Today I am going through all my blogs and just doing a year in review. This particular blog has been a weird one. I have talked about everything from poetry, book reviews, hobbies to writing. I have even ranted on this particular blog. Hopefully during 2015 this bog will settle into a specific type blog like my others. I have my Suteko blog to ramble about writing, my Books by Lisa for cover reveals and excerpts, my cooking blog, my crafting blog and my photography blog. Never mind the ones i have done on storyEnet and LinkedIn...now those two will most likely stay about the technical aspects of my chosen craft but this blog? You never know.
A breakdown of the past year shows that I have done as follows
Rants 4
Writing comments 24
reviews 15
hobbies 4
Now to be honest I have started up a page over on Booklikes where I should be doing all my book reviews and I will go that way next year. I will mostly likely stick to my rants over here. Why rants you ask? Well see like any other person I do get HIGHLY annoyed by some things. The rants I have done have mostly about what got under my skin. So I may just do that. Stick to blogs about what gets under my skin.
I thank all of you who have read these blogs. Hopefully I can balance out hobbies (other than crafts) and rants about things here enough that you will not be turned off this blog.
If you are interested in reading my other blogs here are the links to them:
My food blog https://anewenglandcookincanada.wordpress.com/
My craft blog http://suteko.blog.com/
My excerpt blog https://booksbylisawilliamson.wordpress.com/
My main blog http://suteko.wordpress.com/
LinkedIn blog https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140626122129-184618682-writing-genre-fiction?published=t
Looks like StoryEnet is back up and running. Now finding me over there is a bit tricky. Here is a link to one of my pieces and you go from there
http://storyenet.com/readstory.php?storyid=437&category=Fantasy&catID=1&profile=372&writer=Lisa%20Williamson#.VKLTGcMA
My old Livejournal account I use for movie/anime/tv show and game reviews is here
http://suteko.livejournal.com/
And I have a Myspace account that I hope to use more over the next year to do reviews of music and audio books/poems. I have linked my readings of my own poetry there all ready
https://myspace.com/loralil
Happy New year to you all!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
This is not a hobby!
Lately I have read a lot of writers making disparaging comments about other writers who do not follow their model of the craft. Many so called writers/authors seem to believe that if you do not treat your craft as a job with set hours and goals of so much a day, that you don't do everything and anything in a set way to gain lots of fame and fortune then you area hobbyist and not a writer. Since when?
Writing fiction has always been the place that the storyteller, the bard or even the teacher exists. Those of us who are trying to sell our work are not all desiring to make a ridiculous amount of money. Many of us want readers. Yes we would like to be paid for our work, and I assure you even when you write short stories like I do, it is work but it is a passion, not a JOB.
A job is what you do to put food on the table, a roof over your head and clothing on your skin. While writing can fulfill those needs, there are much easier ways to do that. Writing is as easy as breathing and as hard as breathing can be. It is something you do because you have a story to tell inside you that needs to come out and no other way will work.
As a long time writer but a short time publisher, I know this well. I wrote things down for years that I never shared. It was not till my husband gently pushed me that I finally dove head first into publishing my work for money. And while I would love to sell thousands of copies of my tales each month, I know very well that it is a crapshoot. Most, if not all of the classics were only discovered by readers after years and years of languishing in obsurity.
Writing is like any other art or sport. Yes, everyone can write or sing or run or hit a ball, but it takes years to get good and it is more than likely you will never get out of the bush leagues. You may die unknown only to be discovered fifty years later and haled as a master of your craft.
The reason I comment about hobbies is this. A hobby is something you do for fun. Yes, you might be one of those who go a little off the deep end but a hobby is something you can put aside to do your job, to spend time with friends or family and it is just something you do for enjoyment. Writing, for most people, is not something you do for fun. You do it either in secret or out and proud because you must. You have tales in your head, yelling at you like demons to tell their tale.
How many hobbyists will spend hours researching some minor thing before going out and observing every person that walks by them for quirks? What in a normal person would be considered mentally unstable is what makes the best writers. We observe, research and develop. We do our best to make our characters real to the reader, our places seem like someplace you could visit if you had the money to and a passport to imagination. We then release those hours and hours of hard work and heart's blood like a parent letting go their beloved child to the wide world and hope that they make it.
Unlike the singer or the musician, artist or sculpture, we don't get instant feedback. We don't have fangirls singing our words or fanboys panting after us. (okay in most cases) We let go our babies and then we have to turn into pimps. We push our babies on anyone who is there and hope that someone will pick up that tale and read it and better yet love it enough to pick up our other babies. All the while we have to dive back into the maelstrom of our creative side and work on a new baby.
Unlike a job, we can't turn off our computer, lock up the office and go home to relax and have some diner. No, we are constantly taking in new things, listening to the tales our fictional children are saying and tell those tales.
Now this might be mostly because I write genre fiction. I am not sure those who write nonfiction have the same type of need to write. I know they are not expect to put out the same amount of work that a fiction writer is expected to. I know they are paid better, not expected to give away their work for the seething masses. I do give away my work from time to time in the hopes of garnering those precious reviews that are supposed to help the world find us and i can honestly say that of the thousands of copies of my tales that I gave away in the first year I published, only a few handful of reviews came in.
In nearly three years of publishing (and over thirty years of writing) I am slowly seeing an increase. My numbers are small enough that I have been accused of being a hobbyist. Of being not good, of needing to pay for people to make my work better. Yet those who do read my work enjoy it. By and large the majority of reviews of my work are four and five stars and respectful.
No, I am not looking at the reviews showing on Amazon for the anthologies I have been part of. Yes, I have one anthology on my list with almost forty reviews but that is for the whole book, not for my one tale in the book. While it is fun to be part of an anthology, I don't look to that as overall to my work but a place to get my name out there.
Yes, this is a long and rambling piece. When I get annoyed this can happen. Being told that if I don't do the Stephen King school of writing I must be a hobbyist is insulting and annoying to me. While Mr King is a god in his field, has made buckets of money and has the respect of many, he is NOT my hero. No, authors like Jo Clayton are. People who go along working on their tales in relative obscurity yet became known names are my heroes. Yes I would love to make enough money so my hubby doesn't have to work six days a week to support us but there are only so many places for writers to make that type of money and I do not write that type of tale.
Yes I could do the research into the hot genres and write formalistic tales of zombies, vampires and heaving bosoms but they would not be me. My tales are what they are. Filled with characters, dialog, descriptions and a tale that hopefully keeps the reader up till they finish it.
So what I am trying to say is don't call me a hobbyist! My hobbies are crocheting, watching fun movies, listening to odd music, trying to paint, photography, and just maybe soon sculpting. Writing for me is not a hobby. I can no more not write than I can not breathe. I will write, I will publish and I hope someday I will hit on a larger group of fans of my work. Call me a writer, call me an author but just don't call me a hobbyist.
Writing fiction has always been the place that the storyteller, the bard or even the teacher exists. Those of us who are trying to sell our work are not all desiring to make a ridiculous amount of money. Many of us want readers. Yes we would like to be paid for our work, and I assure you even when you write short stories like I do, it is work but it is a passion, not a JOB.
A job is what you do to put food on the table, a roof over your head and clothing on your skin. While writing can fulfill those needs, there are much easier ways to do that. Writing is as easy as breathing and as hard as breathing can be. It is something you do because you have a story to tell inside you that needs to come out and no other way will work.
As a long time writer but a short time publisher, I know this well. I wrote things down for years that I never shared. It was not till my husband gently pushed me that I finally dove head first into publishing my work for money. And while I would love to sell thousands of copies of my tales each month, I know very well that it is a crapshoot. Most, if not all of the classics were only discovered by readers after years and years of languishing in obsurity.
Writing is like any other art or sport. Yes, everyone can write or sing or run or hit a ball, but it takes years to get good and it is more than likely you will never get out of the bush leagues. You may die unknown only to be discovered fifty years later and haled as a master of your craft.
The reason I comment about hobbies is this. A hobby is something you do for fun. Yes, you might be one of those who go a little off the deep end but a hobby is something you can put aside to do your job, to spend time with friends or family and it is just something you do for enjoyment. Writing, for most people, is not something you do for fun. You do it either in secret or out and proud because you must. You have tales in your head, yelling at you like demons to tell their tale.
How many hobbyists will spend hours researching some minor thing before going out and observing every person that walks by them for quirks? What in a normal person would be considered mentally unstable is what makes the best writers. We observe, research and develop. We do our best to make our characters real to the reader, our places seem like someplace you could visit if you had the money to and a passport to imagination. We then release those hours and hours of hard work and heart's blood like a parent letting go their beloved child to the wide world and hope that they make it.
