Tuesday, September 03, 2013
Texting, Audiobooks and Writers
What do texting and audiobooks have to do with writers?
I learned over the past week that texting and writers don't mix. I've also learned that if I am sitting up listening to an audiobook, I tend to stay awake but if I recline and turn the book on and just let it sit on my nightstand that I tend to fall asleep.
Texting in general is a terrible form of communication for anyone. With all the abbreviations and "text speak" out there, it is very difficult to keep track of what you are saying. This writer doesn't abbreviate when texting and even so, she tends to misspell words that there is no reason to misspell. I was texting a friend the other day who was about to leave for a month-long trip to Serbia and was telling about my free download for kindle of Finally Home and also that I had some "short" stories available for 99 cents. Well, I meant short stories, but what came out was "slopt" and how that came about was a simple error of hitting the incorrect number key associated with the letters. I thought I was keying in the 4 for the H and the rest of the numbers were okay but when I hit the 5 instead of the 4, it put in the word "slopt", not that I believe that is a word. But it was funny when she texted me back saying she loved "slopt" stories.
As a writer, we are told to use our words and when we get sidetracked with text messaging and other short forms of communicating like this, we tend to get sloppy and everything comes out incorrectly. My advice to writers who insist on texting (my preferred form of communication is email or actually talking on the phone) don't abbreviate your words. Use your words and use them correctly.
As far as audiobooks, I suggest trying them - listen in the car when traveling and if too much of a distraction, then it's not for you; try them when getting ready for bed or just listen to them when you are working out. They are a great form of getting your reading time in every day. I have listened to 2 full books (although I do believe I fell asleep during one of them and may have missed some of the book or perhaps if I did, I went back and relistened to what I had missed) and have 3 more in my library to listen to. I am in the process of listening to The Story of Dr. Doolittle and know I fell asleep the other night. No worries, since I know I can rewind to a place I remember actually hearing.
I wonder if reading a different book than you are listening to counts as reading several books at a time? My guess is yes since you are getting the reading in by either actually seeing the words on the page or hearing them as read by someone else. I used to think I wouldn't be one of these people who could read several books at a time but I guess I just proved myself wrong as I am currently visually reading a book and listening to a book.
If you are looking for a way to lull yourself to sleep, I suggest opening an audiobook and unless its an intense thriller or suspense novel, that should work in putting to you sleep. No wonder babies fall asleep when mothers read to them. It's that soothing sound of the voice that lulls them into slumber. See you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, August 30, 2013
How do you get your book ideas? - Books & Such Literary Agency : Books & Such Literary Agency
How do you get your book ideas? - Books & Such Literary Agency : Books & Such Literary Agency
This is more interesting after reading the comments by others. I was asked this question by one of the 6th graders a couple of weeks ago when I was doing an introduction time to the kids so that they would know who I am. They had a brief introduction to me last year but we found it was too much for me to spend my days in all three classes (4th, 5th and 6th) and that it would be best to just focus on the 6th graders knowing I would get the 5th graders this year and they would be more likely to do writing related events that they could work with me one-on-one. Let us know where your ideas come from - E :)
This is more interesting after reading the comments by others. I was asked this question by one of the 6th graders a couple of weeks ago when I was doing an introduction time to the kids so that they would know who I am. They had a brief introduction to me last year but we found it was too much for me to spend my days in all three classes (4th, 5th and 6th) and that it would be best to just focus on the 6th graders knowing I would get the 5th graders this year and they would be more likely to do writing related events that they could work with me one-on-one. Let us know where your ideas come from - E :)
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Quick Audible/ACX Update
As most of you know, Finally Home went up as an audio book the end of June. The first week it went up, 5 copies were downloaded (Yay!!!). This evening I went to do laundry and having not checked my mail all week, I went to the post office first. Upon opening there was a large, oversized but thin envelope from Audible.com and I was thinking it was more paperwork that I might not have filled out, but no my first royalty check from audible for 5 downloads of Finally Home and 1 download of State of Successes. Royalties are paid monthly as long as you have earned at least $10. Since the first of July, I have had 2 more downloads of Finally Home and 2 of State of Successes, one of which I believe occurred today or yesterday as I haven't checked my ACX dashboard in a couple of days and the last time I looked there were only 3 total for State of Successes.
