Month: November 2015

Friday Snippet: Meet Aldis

On By MikaelaIn Writing

This is from the WIP and it is very rough. Also due to be changed or cut in the revisions, cause this draft is really, really messy. But I hope you like it!

The trees rustles above them, as the wolf lead them deeper into the forest.  It felt like time had stopped for a moment, but Love knew it hadn’t. It was just his imagination.

He wasn’t certain how far they had walked when a tall woman,  dressed in a tunic made of leaves and grass, the green and yellow a startling contrast against her dark brown skin and hair the color of red autum leaves stepped out in to the path, blocking their way.

The wolf stopped, and growled. “ What do you want, Aldis?”

Aldis sniffed. “I just wanted to warn you that times is running out.”

The wolf growled. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”’

Aldis gave him an angry look, and the air crackled. The branches began to move towards them, as if they were as flexible as human limbs.  Love gulped.  The dryad was riding the killing edge, for some reason. Love had a hunch that the missing wolf pup was involved.

Holiday sale!

On By MikaelaIn news

I know that I said I wouldn’t do anymore sales, but I decided that I wanted to do one final sale, to celebrate that The Cauldron Bound is available in more places!  Since it is almost December, I am putting The Cauldron Bound on sale for the rest of the year.

TheCauldronBound_Medium

 

Travel back to the war torn Dhurian bronze age, in this stand alone prequel set in the same universe as Daughter of the Dark.

When Aodh of the creek clan- war weary warrior, ex bronze crafter- is sent by his Chieftain to find the source of the Portal Clan’s endless warriors, he has no idea what he and his friends is getting into.

Moirin of the Valley- seer, witch- leaves the isolated Mountain valley she has called home for centuries when her goddess sends a vision warning her of a coming threat.

Together these unlikely allies will have to collaborate if they are to stop the Portal Clan and their tame sorcerer. Before the Portal Clan’s vicious trap  snaps into place, crushing the clans that is opposing them.

Buy your copy at BN, Ibooks Amazon, Kobo, Ibooks.  OR You can read it for free at Scribd.

Recent reads: Urban Fantasy Noir

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations

As of a coincidence, I have read some really good Urban Fantasy Noir recently. And since they are short, and cheap, I thought I would recommend them to you.

The Hard boiled witch series by KA Laity:

I ought the first short story in this series yesterday. When I went to bed, I had bought all four of them, and devoured them.  This is delightfully gritty short stories, around 25 pages, filled with a down to earth witch, who uses down to earth magic. I enjoyed reading about Hecate Sidclaw and Henry. It was interesting to read about their adventures as they solved cases.

The Sylvan Investigations novellas by LA Gilman:

I have made no secret that I love LA Gilman’s books. This is a spin off from the P.U.P.I novels, and they are just as delightful. The first two, Promises to Keep and Miles to Go are available now, and the third novella is coming soon.  And the first two is discounted at BVC, which makes this the perfect time to read them.

The Spindle City series by Carlie St George:

When I read the blurb for the first story in this series, I flailed in the “OMG have to read it now” way. I went and pre-ordered it immediately. I am glad I did.  I loved it. It more than lived up to my expectations. And the next one is out tomorrow. I think. I hope. And the last one is out soon. If you cannot wait for the third one,  the publisher, the eminent Booksmugglers are serialising the last two books.

Anyway. Go forth and read, and buy.  You will thank me later.  Your family might not, since there is a chance that you ignore all the Thanksgiving cooking, and things like that.  But ignore them, they are just jealous.

The Cauldron Bound is available in more stores!

On By MikaelaIn Writing

So I finally got around to sign up for Draft2Digital, which means that the Cauldron Bound is now available in more places. Yay!

So now you can buy The Cauldron Bound at Barnes and Nobles.  If you use Scribd, you can read it there.  The Cauldron Bound is also available at Tolino ( I don’t have a link) and Inktera ( which is the source for many apps.)

I am pondering a sale, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. In case you are wondering, the short stories are coming sometime in December. Anyway, I hope you are as excited as I am over this. Go forth and read!

So you have written a novella, now what?

On By MikaelaIn Writing

During the last 2-3 years, novellas have had an upswing. More authors write them, publishers want them. This makes me happy, since I have spent the last 12 years writing novellas.

Except, I think some writers that try their hand at writing novellas treat them like long short stories when it comes to revising. They give it a light polish and then they either selfpublish or submit it to a market. And that drives me nuts, especially since I know a lot of writers ( me, included) put in a lot of work on revising it, before deciding if they want to submit or self publish it.

My piece of advise: If you write a novella on spec, treat it like you would a novel. In other words, finish the first draft. Let it sit. A week, a month,or longer, before sitting down to revise it.  Read it through.  Find all the things you missed when you wrote the first draft. Find the plot holes, find the missing POVs.

Even if your draft is sound plotwise, it is likely to be filled with telling, or sparse description.Which means, you are still likely to add words, purely by fleshing out the first draft.

How much you will add depends on what kind of writer you are, but I think it is important to remember that  even if it is a novella it is still a first draft, so go in with the attitude that you will have to add words. I think that attitude will make you a better writer, since if you think your novella is good as it is, you don’t grow as a writer.