Unlike the singer or the musician, artist or sculpture, we don't get instant feedback. We don't have fangirls singing our words or fanboys panting after us. (okay in most cases) We let go our babies and then we have to turn into pimps. We push our babies on anyone who is there and hope that someone will pick up that tale and read it and better yet love it enough to pick up our other babies. All the while we have to dive back into the maelstrom of our creative side and work on a new baby.
Unlike a job, we can't turn off our computer, lock up the office and go home to relax and have some diner. No, we are constantly taking in new things, listening to the tales our fictional children are saying and tell those tales.
Now this might be mostly because I write genre fiction. I am not sure those who write nonfiction have the same type of need to write. I know they are not expect to put out the same amount of work that a fiction writer is expected to. I know they are paid better, not expected to give away their work for the seething masses. I do give away my work from time to time in the hopes of garnering those precious reviews that are supposed to help the world find us and i can honestly say that of the thousands of copies of my tales that I gave away in the first year I published, only a few handful of reviews came in.
In nearly three years of publishing (and over thirty years of writing) I am slowly seeing an increase. My numbers are small enough that I have been accused of being a hobbyist. Of being not good, of needing to pay for people to make my work better. Yet those who do read my work enjoy it. By and large the majority of reviews of my work are four and five stars and respectful.
No, I am not looking at the reviews showing on Amazon for the anthologies I have been part of. Yes, I have one anthology on my list with almost forty reviews but that is for the whole book, not for my one tale in the book. While it is fun to be part of an anthology, I don't look to that as overall to my work but a place to get my name out there.
Yes, this is a long and rambling piece. When I get annoyed this can happen. Being told that if I don't do the Stephen King school of writing I must be a hobbyist is insulting and annoying to me. While Mr King is a god in his field, has made buckets of money and has the respect of many, he is NOT my hero. No, authors like Jo Clayton are. People who go along working on their tales in relative obscurity yet became known names are my heroes. Yes I would love to make enough money so my hubby doesn't have to work six days a week to support us but there are only so many places for writers to make that type of money and I do not write that type of tale.
Yes I could do the research into the hot genres and write formalistic tales of zombies, vampires and heaving bosoms but they would not be me. My tales are what they are. Filled with characters, dialog, descriptions and a tale that hopefully keeps the reader up till they finish it.
So what I am trying to say is don't call me a hobbyist! My hobbies are crocheting, watching fun movies, listening to odd music, trying to paint, photography, and just maybe soon sculpting. Writing for me is not a hobby. I can no more not write than I can not breathe. I will write, I will publish and I hope someday I will hit on a larger group of fans of my work. Call me a writer, call me an author but just don't call me a hobbyist.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Hey look my book is up on a new place!
I spotted a site that was doing a sale on a month of marketing. $1.99 and they would market my newest novel, Escape. So I thought why not try it? I will let all you readers (I know there are a few of you out there) how it goes. Here is the link
http://www.discoveredpages.com/misc-books
http://www.discoveredpages.com/misc-books
Do you like audio books?
Well do you? Today I will be posting more than once all over but I thought I would be a good author type and put in a link to PaperCrane Books audio blog. She was kind enough to put up the first two chapters of my novel, Escape and I thought it only fair that I post up the others that she puts up. So here is a link to the second in her series
http://papercranebooks.com/2014/12/01/episode-3-no-grits-no-glory-by-elaine-calloway-pg-13/
Enjoy my friendly followers!
http://papercranebooks.com/2014/12/01/episode-3-no-grits-no-glory-by-elaine-calloway-pg-13/
Enjoy my friendly followers!
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Why is Peter Pan always played by a woman?
Now not that I have a problem with women playing male roles, because I don't. I believe the best person for the role should be given the role. But today I was watching tv and up came a bit about the new live action Peter Pan that will be broadcast next month. And like it seems normal, there is a woman playing the boy who never grows up.
Now I can see why they want a woman. We are smaller, lighter, etc but really why not hire one of those men who are just that? There are a lot of men who are small and light and have high tenor voices. Are we not casting them because they have five o'clock shadows? Because they have a telltale bulge or Adam's apple? Really?
If you do a bit of research you will see that almost every time Peter has been cast with a woman in the role. Now I can understand doing that twenty five or fifty years ago. Our society hasn't been very accepting of the more delicate males historically but I am very sure we have many many many men who would fit this role perfectly.
In one article I read they said that the casting was done with a woman so they would not have to cast bigger kids to offset the size of the actor playing Peter but there are a lot of shorter, thinner men in the ranks of actors. Why not hire on of them? All you have to do is go look to Broadway. There are many men playing all kinds of roles on the stage so why not on TV?
Now I can see why they want a woman. We are smaller, lighter, etc but really why not hire one of those men who are just that? There are a lot of men who are small and light and have high tenor voices. Are we not casting them because they have five o'clock shadows? Because they have a telltale bulge or Adam's apple? Really?
If you do a bit of research you will see that almost every time Peter has been cast with a woman in the role. Now I can understand doing that twenty five or fifty years ago. Our society hasn't been very accepting of the more delicate males historically but I am very sure we have many many many men who would fit this role perfectly.
In one article I read they said that the casting was done with a woman so they would not have to cast bigger kids to offset the size of the actor playing Peter but there are a lot of shorter, thinner men in the ranks of actors. Why not hire on of them? All you have to do is go look to Broadway. There are many men playing all kinds of roles on the stage so why not on TV?
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Happy Veterans or Remembrance Day
Today is November 11th. Many nations take a moment to remember those who served their countries in war time. Many photos and speeches are done by the men who served in the wars of the 20th and 21st century. While I think it is both required and a necessity to remember those men and I glad to see they are remembering the women too.
My own grandmother was in the WAVES between WW1 and WW2. The WAVES was the navy womens axillary. Not was well known as the Wacs, they did many things. My grandmother was a nurse and while I have no way of knowing just what she did due to her passing fifteen years ago, it is good to remember that women have served alongside men for decades (centuries actually)
But todays blog is more about others who have served. While we all think of the heroic dogs who have served and are serving with our soldiers, sailors and I am sure airmen, we forget that there were and are many other species of animals who have served.
A simple google search brings up many pages that have lists up of those heroic dogs but only a few have the other creatures. From the valiant horses who were rode directly into battle in WW1 to the pigeons who were used to fly messages to even a bear who was trained to carry mortar shells into battle, the animal kingdom has played out its part in mankinds wars.
So on this most sacred day to our military and our nations I hope you say a silent thank you to those of fur, feather and fins who have served at the side of our men and women. Be they a bear, a dolphin, a horse an elephant or those lovely dogs, they all served and they all deserve the respect that we give to other veterans!
My own grandmother was in the WAVES between WW1 and WW2. The WAVES was the navy womens axillary. Not was well known as the Wacs, they did many things. My grandmother was a nurse and while I have no way of knowing just what she did due to her passing fifteen years ago, it is good to remember that women have served alongside men for decades (centuries actually)
But todays blog is more about others who have served. While we all think of the heroic dogs who have served and are serving with our soldiers, sailors and I am sure airmen, we forget that there were and are many other species of animals who have served.
A simple google search brings up many pages that have lists up of those heroic dogs but only a few have the other creatures. From the valiant horses who were rode directly into battle in WW1 to the pigeons who were used to fly messages to even a bear who was trained to carry mortar shells into battle, the animal kingdom has played out its part in mankinds wars.
So on this most sacred day to our military and our nations I hope you say a silent thank you to those of fur, feather and fins who have served at the side of our men and women. Be they a bear, a dolphin, a horse an elephant or those lovely dogs, they all served and they all deserve the respect that we give to other veterans!
Monday, October 27, 2014
To remove/delete or not to
As a writer of short fiction I have a lot of tales out there for readers to follow. As of this month I have been collecting together the various tales into collections and trying to decide if I should remove them from individual sales once I have put out the collections or if I should leave them up.
Now I can see both sides of this issue. Some of those wonderful tales have received the much coveted reviews and some have not. Removing those that have not received reviews would hurt nothing really but those that have received reviews would make them disappear. Not something a wise writer would wish for.
Also I do not know how that would effect my author ranking on places like Amazon. I mean after all it is all about ranking over there. If your rank drops down, you drop off of pages and advertizing. Not something to even think about!
So should I remove tales or not? I am not sure.
In other news I find myself trying to decide if I should take some of my longer short short stories and post them up on a new pay site I found. It is called QuarterReads.com and so far I have placed one tale there. With no movement I am rethinking this place. It is nice that that only take work up to 2k words and that for each read past the opening you get 25 cents. That is a good thing. I submitted a bunch of my longer flash fictions and poetry and they were not accepted, which surprised me. When I queried them they said they were either too short or seemed incomplete. Now that really was odd. I don't post anything for sale that I consider incomplete but it seems the 'reviewers' there thought they were.