For those of you who have downloaded the audio books, I thank you very much. I hope you all enjoy listening to Sienna narrate the story. Just a reminder too that there will be a second in Kelly Watson mysteries. I'm workig on The Ties of Time and hope it meets your expectations. E :)
For those of you who have downloaded the audio books, I thank you very much. I hope you all enjoy listening to Sienna narrate the story. Just a reminder too that there will be a second in Kelly Watson mysteries. I'm workig on The Ties of Time and hope it meets your expectations. E :)
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The Proposal Free Days/Research Field trip
It's free download days again; this time, my short story "The Proposal" is available. It will be free through Thursday midnight PST. I'd forgotten to post this yesterday but I have a reason.
Yesterday, my friend Anita and I took a field trip to Iva (the town setting for my Kelly Watson stories) and explored. We parked on the square and kind of walked around checking out the store fronts or buildings there and turned the corner to find the Iva Museum. It was closed as they are only open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The person who operates the museum was there checking on the air conditioner as he had been on vacation last week and he wanted to make sure that the folks had returned it to its normal settings. He was coming out of the museum as we were kind of looking in the windows, stating we needed to make another trip when the museum was opened. Anita asked him about the museum and we explained what I was doing, so he was kind enough to let us in and showed us around and allowed us to take some pictures of some of their pictures. We gained a lot of information from that short visit. Thank you, Mr. David Newby, for spending some time with us and giving us some background history of the town. He also told us about the "Antique Body Shop" just around the corner, so we naturally had to stop in there. No, it's not an antique car shop but a senior citizens gym. We spoke with two folks there and Anita bought herself a T-shirt.
From there, we made our way to the town hall which houses the police department, municipal court and the place to pay water bills (I've forgotten what it was called). We talked to the one lady who was standing behind the police department window, who happened to be the victim's advocate. We asked for some information and she told us that the guy across from them would be able to help us but he had just stepped out of the office, but would return shortly (I missed when he did return or we would have engaged in a conversation with him). The Chief of Police had to deal with a situation but when he finished with that business, he was very nice to sit with us and give us all kinds of other information. He even printed out a map and marked places we wanted to explore for us. That map may show up in the front of The Tie of Time (A Kelly Watson paranormal mystery).
When we left town hall, it was lunch time so we stopped by the cafe we had originally parked in front of and had lunch - buffet style - fried chicken, sweet potato casserole, green beans, beets (which I didn't get any of but I do love beets if they are fixed right), rice and white gravy, some greens (I think they were collard greens), country fired steak, and desserts and a few other veggies. The buffet table isn't very large so they can only put up a few items each day. The waitress was very friendly.
After leaving the cafe, we drove around looking for the different items marked on the map for us including the supposed ghost house (which we didn't really find but no worries) and the oldest house in Iva which was old but didn't really give me the impression of being the oldest house around, the old drug store (vital to The Ties of Time as this is where the whole mystery will occur), the nursing home, the old high school which is now the Civic Center and houses an indoor basketball court and is used for all kinds of activities. There is also a very nice park in front of the Civic Center and the only remaining building of the old school which was the cafeteria.
We got a tour of the nursing home and were invited back during the activities time to observe what one of the worker's daughter does to help out (bless her little heart, she is only 6 years old and was trying her best to do the craft of the day, which was building little bird houses or bird feeders). Thank you to Diane, Melissa and Tina for helping us give a reason for Kelly and Emma to be in the nursing home.
