represents the novel. So, I need changes. Who knew there was so much to all this?

I just want to write stories…

Well, those days are over. Even if I get a decent book deal, I’m not kidding myself into thinking that I’m going to have much, if any, help in promoting it. So, I better start figuring out how I want to do this.

Suggestions? 

Here is what I know:

  1. It has to be dark, because I’m writing horror.
  2. It has to be original, or I won’t be taken seriously
  3. It has to look professional, see #2 above
  4. It has to represent my writing, see #1 and #2 above
  5. All my sites should look and feel the same (i.e. integration), again #2 above

I also know that it is important to build a following for my writing. As writers, we have to have people read our stories, or what’s the point. The internet can be an excellent tool for this. Now more than ever we have to opportunity to really reach out to the entire world like never before. So, I want to make sure I reach out in a manner that is consistent with my 5 rules above.

Here’s a site that seems to have really good ideas about linking your sites and promoting your work:  http://marketingforwriters.com/ The article mentions listing your blog/newsletter at online directories, but it didn’t provide any links to said directories. But, the ideas in the article make sense.

This one: http://www.marketingforwriters.org/ seems to have some great tools and articles.  There are marketing techniques, articles on using promotional items, and how to articles including a great one by Elizabeth Kirwin on How to Pitch a Story.

I’m happy there are so many great resources, but now I have tons more information to sort through – I have to integrate my resources before I can integrate my online presence!

1 Comment

Filed under authors, characters, creative, e-book, fiction, horror, review, short story, technology, tweet, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

January 20, 2012 · 1:33 am

Query This?!!?

With my novel, Summer Blood, finally finished and sitting with my Alpha-Readers, I’ve decided to write a query letter to send out to potential agents. So, what goes in a query letter? How do I capture the attention of a good agent when I know 50,000,000+ other writers are trying to do the same thing? I have to stand out somehow, right?!

So, I google’d it. Of course…. I found a decent website right away. Thanks Google!

http://www.writing-world.com/basics/query.shtml

This site says there are five points to a good query. They are as follows:

  • The hook
  • The pitch
  • The body
  • The credentials
  • The close

I think the hook is the most important. If you don’t grab the agents attention in the first two sentences, I think you’re screwed. RIGHT~?!~!?

So, what’s my hook?  According to the writing-world website there are many ways to grab the agent’s attention, and many ways not to.  The “don’t do this” section seems pretty common sense to me. So, what about the “do this” part? None of these really work for me. These seem to be good ideas for non-fiction writing. But, I get the idea.

Be real, be interesting, but don’t come across like every other ding-dong writer begging for attention.  Then, the right agent will pick me!

Here’s my first paragraph:

Stories like True Blood and Twilight have been breathing life into the old classics making vampires HOT right now. My adult novel, Summer Blood, takes some elements of the classic vampire stories and adds new twists. These vampires leave blood, violence, and sex in their wake, and readers that love that will also love Summer Blood.

Does that grab your attention?

6 Comments

Filed under agent, authors, creative, e-book, fiction, horror, query, sci-fi, short story, survey, tweet, Uncategorized, writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,