I have a couple tales I plan on finishing and placing there as a test. If they either are rejected or don't spark any interest, I will write off this site. I will keep you readers updated as I do.
Now as we all know this Friday is that most fun day, Halloween. The kids will be going out trick or treating and us silly adults get to dress up, at least for a little bit, as something scary or funny. I don't have a lot of pictures of myself in costume but how about I put up what I have? This should give you all a good laugh. I am no model...so just be warned!
Okay I was the one in the red and the last two were a very long time ago...I haven't looked that good in decades! Horrible what old age does to a woman huh? the one in red was from 1982 and the last one? Well I was a kid of 13! So Happy Halloween Everyone!
Now I can see both sides of this issue. Some of those wonderful tales have received the much coveted reviews and some have not. Removing those that have not received reviews would hurt nothing really but those that have received reviews would make them disappear. Not something a wise writer would wish for.
Also I do not know how that would effect my author ranking on places like Amazon. I mean after all it is all about ranking over there. If your rank drops down, you drop off of pages and advertizing. Not something to even think about!
So should I remove tales or not? I am not sure.
In other news I find myself trying to decide if I should take some of my longer short short stories and post them up on a new pay site I found. It is called QuarterReads.com and so far I have placed one tale there. With no movement I am rethinking this place. It is nice that that only take work up to 2k words and that for each read past the opening you get 25 cents. That is a good thing. I submitted a bunch of my longer flash fictions and poetry and they were not accepted, which surprised me. When I queried them they said they were either too short or seemed incomplete. Now that really was odd. I don't post anything for sale that I consider incomplete but it seems the 'reviewers' there thought they were.
I have a couple tales I plan on finishing and placing there as a test. If they either are rejected or don't spark any interest, I will write off this site. I will keep you readers updated as I do.
Now as we all know this Friday is that most fun day, Halloween. The kids will be going out trick or treating and us silly adults get to dress up, at least for a little bit, as something scary or funny. I don't have a lot of pictures of myself in costume but how about I put up what I have? This should give you all a good laugh. I am no model...so just be warned!
Okay I was the one in the red and the last two were a very long time ago...I haven't looked that good in decades! Horrible what old age does to a woman huh? the one in red was from 1982 and the last one? Well I was a kid of 13! So Happy Halloween Everyone!
Monday, October 20, 2014
once again the bull..or come on folks get it right!
As a Wiccan I find a lot of what comes out at this time of year a real insult. More and more shows making witches villains yet again. Even more annoying is when shows like CSI are thinking if they put in science and technology that they can show the so called truth of us. So very very very very wrong!
On CSI they are trying, I will admit. Most Wiccans are not super secretive but in today's overly conservative view of things, we don't put ourselves forward the way many others do. But in this episode that I am watching (via pvr) they get some things right and a lot wrong. Wicca is not a secret society like those found at universities or political parties. It is a religion, a nature religion. We find all life sacred, Wiccan don't kill, they don't curse people and banishment spells? Really?
Oh by the way Wiccans RARELY use blood for any reason. And they certainly don't use it to grab power! Good that makes me so annoyed!
If a member of a Wiccan coven did something bad enough to require something like that it is called Warlocking!...and yes if they found out he was selling drugs I do believe he would have been warlocked but not in his own sacred space. Wiccans would have used their own sacred space.
It is sad to me that the world of Writers on TV can't see past the crazy prejudice of mass religions toward one of the world's older religions. Wiccans are peaceful people who find nature more sacred than anything else. We watch it, experience it and enjoy it. We do our best to not hurt anyone or any creature if we can help it.
When writers do their research they really really really need to do REAL research. Not this silly shit that they have been doing. Mixing just enough real information with many other non traditional paths is wrong. So wrong that I am ashamed to think that these people consider themselves writers.
On CSI they are trying, I will admit. Most Wiccans are not super secretive but in today's overly conservative view of things, we don't put ourselves forward the way many others do. But in this episode that I am watching (via pvr) they get some things right and a lot wrong. Wicca is not a secret society like those found at universities or political parties. It is a religion, a nature religion. We find all life sacred, Wiccan don't kill, they don't curse people and banishment spells? Really?
Oh by the way Wiccans RARELY use blood for any reason. And they certainly don't use it to grab power! Good that makes me so annoyed!
If a member of a Wiccan coven did something bad enough to require something like that it is called Warlocking!...and yes if they found out he was selling drugs I do believe he would have been warlocked but not in his own sacred space. Wiccans would have used their own sacred space.
It is sad to me that the world of Writers on TV can't see past the crazy prejudice of mass religions toward one of the world's older religions. Wiccans are peaceful people who find nature more sacred than anything else. We watch it, experience it and enjoy it. We do our best to not hurt anyone or any creature if we can help it.
When writers do their research they really really really need to do REAL research. Not this silly shit that they have been doing. Mixing just enough real information with many other non traditional paths is wrong. So wrong that I am ashamed to think that these people consider themselves writers.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Looking for writer's prompts or I am stuck, I need an idea
One of the fun things about all the various social networks out there is that a writer can find like minded people to talk about the art and craft of writing. This fall I have found a lot of different places are now putting up writer's prompts in attempted to get content on their pages. They quick often offer either a prize for the winning piece or they might accept your work for an exposure anthology.Now many writers are unsure about submitting anything they write to a website but in the small writers prompts can do a lot for you.
Let us look at this logically. Every writer, every type from poets to epic novelists, will at some point find themselves blocked. Yes, simply getting up and taking a walk can help but what if you can't? Well look around and you will find some helpful person putting up a writing prompt.
This week I spotted one on LinkedIn. This one has a photo of a gun being fired and the prompt is "the shot" as simple as that. Now as I am still in the middle of getting a novel ready to publish, I am just playing with the prompts and writing flash fictions of various lengths.
If you are a wise author/writer you will play with these prompts, write anything from poems to whole novels if you wish. If you just do a drabble or a flash fiction, well keep them.Even if you don't submit them to the rapidly growing marketplace for flash fiction, you can collect them together and put them out on your own. I am very close to putting out a collection of one hundred drabbles. Yes I wont be charging much for them but like everything you write, these little bits of fiction can build your writers brand.
So try the prompts out. You never know if you are going to write something amazing.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Trying out a new short fiction form
With the advent of people reading on their phones and tablets there has been a rise in the shorter forms of fiction. As a writer of short fiction I have of course delved into these forms. I have written many drabbles and quickie short fictions. Enough to make collections after all.
Well now I plan on playing in the form of a dribble. You all know that a drabble is a 100 word fiction, well a dribble is a 50 word fiction. Exactly 50. So far I have only two of them but here they are. They are a very fast write and a great way to express a scene.
Well now I plan on playing in the form of a dribble. You all know that a drabble is a 100 word fiction, well a dribble is a 50 word fiction. Exactly 50. So far I have only two of them but here they are. They are a very fast write and a great way to express a scene.
Lady of Blood
By Lisa Williamson
I stand, waiting for him to come. Dressed in the finest of
satin and lace, my gown dipped in the blood of his enemies and the ashes of
their homes. It has made patterns, lovely upon the train that spreads behind
me. I am the bride of the lord Blood.
And this one
Snow magic
By Lisa Williamson
Do you see me standing here? White is my coat, dappled with
spots like shadows. The snow about me, covering the ground and the trees, is a
simple shad different than I. The frosty environment that surrounds me hides my
majesty. Can you see me? You can if you try.
Short and hopefully to the point. A fun ting to do when you need to write but just don't feel up to a longer piece. Hopefully I can do lots of these and put together a collection like I am doing with the others.
Monday, September 8, 2014
The importance of remembering where you posted your work
As a long time scribbler yet only short term published author I have had the fun and joy of trying to remember where I might have posted my work while it was in the stages of being finished. The last place that I remembered I had posted things was over on the erotica site, Literotica. (Yes i write erotica too). Now I had a small following over there with people bugging me from time to time to complete some of the partial stories I posted up here.
For the longest time I forgot that I had work up there. Now I am doing my best to pull those stories down so that i can complete them and of course publish them. Let me tell you this is not as simple as hitting the remove or delete key. It is a bit of a pain in fact.
You see the moderators over there seem to be none existent. I have emailed them multiple times requesting they remove titles or even delete my account with no response in the past TWO YEARS! I have managed to remove titles from the site by submitting the title with revised in it and a note in the body that it is being removed for publication. It takes up to a week but they do pull them down.
For the one or two at a shot it is not so bad but when I have 17 chapters of one title and six more chapters on two other titles, that is a lot of work and annoying.