From the center of town, it is about 1 mile to the outskirts in any direction, so it is not a very large area, so I'm having to change what I started out with for the girls to get around since State Law says that no one can operate a moped or golf cart without a driver's license. So now my girls will be riding bicycles around town. I just need to make sure they have somewhere to put their picnic basket and other stuff. Do they still make front handlebar baskets for bicycles?
Overall, I think we had a very productive and interesting day of discovery. We will probably make several more trips to Iva over the ensuing months. Everyone we spoke to seemed genuinely excited about the fact that I was an author and had set my story in their small town. I look forward to visiting the town of Iva again and hopefully meeting more people. I also am excited to really get to writing The Ties of Times and hopefully can get it done fairly quickly. I will post pictures later as it is now time to get to work as there is a team conference call this afternoon and one of my co-workers is out this week. See you all in the postings - E :)
Yesterday, my friend Anita and I took a field trip to Iva (the town setting for my Kelly Watson stories) and explored. We parked on the square and kind of walked around checking out the store fronts or buildings there and turned the corner to find the Iva Museum. It was closed as they are only open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The person who operates the museum was there checking on the air conditioner as he had been on vacation last week and he wanted to make sure that the folks had returned it to its normal settings. He was coming out of the museum as we were kind of looking in the windows, stating we needed to make another trip when the museum was opened. Anita asked him about the museum and we explained what I was doing, so he was kind enough to let us in and showed us around and allowed us to take some pictures of some of their pictures. We gained a lot of information from that short visit. Thank you, Mr. David Newby, for spending some time with us and giving us some background history of the town. He also told us about the "Antique Body Shop" just around the corner, so we naturally had to stop in there. No, it's not an antique car shop but a senior citizens gym. We spoke with two folks there and Anita bought herself a T-shirt.
From there, we made our way to the town hall which houses the police department, municipal court and the place to pay water bills (I've forgotten what it was called). We talked to the one lady who was standing behind the police department window, who happened to be the victim's advocate. We asked for some information and she told us that the guy across from them would be able to help us but he had just stepped out of the office, but would return shortly (I missed when he did return or we would have engaged in a conversation with him). The Chief of Police had to deal with a situation but when he finished with that business, he was very nice to sit with us and give us all kinds of other information. He even printed out a map and marked places we wanted to explore for us. That map may show up in the front of The Tie of Time (A Kelly Watson paranormal mystery).
When we left town hall, it was lunch time so we stopped by the cafe we had originally parked in front of and had lunch - buffet style - fried chicken, sweet potato casserole, green beans, beets (which I didn't get any of but I do love beets if they are fixed right), rice and white gravy, some greens (I think they were collard greens), country fired steak, and desserts and a few other veggies. The buffet table isn't very large so they can only put up a few items each day. The waitress was very friendly.
After leaving the cafe, we drove around looking for the different items marked on the map for us including the supposed ghost house (which we didn't really find but no worries) and the oldest house in Iva which was old but didn't really give me the impression of being the oldest house around, the old drug store (vital to The Ties of Time as this is where the whole mystery will occur), the nursing home, the old high school which is now the Civic Center and houses an indoor basketball court and is used for all kinds of activities. There is also a very nice park in front of the Civic Center and the only remaining building of the old school which was the cafeteria.
We got a tour of the nursing home and were invited back during the activities time to observe what one of the worker's daughter does to help out (bless her little heart, she is only 6 years old and was trying her best to do the craft of the day, which was building little bird houses or bird feeders). Thank you to Diane, Melissa and Tina for helping us give a reason for Kelly and Emma to be in the nursing home.
From the center of town, it is about 1 mile to the outskirts in any direction, so it is not a very large area, so I'm having to change what I started out with for the girls to get around since State Law says that no one can operate a moped or golf cart without a driver's license. So now my girls will be riding bicycles around town. I just need to make sure they have somewhere to put their picnic basket and other stuff. Do they still make front handlebar baskets for bicycles?