Does it sound harsh? Maybe, but if there are writers specializing in short stories, then I am a writer specializing in novellas.

Then send it to a beta reader. Revise it. Then decide what to do with it, if you want to submit it or selfpublish it.  Believe me, the extra time will be worth it, since you are offering the acquiring editor or a reader a short but  satisifying glimpse into the world you have created.

 

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Good things that happened this week.

On By MikaelaIn Life

1. I Have written 3600 words in the last two days. Yay. In addition to the other 3000 words I wrote Mon-Wed. Which means I am at 6700 words so far this week. Woot.

2. I have reached the part of the story when I begin veering away from the outline. Which is always fun. I have also realised that I began to story in the wrong spot. But I should be able to finish the draft without much problem.

3. I have decided that I am not going to Gripsholm this year, since they are only open on weekends between 12-15. Which is too short, since I do not trust the train to not be late.

4. I am plotting a London trip in February. Yay. I am also plotting things for mum’s birthday. ( It involves somewhere warm.And good food.)

5. In 6 weeks it is christmas.Eek. Since I haven’t bought christmas gifts yet. I had planned to do it today, but it was very, very windy so I just bought groceries. Also, I am making fudge tomorrow! I might send some of you some.

6. Chrysoula Tzavelas has a new book out. You should buy it!

7. I got to tell Robin D Owens, Di Pharaoh Francis and Michelle Sagara about their RT nominations before the public announcement, since I snapped up RT:s offer of a 12 month digital subscription in July, during RWA. Yay. I am always happy when good things happen to my friends.

 

Lots of books coming

On By MikaelaIn updates, Writing

So I have been thinking about my release schedule for 2016. Oh, don’t worry. You are getting Daughter of the Dark, the sequel, and the collection.  But you are also getting all the separate short stories, since I changed my mind about just doing the collection.

So what does this mean? It means that in March or April, I will begin to release the short stories, once or twice a month. Then, in June or July, Daughter of the Dark will be released. Then in Sept or October, the next novella, then the collection in Dec or so. And then, we begin it all over again. Except instead of short stories, there will be bundles and print editions coming in early 2016.

So why am I doing this?  Because, I have looked at some successful romance authors, and noticed that this is what many of them are doing: They release the first 3-4 books in a series really close to each other ( in some cases, that IS the series), and then market it heavily ( like first book in the series free or discounted).  Then there are also the fact that I am a slow writer. Or that isn’t quite true. I am a writer of the slow and steady kind, but what takes time for me is revising. Especially since there need to be several rounds of revising.

So by doing it this way, I get to maximise the impact of the releases. Or at least that is the plan.  Oh, I am also giving myself deadlines,since I really need to begin revising the second book. Ahem. And write  two of the short stories. That said, nothing is set in stone. It might turn out that some of the short stories gets pushed back, or a novella. You get the idea.

But 2016 will be an exciting year!

Gumroad!

On By MikaelaIn Writing

I am in an experimenting mode, so I uploaded the Cauldron Bound to Gumroad.  And the 20 first that buys it, gets 2 dollar off. Just enter the code novsale. ( I don’t expect to sell much. In fact, if I sell 20 copies, I will have doubled my sales. Or something. But I am appealed by the flexibility and ease of use.)

Anyway, if you have been wanting to buy the Cauldron Bound, this is a good time, since I doubt I will do any more sales for awhile. ( At least until Daughter of the Dark is out.)

Have you tried iAuthor?

On By MikaelaIn Writing

I don’t plug many services here, but I signed up for iAuthor earlier this year.  I liked the idea and it was free, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

So I added my books, added them to some themes and then I sorta forgot about them. I had other books to write and edit. Not to mention day job, and you know, living a life in general.

Anyway, on a whim, I decided to check back today, for the first time since July, when I added the Cauldron Bound. I added The Cauldron Bound to a bunch of themes and updated the blurb. Then, I discovered iAuthor’s reader stats. I could see, how often someone clicked on the links to my books.  Basically, twice as made had clicked on Exile, compared to The Cauldron Bound.  Sadly the clicks hasn’t lead to any sales, but it is still interesting.

Considering how inactive I am, it would also be interesting to see what happened if I became more active. Would it lead to more sales?  It is something that I need to think about.

 

Writing like the wind

On By MikaelaIn Writing

I am doing Nano, and I am writing like the wind. No, really. I am. I have had several days with 2000 words, and couple of more with 1500 words. And it is all because of the outline that I wrote. It is pretty detailed, but not too detailed. But it is doing its job, pretty nicely. It allows me to write a first draft, without worrying too much about not knowing what is going to happen.

I am the first to admit that there are days when my brain says stop, you have written 700 words, and that is enough. 🙂 It is possible, that today is going to be one of those days since I wrote 1800 words yesterday,  one of those “Oh I am on track to reach 1500 words, so lets write 450 words in 30 minutes” things.  Which have happened once or twice, but it is rare. More common is what happened this morning: 1000 words in 90 minutes.

Anyway, the plan for this weekend, is to have a writing marathon, since I am in dad’s empty apartment, and all I need to do is to reheat food. 🙂

So far, I am very pleased with my word count. I want to have a bit more written today, maybe another 500 words or so since I am aiming for 5 000 for the weekend.