Folks you better remember this when you post. The work you put up is yours but you have to fight to keep them in your hands. In this world of writing and publishing things change on a daily purpose. From getting signed to a small publisher that seems to disappear from one day to the next, to deciding to rewrite a work that you thought you were done with over a decade ago, you will need to find work arounds.
So do your best to keep your work in your hands. If you decide to post on free sites make sure you can remove things easily and quickly. And never post the complete work if there is a chance that you can sell it later. Take it from the mad writer, you will regret it.
For the longest time I forgot that I had work up there. Now I am doing my best to pull those stories down so that i can complete them and of course publish them. Let me tell you this is not as simple as hitting the remove or delete key. It is a bit of a pain in fact.
You see the moderators over there seem to be none existent. I have emailed them multiple times requesting they remove titles or even delete my account with no response in the past TWO YEARS! I have managed to remove titles from the site by submitting the title with revised in it and a note in the body that it is being removed for publication. It takes up to a week but they do pull them down.
For the one or two at a shot it is not so bad but when I have 17 chapters of one title and six more chapters on two other titles, that is a lot of work and annoying.
Folks you better remember this when you post. The work you put up is yours but you have to fight to keep them in your hands. In this world of writing and publishing things change on a daily purpose. From getting signed to a small publisher that seems to disappear from one day to the next, to deciding to rewrite a work that you thought you were done with over a decade ago, you will need to find work arounds.
So do your best to keep your work in your hands. If you decide to post on free sites make sure you can remove things easily and quickly. And never post the complete work if there is a chance that you can sell it later. Take it from the mad writer, you will regret it.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Combining two art forms to make something beautiful
Okay I don't think of myself as all that good at either poetry or photography, but when I combine the two I have some lovely pieces.
I only just discovered these way of displaying my words and images together this summer. Firstly I have of course been taking photos of flowers and nature since I was a child. I know I have a good eye,but I was never sure what I could do to display them.
Well I decided that I would play around with some of the shorter poetry forms and while these are the the worlds deepest poems, they are pleasant and soothing in many cases. Crossing them with some of my better images was just a logical step.
I started with the acrostic and cinquian poems I wrote. You can look up what those styles are and you will see that they make a perfect set of words for a photo poem. Here are the three cinquain that I wrote and then played with:
As you can see, a simple form that easily rests on top of the images I have. The form is one, two, three, four, one...simple form but surprisingly difficult to write something touching.
Next we have the four Acrostic poems I wrote:
Again a fun project. Acrostic poems spell out a word on the vertical. And can be as little as two lines all the way up to whatever, I guess. I found went i was cropping and resizing the images that I had that lovely close up of a bee.
Finally I have just today been playing with some of my haiku. I have a lot more of those poems, so I will be putting them up in the following weeks but here is a brief example:
All of the photos you see were taken with a simple and cheap digital camera. No fancy phone camera, no high end expensive equipment. Just my eye and the built in zoom on the camera. I don't spend a lot of time in framing my images, I just see something I want to photograph and I frame it up. Simple images, a good eye and a little patience...oh yes..and an open and willing heart.
Another thing I have started on is doing poems for old photographs. You know those wonderful black and white (or sepia) photos that we all have stashed away someplace. I decided to us for my first stab at this a beautiful photo of my mother when she was sixteen. That would make the photo from 1956. My mom was still a sweet and innocent girl here. Life had yet to defeat dreams (I think)
I know this is harder to read but it is delicate, like my mom. I only have this one done so far but I hope to do many more, if I can get the old photos from my mother.
And finally I have one free verse poem I did:
Not as good as the others but I will work these out. My nature free verses I think will work that best with my photos. Only time will tell.
I only just discovered these way of displaying my words and images together this summer. Firstly I have of course been taking photos of flowers and nature since I was a child. I know I have a good eye,but I was never sure what I could do to display them.
Well I decided that I would play around with some of the shorter poetry forms and while these are the the worlds deepest poems, they are pleasant and soothing in many cases. Crossing them with some of my better images was just a logical step.
I started with the acrostic and cinquian poems I wrote. You can look up what those styles are and you will see that they make a perfect set of words for a photo poem. Here are the three cinquain that I wrote and then played with:
As you can see, a simple form that easily rests on top of the images I have. The form is one, two, three, four, one...simple form but surprisingly difficult to write something touching.
Next we have the four Acrostic poems I wrote:
Again a fun project. Acrostic poems spell out a word on the vertical. And can be as little as two lines all the way up to whatever, I guess. I found went i was cropping and resizing the images that I had that lovely close up of a bee.
Finally I have just today been playing with some of my haiku. I have a lot more of those poems, so I will be putting them up in the following weeks but here is a brief example:
All of the photos you see were taken with a simple and cheap digital camera. No fancy phone camera, no high end expensive equipment. Just my eye and the built in zoom on the camera. I don't spend a lot of time in framing my images, I just see something I want to photograph and I frame it up. Simple images, a good eye and a little patience...oh yes..and an open and willing heart.
Another thing I have started on is doing poems for old photographs. You know those wonderful black and white (or sepia) photos that we all have stashed away someplace. I decided to us for my first stab at this a beautiful photo of my mother when she was sixteen. That would make the photo from 1956. My mom was still a sweet and innocent girl here. Life had yet to defeat dreams (I think)
And finally I have one free verse poem I did:
Not as good as the others but I will work these out. My nature free verses I think will work that best with my photos. Only time will tell.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Playing with photographs and poetry
As both a photographer and a writer I do a lot of different things. Yes, most of my photography is of the same basic subject, flowers. Be they cultivated or wild weeds, I take photos of them and then post them for people to enjoy over on my photo blog, Window to my mind.
But as a writer most of what I do is a bit different. Writing short stories, novellas and novels doesn't always blend well with the photos I take, but now my poetry, that is a different story. Over the past few months I have been playing with some of the shorter forms of poetry. Just to see if I can pull them off. Not sure how good they are but they do work well placed into some of the photographs I have taken.
In today's blog here I thought I would post up the cinquain poems i have written placed over some of my photos...for your viewing pleasure of course. Hope you like. Over the next year I plan on doing more before I collect them all into one volume and put them out.
These are what is known as a didactic cinquain. Basically you do it as follows, line a one word, line b two words, line c three, line d four and line five one. Simple but not as easy as it looks. Using photoshop I simply edited the photo that I wished to use to the correct size and then typed in the poem.
But as a writer most of what I do is a bit different. Writing short stories, novellas and novels doesn't always blend well with the photos I take, but now my poetry, that is a different story. Over the past few months I have been playing with some of the shorter forms of poetry. Just to see if I can pull them off. Not sure how good they are but they do work well placed into some of the photographs I have taken.
In today's blog here I thought I would post up the cinquain poems i have written placed over some of my photos...for your viewing pleasure of course. Hope you like. Over the next year I plan on doing more before I collect them all into one volume and put them out.
These are what is known as a didactic cinquain. Basically you do it as follows, line a one word, line b two words, line c three, line d four and line five one. Simple but not as easy as it looks. Using photoshop I simply edited the photo that I wished to use to the correct size and then typed in the poem.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Description can be your friend or your enemy
There has been a lot of talk lately that descriptions are too top heavy in fiction. In fact a lot of critics seem to expect us to have action, action, action, dialog, action, action, closing. They are upset with the idea that we are trying to build images in the readers mind.
Yes, there are a lot of books out there with way too much description but I have found a lot of books just aren't giving the reader enough information for us, the readers, to come up with a clear image of what we are reading. Describe your hero, your heroine, your villain and your world in clear, concise terms. Use words that are not so common to tell your reader just who it is they are reading.
Here is an example of a description I used that readers seemed to enjoy from one of my first published works, Partings:
The
ink black horse raced across the hills, a darker shadow against the night sky,
the sound of its hooves breaking the eerie silence. The only color was a flash of red as the rider's dark cloak
flapped open to show a stain of blood underneath.
I
watched as the figure drew near, my eyes searching, trying to pierce the
darkness beneath the hood. My white
gown, too thin for the night air, flapped in the cold wind, my long hair,
tangled. Once it was the color of Autumn
leaves, bright with gold and reds. Now
I didn’t not know, I could not see it.
My eyes focused only on the distant form, racing across the hills. Though shivers racked my frame, I didn't
notice the cold. Could it be, was my
long wait over?
Now yes this needs a bit of editing but you can see what I mean. By using words like Ink black or autumn leaves you get an image in your mind of just what I meant in my description. I could have simply said her hair was red but that would not have given you the image of a fiery flow of colors.
So how about when you do your next description of a character instead of saying they simply have brown hair you try one of these words?