Overall, I think we had a very productive and interesting day of discovery. We will probably make several more trips to Iva over the ensuing months. Everyone we spoke to seemed genuinely excited about the fact that I was an author and had set my story in their small town. I look forward to visiting the town of Iva again and hopefully meeting more people. I also am excited to really get to writing The Ties of Times and hopefully can get it done fairly quickly. I will post pictures later as it is now time to get to work as there is a team conference call this afternoon and one of my co-workers is out this week. See you all in the postings - E :)
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Bride-and-Seek Free Days
The Bride-and-Seek free days are here. For the next three days, you can pick up your copy of my romantic ghost story based on a legend in England for free. Hope you all enjoy it. E :)
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Ties of Time
The Ties of Time A Kelly Watson Mystery is the newest title in my Kelly Watson series.
I had a story starter prompt, kind of, had written 6 pages up to basically where the "bookstore" was no longer but got stuck as I didn't really have any direction of where the story was going, what the mystery actually was or even why the bookstore (which after brainstorming with my really good friend, Anita, last night is no longer really a bookstore) was there one minute and not the next.
Lana has been urging me to get to writing on this story, not for the story itself but to get back into writing. Yesterday before leaving for the monthly Sisters in Crime meeting, Lana and I were chatting. She had given me a little insight Wednesday night of what the girls found at the site that was a store but is no longer. A piece of wood. So yesterday during our chat, she asked me "What do the girls find under the wood?" and listed a half dozen or more possibilities, then stating the possibilities were endless. I wrote down the suggestions she made on the printed pages of the story to take to the SinC meeting for Anita's reading. I'm glad I did because after the meeting we did some serious brainstorming and came up with The Ties of Time. I now know exactly what the mystery is, who is involved and where the mystery ends up.
I can tell you this about the story: It is actually a murder mystery (which came about secondarily); it involves ghosts, twisted relationships, skeletons in the closet, and even a bit of time travel for Kelly or really more use of her "witchy powers". Solving the murder actually led to two other murders in the past which turn out to be books 3 and 4 in the series. There are 11 characters involved in this story of which several will show up in the next two books, thus the premise of books 3 and 4 are in motion already with book 3 a better inkling of the "ties" of time and other things. All I can tell you about book 4 is they are going to solve the last related murder to the other two but they need to solve the first two before getting to third one. After book 4 is finished, I think I will consider the series complete as I didn't start out writing murder mysteries and after the third murder is solved, there shouldn't be any more skeletons in the closet that need telling. If there are any more Kelly mysteries after book 4, then it is likely they will be basic mysteries and not involve murders as I really don't have any more characters that have been murdered and in a town as small as Iva, SC, is there aren't enough people around to have them getting killed off. Besides, we don't really want Kelly involved in too many murders before she reaches the age of 16 anyways.
The Ties of Time is actually going to tie three mysteries together over the course of time but there are other reasons for the title, which I can't reveal at this moment, but trust me the ties are there. I look forward to really getting the story written now with publication to follow within a few months. I've set a deadline of having the story written by the end of August (that is basically a 6-week timeframe), with editing and revising probably for the middle of October as I will probably start on book 3, the second murder, in the series before jumping into the edits immediately, and then we will go from there.
More when I can - see you all in the postings - E :)
I had a story starter prompt, kind of, had written 6 pages up to basically where the "bookstore" was no longer but got stuck as I didn't really have any direction of where the story was going, what the mystery actually was or even why the bookstore (which after brainstorming with my really good friend, Anita, last night is no longer really a bookstore) was there one minute and not the next.
Lana has been urging me to get to writing on this story, not for the story itself but to get back into writing. Yesterday before leaving for the monthly Sisters in Crime meeting, Lana and I were chatting. She had given me a little insight Wednesday night of what the girls found at the site that was a store but is no longer. A piece of wood. So yesterday during our chat, she asked me "What do the girls find under the wood?" and listed a half dozen or more possibilities, then stating the possibilities were endless. I wrote down the suggestions she made on the printed pages of the story to take to the SinC meeting for Anita's reading. I'm glad I did because after the meeting we did some serious brainstorming and came up with The Ties of Time. I now know exactly what the mystery is, who is involved and where the mystery ends up.