Mahogany
Earthy
rich loam
Three little words that can give different images. They don't take up any more room than just typing brown. You can do the same with any color of course. use your adjectives. Don't be afraid of using them. No matter what the current thought is on adjective and adverbs they are a part of our language and if use judiciously can enhance your story.
Don't play into the current trends if you can help it. Use words that are just a little more intelligent. Your character could be the most intellectually dense character in your world but the way you describe him does not have to be that way.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Getting your tale started
Now I admit dumping a reader into an intense action sequence can be jarring if not done right. So there is a fine balancing act going on. As a writer of mostly short fiction, I tend to go for the hook, the punch early and then let the tale tell itself, but now that I am doing longer tales I need to have the action move up and down.
While in the genres of mystery and romance, you can start out with introspection but in fantasy or science fiction you need that tension. For example I can give you some of my opening pages.
Here in Endings, the first book of my Saga of Loralil Greyfox I have the action off stage so to speak but it is there:
Screams
of terror and betrayal filled the clearing. Blood flowed as the vicious invaders
looked for their prey. They weren't here, but the sounds from below should
bring them forth. Death was not quiet on this afternoon.
Once the noise from the attack reached up the hill to the
smithy, the Blade master looked up. He was tall for these small folk. He came
to a height of 5'6". Tall for an elf. He had blue black hair tied back in
a club. His eyes were a deep purple, odd for a surface dwelling elf. He had
massive muscles from years of smithing. He grabbed up the nearest weapon, a
sword he made years ago for a king who did not live to collect his custom job.
A flame brand. He yelled back to the open door of his home, "Silvershine!
Greyfox! Come out here!"
"What
is it, Stoneblade?" Asked his wife as she came out of the house. She was a
beautiful woman. Long silver hair pulled back into a myriad of tiny braids. She
was slender and graceful. She had kept a fine figure after the birth of her
child and the following years of settled life. She was a foot shorter than her
husband and had a voice that would make birds stop singing in envy.
"The
village is under attack," Stoneblade replied quickly has he turned to
intercept his child as she tried to fly past him. "Stop right there!
Greyfox, you must go to the hiding place."
"Father!
No! I want to help!"
***
As you can see I put action in the very first page of this novella length tale. It hooks in the reader (or so I am told) and makes them want to read more. This is a good thing for any writer.
When you move into a second book, you don't need to have as strong a hook to get the reader. If you have hooked them properly then your second tale in the series can have a less action oriented opening, as I have here in Revenge, the second in the Loralil books:
Travel during the winter was always hard; it was
even harder for Loralil. She was leaving
the only home she had known; she had spent the last two years living with her
uncle, her mother's brother. He had
tried his best to make Loralil feel welcome and it wasn't his fault that she
was leaving. It wasn't his fault that
the people of his home clan could not accept her. She had very few of the mannerisms expected of an Elven
maiden. She tried to fit in but she
just couldn't. The prejudice of the
people against anything non-Elven was too much to deal with. They felt that anything or anyone not Elven
was beneath notice. Never mind that
Loralil had spent thirty years in human hands, she was an elf and was expected
to act like an Elven maiden of her years; with all the training and knowledge
that an Elven maiden of her years normally would have. The clan elders knew her history and tried
to ease her way but many just didn't care.
Her parents had been rebels in the eyes of many
here. Her mother had left to train in a
human run bardic college not staying and learning from the bards at home. She had then gone on to adventure in the
outside world, instead of coming home to care for her family's businesses. She had the audacity of meeting and then she
marrying outside her clan's wishes to a different race of elf, to an elf that
worked for a human monarch. And worse
yet she decided to settle down with a third race of elves away from the clan
and raise her family there.
***
A more relaxed opening than what I had with the first tale, correct? In my opinion Revenge is a better book, but that is because I had learned a lot in the years between writing the two tales.
Now those are of course both fantasy books. As a fantasy writer I generally know how to get my fantasy tales moving from the very beginning but switching genres can make it a bit harder to pull off. In this, the opening to Escape, I once more track back to the intense action opening.:
Caro ran down the
corridor ahead of the Sweepers. Throwing a look back at each bend in the way,
she managed to stay just out of their view. Dodging between the shoppers, under
the long scraps of material that heralded what each tiny, hole in the wall shop
specialized in, she moved from one tiny space to another with all the agility
of a child. The Sweepers were once more rounding up the young and masterless
and it was clear they needed new females, females to breed up new warriors and
to slave for the Masters. Caro refused to follow in her sister dancers
footsteps, refused to be made a slave again. She needed to get off this
station, onto a ship headed to a free world. A few more twists and turns down
tunnels that echoed with the mix of languages that made up the natives of the
station. Cries of warning and of complaint mixed with the patios of commerce.
She leapt high over a cart that had spilled in the middle of her path, briefly
amazing those watching as she seemed to fly. She flashed a tight grin and waved
as she landed, a quick pirouette that she could not stop herself from doing.
She rolled her eyes at her action and dashed off once more. A few more twisting
turns and she came to the concourse. Slowing, she eeled her way into the crowd.
Her size helped her blend into the crowd, but she stood out for her ethnicity.
Where most of those who lived and worked on this station were small with black
hair and blacker eyes, she had a different shape to her face, her eyes large
and round compared to the almond shape of those bred to this station. She was
dressed in her silks, a bright flash of color among a sea of black tunics and
pants. A cardinal that stood out surrounded as she was by crows. She had to
find Adam. Only with him did she feel safe from the Sweepers.
***
Once more I have pulled out that action sequence to pull the reader into the first book of a series. By making the first character the heroine, I give readers (at least the female ones) someone to sympathize with and hopefully make them want to know just what she is running from and why.
Switching genres, sort of, I have Fall Into Nightmares. This post-apocalyptic novel has more the tension from something other than action. While I did include a lot of action in the first of the Chaos War series, this book started with a more dramatic, emotional opening (IMO):
"You will change the world, my love. Your agony will
set me free!"
Jeffrey woke with a start, his eyes darted about the darkened
room searching for the source of the voice that filled his head but there was
nothing and no one there. After a few minutes, his breathing calmed down and he
whispered. "Just a dream, nothing more."
"Hmm?" came a soft, muffled murmur at his side. He
looked down with a soft smile for the woman who shared his bed. Reaching out he
lightly brushed a lock of black hair from her cheek.
"Nothing love, go back to sleep." He moved closer
to the girl, wrapping an arm around her and drifted back to sleep. Just as he
fell back over into dreams, he heard soft and evil laughter.
Using a dream for an opening can be very powerful if done well. If you are looking to do a horror story or a fantasy with heavy horror elements, you can can use this type of opening easily.
So as a writer you have to decide. Do you do an intense action piece for your opening page, a dream or something simple like this piece from The Traveler, my fantasy novel
Riding
through the storm, Edana sighed as the shelter finally came in sight. She had been riding for hours in the massive
storm. The crash of the thunder had
become just background noise to her. As
her horse stumbled to a halt, she pulled her mind together and with great
effort looked around. They had stopped
in front of the first travel shelter she had seen in days. It was one of a series of small buildings
scattered along the old grand highway or should have been. Most had been left to the elements, falling
to ruins that had barely a single wall to set a tent against. With an effort of
will she unclasped the hand holding the reins, her fingers were white from the
cold. She pushed back her heavy, wet
hair with a shaking hand and sighed wearily.
"This is a good enough place.
Time to rest."
****
Each tale of course has its own flavor and style but do your best to not make that opening page boring. If you do you will find the readers will be few and far between.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Yup he did it again! SD Gundam has a TCG!
Saturdays my hubby works out of a different Costco than his usual store. Well when he was at his lunch he went out and wandered over to the local TRU and guess what he found? Yup that is right, a SD Gundam trading card game.
Now most of you out there have heard of things like Pokemon, Magic and some of the other more famous trading card games. You get characters and you battle, generally one on one to see who will win. This game he found is based on one of the earlier SD Gundam shows.
There are commons, uncommons and of course rare foil and gold cards. We haven't played it yet but it looks like a lot of fun for sure.
We currently have just booster sets but we are waiting for the started decks that he ordered. Usually I don't play these games much anymore. See my hubby is a wizard at these games. You can beat him a couple of times but usually by the fifth game he is trouncing you so often that it just isn't worth playing anymore. But well I really do want to make him happy and these cards are fun, so I am looking forward to it.
Here are some of the cards...the rare ones that is!
Now most of you out there have heard of things like Pokemon, Magic and some of the other more famous trading card games. You get characters and you battle, generally one on one to see who will win. This game he found is based on one of the earlier SD Gundam shows.
There are commons, uncommons and of course rare foil and gold cards. We haven't played it yet but it looks like a lot of fun for sure.
We currently have just booster sets but we are waiting for the started decks that he ordered. Usually I don't play these games much anymore. See my hubby is a wizard at these games. You can beat him a couple of times but usually by the fifth game he is trouncing you so often that it just isn't worth playing anymore. But well I really do want to make him happy and these cards are fun, so I am looking forward to it.
Here are some of the cards...the rare ones that is!
Monday, July 14, 2014
Robin Hobb, a really good writer
Over the past week or so I have been down sick. Sick enough that even trying to watch tv has been a pain, so I dug out some of my older books to read. Six of the books I read were from Robin Hobb. This talented fantasy author wrote a series, well two series, dealing with a very different character.
FitzChivarly Farseer is a bastard. Not in personality, though he can be at times, but in the traditional sense of being born out of wedlock. In today's culture it should not matter at all (yeah it can sadly enough) but in a world that is the fantasy version of the middle ages, it is a big thing. His father was the King-in-waiting, Chivarly Farseer. The King-in-waiting is basically the next in the line for the crown.
The first book starts with Fitz being brought to where his father is by his maternal grandfather and foisted off on the first person there. Thus begins a series of books dealing with magic, majesty, power, monsters, good, evil and everything that makes fantasy the genre it really is.
There are two series and they are the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy. The Farseer trilogy deals with Fitz from the age of six till about twenty. He goes through so very much. From growing up learning to be a hidden man, a spy and assassin, to discovering he has no one but two types of magic in his blood.
The first being the Farseer magic known as Skilling. Basically this magic is a lot like psychic ability. There was telepathic contact and far seeing (thus the family moniker) but as the series evolved other things showed up. Like healing, again psychic.
The other form of magic was called Wit. This was from Old Blood, a group of people who can bond with animals, speaking to them and seeing through their eyes. While Skilling is considered a good thing, having Wit was considered horrible. Misunderstood by most, anyone found with Wit were shunned and in many cases killed outright. Fitz bonded three times in the first series. First with a puppy that his guardian sent away from him before they were bonded too closely, second to an animal that died and finally to NightEyes, a wolf cub and long time companion for our hero.
This first series deals with the Red Ship Wars and the forged ones. Fitz has many adventures, many highs and many lows. Told as a series of remembrances, the books are less action and more characterizations. Something that I adore. This is not a series of books I would recommend for immature readers. You need to have the ability to understand that good does not always triumph and that the hero can do bad things and still be the hero to read these books.
The sequel series, The Tawny Man, picks up years after the end of the first series. Fitz is now calling himself Tom Badgerlock. As the Witted Bastard, FitzChivalery Farseer, is thought to be dead and buried, it was a wise thing to do. He settled down, built a life in the woods with Nighteyes and had even taken in a boy, Hap and raised him as his son. Life is good, if simple for him when he is dragged out of his simple life and back into the world of the FarSeers. Expected to train the young prince in his Skilled magic, he finds that there are more conflicts and battles waiting for him. He is now 35 and still a youngish man. He is not recognized by the people of Buckkeep, which is a good thing because of how he is considered dead by most people. The second series immerses us yet again into a world of intrigue and politics, of hatred and racism yet holds up moments of utter beauty and love. Dealing more with Fitz and his relationship with the Fool, these books move strongly into the future that the Fool has seen. We learn much more about that very interesting character and just why he has spent so much time with Fitz.
If you have a time where you want to be totally enthralled by a series of books I recommend them. Robin Hobb is a very talented author and I am now trying out her Liveship books. Set in the same world but with different characters.
FitzChivarly Farseer is a bastard. Not in personality, though he can be at times, but in the traditional sense of being born out of wedlock. In today's culture it should not matter at all (yeah it can sadly enough) but in a world that is the fantasy version of the middle ages, it is a big thing. His father was the King-in-waiting, Chivarly Farseer. The King-in-waiting is basically the next in the line for the crown.
The first book starts with Fitz being brought to where his father is by his maternal grandfather and foisted off on the first person there. Thus begins a series of books dealing with magic, majesty, power, monsters, good, evil and everything that makes fantasy the genre it really is.
There are two series and they are the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy. The Farseer trilogy deals with Fitz from the age of six till about twenty. He goes through so very much. From growing up learning to be a hidden man, a spy and assassin, to discovering he has no one but two types of magic in his blood.
The first being the Farseer magic known as Skilling. Basically this magic is a lot like psychic ability. There was telepathic contact and far seeing (thus the family moniker) but as the series evolved other things showed up. Like healing, again psychic.
The other form of magic was called Wit. This was from Old Blood, a group of people who can bond with animals, speaking to them and seeing through their eyes. While Skilling is considered a good thing, having Wit was considered horrible. Misunderstood by most, anyone found with Wit were shunned and in many cases killed outright. Fitz bonded three times in the first series. First with a puppy that his guardian sent away from him before they were bonded too closely, second to an animal that died and finally to NightEyes, a wolf cub and long time companion for our hero.
This first series deals with the Red Ship Wars and the forged ones. Fitz has many adventures, many highs and many lows. Told as a series of remembrances, the books are less action and more characterizations. Something that I adore. This is not a series of books I would recommend for immature readers. You need to have the ability to understand that good does not always triumph and that the hero can do bad things and still be the hero to read these books.
The sequel series, The Tawny Man, picks up years after the end of the first series. Fitz is now calling himself Tom Badgerlock. As the Witted Bastard, FitzChivalery Farseer, is thought to be dead and buried, it was a wise thing to do. He settled down, built a life in the woods with Nighteyes and had even taken in a boy, Hap and raised him as his son. Life is good, if simple for him when he is dragged out of his simple life and back into the world of the FarSeers. Expected to train the young prince in his Skilled magic, he finds that there are more conflicts and battles waiting for him. He is now 35 and still a youngish man. He is not recognized by the people of Buckkeep, which is a good thing because of how he is considered dead by most people. The second series immerses us yet again into a world of intrigue and politics, of hatred and racism yet holds up moments of utter beauty and love. Dealing more with Fitz and his relationship with the Fool, these books move strongly into the future that the Fool has seen. We learn much more about that very interesting character and just why he has spent so much time with Fitz.
If you have a time where you want to be totally enthralled by a series of books I recommend them. Robin Hobb is a very talented author and I am now trying out her Liveship books. Set in the same world but with different characters.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Posting my titles on Google Play or what the heck am I doing?
Yeah I found the page to list my links but I am not sure how to market these. Google play is basically a way for those who read on their phones to access amazing new titles (like mine) to read on their google phones. So I have doing my best to figure out how to market over here
.To Save Face or Family, a novel on Google Play
So far I have only two of my titles up but I hope to have the rest up by the end of July. Not the simplest thing to do but the more places people can buy my work the better. In fact as a shock I found I had two sales over on the Kobo Writers Life page. I don't get a lot of sales on Kobo and in the past year the majority of them were titles on my D2D or Smashwords books, so it was nice to see. So if you can go check out my titles on GooglePlay
.To Save Face or Family, a novel on Google Play
So far I have only two of my titles up but I hope to have the rest up by the end of July. Not the simplest thing to do but the more places people can buy my work the better. In fact as a shock I found I had two sales over on the Kobo Writers Life page. I don't get a lot of sales on Kobo and in the past year the majority of them were titles on my D2D or Smashwords books, so it was nice to see. So if you can go check out my titles on GooglePlay
Monday, June 23, 2014
Look what I got for my anniversary?
Yup I have been happily married now for four years. My sweet hubby decided when he was in Toronto for business to pick me up a new little kit to put together. If you had told me four years ago that I would actually be happy to receive a gundam to put together i would have given you the old stink eye but these guys are actually kinda fun to put together.
Now this little kit was on the easy side for me. As you can imagine after building these for the past year with the hubby I am getting better at them. I didn't need any help putting it together and managed to do it in about an hour(ish). This was one of the simpler kits I have done and I actually didn't mind that at all. As you can see by the photos, he is a zaku style SD in green with some fun pop on armor...and I do mean pop on.He was very simple to put together with a minimum of stickers and joints. Mostly a pop me together little guy.
Not the best pics I have taken but well you can see that he is a little guy. That is the salt shaker from my dinning room table next to him. He is just about four inches tall and he has this huge battle axe that makes him almost tip over when you put it into his hand. Simple, silly but sweet, IMO. I enjoyed taking a break from being a mom and baker to make him. Hopefully next week I will finally sit down and work on the 1/144 models that Fox set aside for me. One of them is so old that we have to actually use glue with it. And that is why it isn't done yet. That glue gives me a headache pretty quick.