I can tell you this about the story: It is actually a murder mystery (which came about secondarily); it involves ghosts, twisted relationships, skeletons in the closet, and even a bit of time travel for Kelly or really more use of her "witchy powers". Solving the murder actually led to two other murders in the past which turn out to be books 3 and 4 in the series. There are 11 characters involved in this story of which several will show up in the next two books, thus the premise of books 3 and 4 are in motion already with book 3 a better inkling of the "ties" of time and other things. All I can tell you about book 4 is they are going to solve the last related murder to the other two but they need to solve the first two before getting to third one. After book 4 is finished, I think I will consider the series complete as I didn't start out writing murder mysteries and after the third murder is solved, there shouldn't be any more skeletons in the closet that need telling. If there are any more Kelly mysteries after book 4, then it is likely they will be basic mysteries and not involve murders as I really don't have any more characters that have been murdered and in a town as small as Iva, SC, is there aren't enough people around to have them getting killed off. Besides, we don't really want Kelly involved in too many murders before she reaches the age of 16 anyways.
The Ties of Time is actually going to tie three mysteries together over the course of time but there are other reasons for the title, which I can't reveal at this moment, but trust me the ties are there. I look forward to really getting the story written now with publication to follow within a few months. I've set a deadline of having the story written by the end of August (that is basically a 6-week timeframe), with editing and revising probably for the middle of October as I will probably start on book 3, the second murder, in the series before jumping into the edits immediately, and then we will go from there.
More when I can - see you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, July 05, 2013
Upcoming Free Download Days All Books
Since I've moved all my books off Smashwords and Nook and I haven't done any free days in a while, it's time to do some more free download days. I tried to space everything out so that nothing is really running the same day but there ended up being two back-to-back (see below), which may or may not work to my advantage - lol.
Here is the lineup:
"Bride-and-Seek" - July 18-20 (3 days); September 24-25 (2 days)
"The Proposal" - July 23-25 (3 days), September 27-28 (2 days)
"The Tulip Kiss" - August 13-17 (5 days)
Finally Home - August 29-September 2 (5 days - this will run the Thursday before Labor Day through Labor Day)
Remember the free promotional days run midnight PST through midnight PST (3 AM to 3 AM EST). If you are eastern time and look for the books at midnight the day it starts, you won't see them listed as free.
Also posted on the JGDS blog that "Train of Clues" would go free next week and then again in August. The schedule will be July 11-12 and August 27-29 (which will overlap one day with Finally Home, but it will be okay since they are not related and shouldn't have any bearing on the other). Check out my posting and let me know if you have any thoughts on gaining sponsors for the state series. Thanks all - see you in the postings - Mrs. E :)
Here is the lineup:
"Bride-and-Seek" - July 18-20 (3 days); September 24-25 (2 days)
"The Proposal" - July 23-25 (3 days), September 27-28 (2 days)
"The Tulip Kiss" - August 13-17 (5 days)
Finally Home - August 29-September 2 (5 days - this will run the Thursday before Labor Day through Labor Day)
Remember the free promotional days run midnight PST through midnight PST (3 AM to 3 AM EST). If you are eastern time and look for the books at midnight the day it starts, you won't see them listed as free.
Also posted on the JGDS blog that "Train of Clues" would go free next week and then again in August. The schedule will be July 11-12 and August 27-29 (which will overlap one day with Finally Home, but it will be okay since they are not related and shouldn't have any bearing on the other). Check out my posting and let me know if you have any thoughts on gaining sponsors for the state series. Thanks all - see you in the postings - Mrs. E :)
Thursday, July 04, 2013
One Week ACX Report
Finally Home has been live for 1 week now and there have been 4 downloads not including my own from using my credits. Remember this is available on amazon.com as well as audible.com and itunes. Hope those of you who have downloaded the audio book have enjoyed hearing Sienna reading. Drop me a line if you have gotten an audio copy and let me know what you think.