So enjoy my little friend here and hopefully soon i will have some more...and of course someday soon I will do a little action battle type photo series of my little guys playing.
Now this little kit was on the easy side for me. As you can imagine after building these for the past year with the hubby I am getting better at them. I didn't need any help putting it together and managed to do it in about an hour(ish). This was one of the simpler kits I have done and I actually didn't mind that at all. As you can see by the photos, he is a zaku style SD in green with some fun pop on armor...and I do mean pop on.He was very simple to put together with a minimum of stickers and joints. Mostly a pop me together little guy.
Not the best pics I have taken but well you can see that he is a little guy. That is the salt shaker from my dinning room table next to him. He is just about four inches tall and he has this huge battle axe that makes him almost tip over when you put it into his hand. Simple, silly but sweet, IMO. I enjoyed taking a break from being a mom and baker to make him. Hopefully next week I will finally sit down and work on the 1/144 models that Fox set aside for me. One of them is so old that we have to actually use glue with it. And that is why it isn't done yet. That glue gives me a headache pretty quick.
So enjoy my little friend here and hopefully soon i will have some more...and of course someday soon I will do a little action battle type photo series of my little guys playing.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Read a biography or hey I do read other stuff!
During the past week or so I have of course read a lot of things. From my usual fantasy to paranormal romance to a biography...yes I said a biography.
See we had a day where storms rolled through and power was very iffy. What is a woman to do but pick up an actually hardcover that has been sitting around on the shelf since I moved to Canada.
That book was I am Jackie Chan. Yup that Jackie Chan. See my hubby is a huge fan of the man, as am I. We all know his amazing movies and I used to own some of his earlier works before i moved to Canada. So I thought, what the heck and i dove into the book.
It is filled with lots of photographs from his life and it is told from his point of view. You learn all abut his growing up in Hong Kong and in one of the troops of the Chinese Opera. Now this tale really starts in 1956 when his parents signed him over to the school he was to spend the next ten years at. Times were very different as was the world he was living in. Mr Chan was not a scholarly child, a bit of a brat by his own telling and a boy who needed to move.
The school he entered was a very harsh one. In the world of today he would have been considered abused horribly by the school and his parents would have been brought up on charges but in China at this time they were doing there best to give him a chance at a better life.
While the book needs the steady hand of a good co-writer and editor to match today's standards, this book is actually quite enthralling. You find yourself gasping in horror and rooting for the young Jackie and saddened at times by the losses in his life and cheering at the good things. Unlike reading fiction, this book it true. The master actor/comedian/stuntman and more lived this life and this book makes you believe it. It is a snapshot of a world that very few know of.
I am told that the book out there now is very different from the copy I have. It has been rewritten and edited but I wonder if it lost the feel of reality that this copy has? Sometimes editing and rewriting should be avoided. This book is one man's view of his life, from a point of view very different than the westerners who read it. This westerner felt that disconnect but still could not put down the book. It is a great read and made me glad i knew these things about a very fine man.
See we had a day where storms rolled through and power was very iffy. What is a woman to do but pick up an actually hardcover that has been sitting around on the shelf since I moved to Canada.
That book was I am Jackie Chan. Yup that Jackie Chan. See my hubby is a huge fan of the man, as am I. We all know his amazing movies and I used to own some of his earlier works before i moved to Canada. So I thought, what the heck and i dove into the book.
It is filled with lots of photographs from his life and it is told from his point of view. You learn all abut his growing up in Hong Kong and in one of the troops of the Chinese Opera. Now this tale really starts in 1956 when his parents signed him over to the school he was to spend the next ten years at. Times were very different as was the world he was living in. Mr Chan was not a scholarly child, a bit of a brat by his own telling and a boy who needed to move.
The school he entered was a very harsh one. In the world of today he would have been considered abused horribly by the school and his parents would have been brought up on charges but in China at this time they were doing there best to give him a chance at a better life.
While the book needs the steady hand of a good co-writer and editor to match today's standards, this book is actually quite enthralling. You find yourself gasping in horror and rooting for the young Jackie and saddened at times by the losses in his life and cheering at the good things. Unlike reading fiction, this book it true. The master actor/comedian/stuntman and more lived this life and this book makes you believe it. It is a snapshot of a world that very few know of.
I am told that the book out there now is very different from the copy I have. It has been rewritten and edited but I wonder if it lost the feel of reality that this copy has? Sometimes editing and rewriting should be avoided. This book is one man's view of his life, from a point of view very different than the westerners who read it. This westerner felt that disconnect but still could not put down the book. It is a great read and made me glad i knew these things about a very fine man.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Re-reading a master
While I have spent a lot of time reading the new and amazingly talent crop of indie authors out there, I do from time to time, pull out some of the older fiction. Over the past week I have been working my way through Roger Zelanzy's Chronicles of Amber books.
Now anyone who knows these series, knows that it is one of the very best written bits of fiction out there. There is political intrigue, back biting, fantasy creatures, magic of a type not commonly seen, religion and a whole lot of other things that make series great.
The first five books of this series are from the point of view of Corwin of Amber. One of a dozen or more brothers and sisters who are heirs to the throne of Amber, which is the center of all reality. It starts off with him not knowing who he is and we are taken through a lot of ups and downs and confusion as he learns who he is, where he belongs and just who should be the kind of Amber.
He father is missing, the magician who was both tutor and master of the courts is rumored to be mad and is also missing. Everything to drag you along into a world that is rich and well written.
While it has been well over a decade since I last read the series I found myself pulling for Corwin and really interested yet again in the mechanization that the brothers and sisters go through in these books. There are parts that drag to me and they did drag in the first reading way back when but they don't distract from a masterful telling of these interconnected books. If you are a fan of fantasy you really should pick up these books and read them. There is a reason that he was considered a master and this book series is it.
Now I am currently reading the second series of the Amber books. This time the main character is Merlin, Corwin's son. We met him literally at the end of the first series of books and here we find that Merlin is facing a lot of the same things that his father did. There are forces outside of Amber this time that want to destroy the kingdom and we get to meet other relatives that we did not know about before. It seems that this family is more twisted than even the family we see on Game of Thrones. So folks, do yourself a favor, pick up all ten books and settle back for a wild ride through Shadow.
Now anyone who knows these series, knows that it is one of the very best written bits of fiction out there. There is political intrigue, back biting, fantasy creatures, magic of a type not commonly seen, religion and a whole lot of other things that make series great.
The first five books of this series are from the point of view of Corwin of Amber. One of a dozen or more brothers and sisters who are heirs to the throne of Amber, which is the center of all reality. It starts off with him not knowing who he is and we are taken through a lot of ups and downs and confusion as he learns who he is, where he belongs and just who should be the kind of Amber.
He father is missing, the magician who was both tutor and master of the courts is rumored to be mad and is also missing. Everything to drag you along into a world that is rich and well written.
While it has been well over a decade since I last read the series I found myself pulling for Corwin and really interested yet again in the mechanization that the brothers and sisters go through in these books. There are parts that drag to me and they did drag in the first reading way back when but they don't distract from a masterful telling of these interconnected books. If you are a fan of fantasy you really should pick up these books and read them. There is a reason that he was considered a master and this book series is it.
Now I am currently reading the second series of the Amber books. This time the main character is Merlin, Corwin's son. We met him literally at the end of the first series of books and here we find that Merlin is facing a lot of the same things that his father did. There are forces outside of Amber this time that want to destroy the kingdom and we get to meet other relatives that we did not know about before. It seems that this family is more twisted than even the family we see on Game of Thrones. So folks, do yourself a favor, pick up all ten books and settle back for a wild ride through Shadow.
Monday, May 26, 2014
A bit behind on my reviewing or hey anthologies!
Okay I have an excuse. A new book release means I do have to spend a lot of time marketing that book. Not that marketing has done me much good so far but it is the attempt correct?
Between blasting the web with notices of my new and amazing new read....(okay sorry but here!)
New book release! Face: A uniquely oriental belief concerning honor, respect and responsibility. Many will give everything, including their lives, for this concept.
Destiny is a young woman of two clans. She has willingly joined the ranks of the Firm to protect a younger brother who has a great destiny. But it is her role that is the question. Was she simply born to protect her younger brother or is her role in the universe a greater one?
When the unimaginable happens friends join ranks to fight monsters born out of the mind of men but also those from outside our realm. The question is, will they Save Face or Family? http://tinyurl.com/m2wc2q2
(back to our regularily scheduled blog =P)
Yeah I know but I need to plug my book right?