Just to let you know that when there is a second book, hopefully Sienna will be available to do the reading again. Right now, I'm leaning towards The Mysterious Bookshoppe: A Kelly Watson Mystery and go from there. This, of course, is a work in progress and may end up changing as I progress, but I do know that the bookstore holds many mysteries, not of the book type though, perhaps of the ghostly type or some otherly world type. See you all in the postings - E :)
Just to let you know that when there is a second book, hopefully Sienna will be available to do the reading again. Right now, I'm leaning towards The Mysterious Bookshoppe: A Kelly Watson Mystery and go from there. This, of course, is a work in progress and may end up changing as I progress, but I do know that the bookstore holds many mysteries, not of the book type though, perhaps of the ghostly type or some otherly world type. See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Finally Home is Available on audible.com
A week earlier than expected, but Finally Home is now available on audible.com. The email stated that it would go up on itunes and amazon.com in the next few days.
If you are a new member to audible.com and make Finally Home one of your first three purchases, I get a little bonus. If you are not new to audible.com and have the credits and/or would like to purchase your copy of Finally Home, it is retailing for $13.96 or 1 credit.
It looks like I will have to use my credits to get my own books, which is fine, as I will then have them in my library and can play the sample file which is clearer than the download I did from the ACX site. Please pass the word that my books are starting to go out as audio books.
As stated last week, I have started a second Kelly Watson mystery, tentatively calling it The Mysterious Bookshop, so hopefully by the spring of next year it will be available in all formats - ebook will probably be the first format and then print and audiobook. When I have a title and cover, I'll share with you all; of course, I have to write the story before I can really think of having a cover made up. See you all in the postings - E :)
If you are a new member to audible.com and make Finally Home one of your first three purchases, I get a little bonus. If you are not new to audible.com and have the credits and/or would like to purchase your copy of Finally Home, it is retailing for $13.96 or 1 credit.
It looks like I will have to use my credits to get my own books, which is fine, as I will then have them in my library and can play the sample file which is clearer than the download I did from the ACX site. Please pass the word that my books are starting to go out as audio books.
As stated last week, I have started a second Kelly Watson mystery, tentatively calling it The Mysterious Bookshop, so hopefully by the spring of next year it will be available in all formats - ebook will probably be the first format and then print and audiobook. When I have a title and cover, I'll share with you all; of course, I have to write the story before I can really think of having a cover made up. See you all in the postings - E :)
Monday, June 24, 2013
July 1-3
Save the date as it seems this will be the "go live" week for both Finally Home and State of Successess, after being told originally 10-20 days, which would have been today had that been true. Now I've been told 14-20 business days and that they should go live the first week of July. Hopefully, this means before the 4th of July that both books will be available in audio format. This reminds me of the old Heinz Ketchup jingle way back in the day - Anticipation, It's making me wait. I'm anxiously awaiting the books going live just like the people pouring the ketchup were anticipating it falling on the burger. I don't like waiting like this and I don't know what all they have to do to "validate" or as was stated in the second correspondence "complete ingestion." Funny term but I guess I have to keep waiting. See you all in the postings - E :)
Thursday, June 20, 2013
New Kelly Adventure
Monday evening I was chatting with one of my editors, who is busy working on finishing several drafts of projects she has started before she delivers her third child in August, and she was nudging, okay more like nagging me, to write. I tried the nudging part with her before to get her inspired to complete some projects but she tended to shut down and disappear for a while and not write much. I guess I'm kind of the same way. I went to the store Wednesday evening because I had the munchies and ran into a lady whom I met at the laundromat a few months ago and had given her daughter, age 10, a copy of Finally Home and we got to talking and I was told that her daughter really enjoyed it and kept telling her mom that she couldn't put it down until she had finished reading it. So, that inspired me some and got me thinking more on the new story since I had a base for it from chatting with Lana.
So, since the state books are on hold for now and I tried putting the karma out to the kids for new stories for Kelly and Emma and that didn't work too well, I know I need to write something else, either a short story or another Kelly story. I was looking over some story lines from previous winners of kids stories (the kids actually wrote the stories) on Mysterynet.com and some other information about writing mysteries that I had printed off.
One of the pages I had printed off was a "Mystery Story Starter Ideas: DIY Guide for Children and Adults" by Marilisa Sachteleben. One of the prompts is titled "The Book Seller's Enigma" and the prompt reads as: "I hadn't remembered seeing the musty old book shop on that street before, but the old peddler bechoned me. When I returned the next day with my brother, shop and shopkeeper had gone. We asked an old-timer passing by. "That shop?" he declared, "why it ain't been around for 50 years." (Doesn't that just beckon you to write a story about the store, the shopkeeper or the something else mysterious about the contents of the bookstore?)
When I shared that prompt with Lana, before I actually could get the whole prompt typed into the chat window, she said I could write about a mysterious book from the bookstore. I mulled it over a day or so, and have now come up with a second adventure for Kelly. I don't know what I will call it yet, but I've written 2 pages so far and I feel I need to write a couple of pages before I even get to Kelly and Emma's conversation about the bookstore. I feel I almost have to have an istant message between Kelly and Judy, Kelly's long-time, bestest friend who is blind and from whom Kelly had to move when they moved to the small town where she found the house that actually belonged to her father. I will play around with it a bit and see what is working and hopefully I will have a new story soon. When I get a bit further in to the story, I may start sharing some excerpts from the story and may even run a contest for the title of the story. I will keep you all posted as I progress. See you all in the postings - E :)
AFGHAN DRAWING: Don't forget to leave a comment with a valid email to be contacted so that you can be entered in the drawing for the red, white and blue afghan drawing, which will be held around December 1 or so.
So, since the state books are on hold for now and I tried putting the karma out to the kids for new stories for Kelly and Emma and that didn't work too well, I know I need to write something else, either a short story or another Kelly story. I was looking over some story lines from previous winners of kids stories (the kids actually wrote the stories) on Mysterynet.com and some other information about writing mysteries that I had printed off.
One of the pages I had printed off was a "Mystery Story Starter Ideas: DIY Guide for Children and Adults" by Marilisa Sachteleben. One of the prompts is titled "The Book Seller's Enigma" and the prompt reads as: "I hadn't remembered seeing the musty old book shop on that street before, but the old peddler bechoned me. When I returned the next day with my brother, shop and shopkeeper had gone. We asked an old-timer passing by. "That shop?" he declared, "why it ain't been around for 50 years." (Doesn't that just beckon you to write a story about the store, the shopkeeper or the something else mysterious about the contents of the bookstore?)
When I shared that prompt with Lana, before I actually could get the whole prompt typed into the chat window, she said I could write about a mysterious book from the bookstore. I mulled it over a day or so, and have now come up with a second adventure for Kelly. I don't know what I will call it yet, but I've written 2 pages so far and I feel I need to write a couple of pages before I even get to Kelly and Emma's conversation about the bookstore. I feel I almost have to have an istant message between Kelly and Judy, Kelly's long-time, bestest friend who is blind and from whom Kelly had to move when they moved to the small town where she found the house that actually belonged to her father. I will play around with it a bit and see what is working and hopefully I will have a new story soon. When I get a bit further in to the story, I may start sharing some excerpts from the story and may even run a contest for the title of the story. I will keep you all posted as I progress. See you all in the postings - E :)
AFGHAN DRAWING: Don't forget to leave a comment with a valid email to be contacted so that you can be entered in the drawing for the red, white and blue afghan drawing, which will be held around December 1 or so.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Price Reduction
I just decided to lower the price on all the print books available. State books are now $8.50 across the board (Wilderness, Successes, Heights and Nature) as this is the price I sell them when I do in-person events. Finally Home is now $9.99 and "Train of Clues" has been reduced to $5.99. Hopefully sales will pick up with these price reductions across the board.