Okay this weekend when I was sitting back and relaxing I decided to read up some of the anthologies I have on my ebook reader. Now anyone who follows my babbling knows I have been a fan of anthologies for a long time. These collections of many authors tales are a great place to learn if you like an authors style or not. Short stories are not simply snippets from longer stories, they are an art form in their own right. Yes I write many, many, many of them, I admit it. But long before I started writing them I had been reading them.
Back in the 80s I discovered the anthologies of stories set all in the same world. From Thieve's World to Merovingen Nights to the Darkover anthologies I had many hours of reading pleasure. Into the 90s I kept buying any that tempted my eye in the book story. This weekend I sat back and read through the anthologies that Mercedes Lackey put together in her Valdamar series. Again I found short stories that are like a gateway drug into authors I haven't read.
I admit that my favorite this weekend was from Under the Vale. The story Simple Gifts had a lighter feel than many of the stories and it was well worth reading. Now a lot of people read these anthologies and then go on to review the stories like they are incomplete novels. To me it seems like they just want to complain. If they wanted a novel then they should go ahead and BUY A NOVEL. These are short stories, they are not easy to write and write well. They are complete stories in their own right and are but a moment in time for that world. Expecting lots of character development or deep meaning is like expecting a youtube video to have the same impact as a full movie. Really folks, sit back, relax and enjoy these tales.
whoa looks like I am getting a bit preachy but it could be because I am tired of people reviewing one artform as if it was another. We all have different tastes but then that is what makes us human right?
Between blasting the web with notices of my new and amazing new read....(okay sorry but here!)
New book release! Face: A uniquely oriental belief concerning honor, respect and responsibility. Many will give everything, including their lives, for this concept.
Destiny is a young woman of two clans. She has willingly joined the ranks of the Firm to protect a younger brother who has a great destiny. But it is her role that is the question. Was she simply born to protect her younger brother or is her role in the universe a greater one?
When the unimaginable happens friends join ranks to fight monsters born out of the mind of men but also those from outside our realm. The question is, will they Save Face or Family? http://tinyurl.com/m2wc2q2
(back to our regularily scheduled blog =P)
Yeah I know but I need to plug my book right?
Okay this weekend when I was sitting back and relaxing I decided to read up some of the anthologies I have on my ebook reader. Now anyone who follows my babbling knows I have been a fan of anthologies for a long time. These collections of many authors tales are a great place to learn if you like an authors style or not. Short stories are not simply snippets from longer stories, they are an art form in their own right. Yes I write many, many, many of them, I admit it. But long before I started writing them I had been reading them.
Back in the 80s I discovered the anthologies of stories set all in the same world. From Thieve's World to Merovingen Nights to the Darkover anthologies I had many hours of reading pleasure. Into the 90s I kept buying any that tempted my eye in the book story. This weekend I sat back and read through the anthologies that Mercedes Lackey put together in her Valdamar series. Again I found short stories that are like a gateway drug into authors I haven't read.
I admit that my favorite this weekend was from Under the Vale. The story Simple Gifts had a lighter feel than many of the stories and it was well worth reading. Now a lot of people read these anthologies and then go on to review the stories like they are incomplete novels. To me it seems like they just want to complain. If they wanted a novel then they should go ahead and BUY A NOVEL. These are short stories, they are not easy to write and write well. They are complete stories in their own right and are but a moment in time for that world. Expecting lots of character development or deep meaning is like expecting a youtube video to have the same impact as a full movie. Really folks, sit back, relax and enjoy these tales.
whoa looks like I am getting a bit preachy but it could be because I am tired of people reviewing one artform as if it was another. We all have different tastes but then that is what makes us human right?
Monday, May 19, 2014
Happy Victoria Day everyone
Yup it is a stat holiday up here in Canada. There were a ton of booms last night from all the neighbors lighting off fire crackers. It was rather nippy for what should be the kick off to the summer here with the temps dropping down to freezing last night but we deal right?
I have been a very busy writer type, getting To Save Face or Family out but I did do some reading this week of course! Decided to read three of Phaedra Weldon's books and started a fourth one. She has a fun take on OOB or out of body traveling and ghosts.
Here are three quick reviews which i will expand over on my BookLikes blog.
Wraith:
A very interesting paranormal. Zoe is a Traveler, that is a being who can go OOB or Out of Body. She has a small business as a snoop or private investigator. She basically goes as a disembodied spirit and listens in on conversations. No cheating spouses though. Just business transactions. She gets hired to listen in on a conversation but instead witnesses a murder most scary. Well worth reading and this book makes you want to read more.
Spectre:
The follow up to Wraith, in this book we get more tension in the form of men who are interested in our Zoe. She has all the same issues that most heroines of this genre have. That is she wants the man who can't or won't understand what she is and is just not attracted to the ones who are (or is she?)
Phantasm:
Third book and whoa does this series pick up speed. Lots of danger, lots of intrigue and lots of confused Zoe. She needs to pick a man and pick the right now. I can see this series of books being picked up by one of the networks. It would make a great tv show.
I have been a very busy writer type, getting To Save Face or Family out but I did do some reading this week of course! Decided to read three of Phaedra Weldon's books and started a fourth one. She has a fun take on OOB or out of body traveling and ghosts.
Here are three quick reviews which i will expand over on my BookLikes blog.
Wraith:
A very interesting paranormal. Zoe is a Traveler, that is a being who can go OOB or Out of Body. She has a small business as a snoop or private investigator. She basically goes as a disembodied spirit and listens in on conversations. No cheating spouses though. Just business transactions. She gets hired to listen in on a conversation but instead witnesses a murder most scary. Well worth reading and this book makes you want to read more.
Spectre:
The follow up to Wraith, in this book we get more tension in the form of men who are interested in our Zoe. She has all the same issues that most heroines of this genre have. That is she wants the man who can't or won't understand what she is and is just not attracted to the ones who are (or is she?)
Phantasm:
Third book and whoa does this series pick up speed. Lots of danger, lots of intrigue and lots of confused Zoe. She needs to pick a man and pick the right now. I can see this series of books being picked up by one of the networks. It would make a great tv show.
Monday, May 12, 2014
My newest tiny friend...or oh wow an SD SD
As you all know yesterday was Mother's Day here in North America (Cananda and the US for sure). I had a great day, receiving a home made dragon pendant from the hubby and a funky heart shaped nut from my youngest, a call from my oldest..and I think a text from the middle child.
Since the hubby was home and I had a kit I had yet to build I thought it was time to do something with the hubby. And of course we had to take pictures of this little guy. Now the kit is one of the older ones out there. Now I don't read Japanese and yes this is a kit from Japan but I looked at the number. This kit's number is 158...seems like a high number to those not in the know but for those of us getting an idea it means this kit is quite old in fact. Well for a gundam kit. Released in 2010 and selling for around $3.50 it was a cheap yet fun kit. This is a simple build really. The arms are only two parts and most of the colors are done by stickers but it was something for the hubby and I to do together.
What was truly fun about this kit is that when you remove all the fancy armour you can slid him into one of our other kits, making that other kit a mecha suit for a gundam! As you will see from the photos I am attaching.
Lets start out with completed images of this little guy
As you can see he is rather colorful with all those foily stickers. The top picture is him inside his big boy armor...okay that is how I saw it. You see he is compensating for being small by adding on platform feet and big wings.
What he actually is is this little figure
Tiny dont you think? He wants to play with the big boys so he puts on his armor
He even steals the wings off of other figures, showing just how flexible he is but mostly he decides that he needs to be able to take on the big guys! That would be the 1/100 gundam guys
So as you can see these are fun little guys and most of my SD gundams can trade pieces between each other. Makes for some playtime fun and hopefully I will get a working camera and go nuts with little dioramas
Since the hubby was home and I had a kit I had yet to build I thought it was time to do something with the hubby. And of course we had to take pictures of this little guy. Now the kit is one of the older ones out there. Now I don't read Japanese and yes this is a kit from Japan but I looked at the number. This kit's number is 158...seems like a high number to those not in the know but for those of us getting an idea it means this kit is quite old in fact. Well for a gundam kit. Released in 2010 and selling for around $3.50 it was a cheap yet fun kit. This is a simple build really. The arms are only two parts and most of the colors are done by stickers but it was something for the hubby and I to do together.
What was truly fun about this kit is that when you remove all the fancy armour you can slid him into one of our other kits, making that other kit a mecha suit for a gundam! As you will see from the photos I am attaching.
Lets start out with completed images of this little guy
As you can see he is rather colorful with all those foily stickers. The top picture is him inside his big boy armor...okay that is how I saw it. You see he is compensating for being small by adding on platform feet and big wings.
What he actually is is this little figure
So as you can see these are fun little guys and most of my SD gundams can trade pieces between each other. Makes for some playtime fun and hopefully I will get a working camera and go nuts with little dioramas
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