I've been thinking about this for a while now because I do generally well at in-person events with these prices and should be able to do well through Amazon with the same prices. See you all in the postings - E :)
I've been thinking about this for a while now because I do generally well at in-person events with these prices and should be able to do well through Amazon with the same prices. See you all in the postings - E :)
Show Don't Tell
I recently finished a book about witches but was puzzled why the author defined things like athame and Book of Shadows instead of describing them. The one thing I did take away from reading the book is that I need to do some research and bring out Kelly's powers more in future stories. I need to know how to do certain things, like how to do Tarot readings and help her use her newfound witch powers for good.
I also decided that instead of saying "show don't tell" for stories, the new saying is "Describe don't Define." As a children's author, we are told to not talk down to the readers and I felt like I was being talked down to by this author when she defined things instead of describing them. I felt like she assumed we were stupid and not knowing of the things associated with witches and that is why she had to define them for us. I think as a reader, I'm typically going to read things that interest me and that I do know something about or that I may be writing about.
I don't read sci-fi because it doesn't interest me; I'm not big on a romance but if there is romance in the story, I'm not turned off by it; I enjoy things like Suspense, Thrillers, Mysteries, some paranormal and children's genres. I'm not into werewolves or vampires but enjoy good ghost stories and some witch stories. If the witch story isn't evil and has an element of what true witches are, I'm okay with it.
As far as showing goes, you want the reader to picture in their mind exactly what you are describing and how you see the object. Witches' athames are different as are their familiars and Book of Shadows. Some witches have psychic powers and some have the ability to read Tarot cards with accuracy. Research what it is you want to use in your stories and describe for your readers but don't talk down to them.
Think of a story you've read recently and if the author has described or defined things throughout. Did you feel talked down to or that you were not knowing of the items in the story? Did the author do a good job of making you see the objects in your mind? Do you read a particular author more than others because they use a lot of description in their writings? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the subject of "Describe don't Define." - See you all in the postings - E :)
I also decided that instead of saying "show don't tell" for stories, the new saying is "Describe don't Define." As a children's author, we are told to not talk down to the readers and I felt like I was being talked down to by this author when she defined things instead of describing them. I felt like she assumed we were stupid and not knowing of the things associated with witches and that is why she had to define them for us. I think as a reader, I'm typically going to read things that interest me and that I do know something about or that I may be writing about.
I don't read sci-fi because it doesn't interest me; I'm not big on a romance but if there is romance in the story, I'm not turned off by it; I enjoy things like Suspense, Thrillers, Mysteries, some paranormal and children's genres. I'm not into werewolves or vampires but enjoy good ghost stories and some witch stories. If the witch story isn't evil and has an element of what true witches are, I'm okay with it.
As far as showing goes, you want the reader to picture in their mind exactly what you are describing and how you see the object. Witches' athames are different as are their familiars and Book of Shadows. Some witches have psychic powers and some have the ability to read Tarot cards with accuracy. Research what it is you want to use in your stories and describe for your readers but don't talk down to them.
Think of a story you've read recently and if the author has described or defined things throughout. Did you feel talked down to or that you were not knowing of the items in the story? Did the author do a good job of making you see the objects in your mind? Do you read a particular author more than others because they use a lot of description in their writings? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the subject of "Describe don't Define." - See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Writers On The Move: ACX Update and a n audible.com Tutorial
My latest posting on the ACX process. Stop by, leave a comment and be entered for 2 chances for the crocheted afghan drawing. Comments on this blog and the JGDS blog on all postings between now and the end of June will also receive 2 chances in the drawing. Please remember to leave me an email address so that I can contact you to get more information such as mailing info to send your tickets to as well as if you are the winner the afghan to. Drawing will be around the 1st of December after all events for the year are completed. Comments on the WOTM for today's posting only will be entered in the drawing.
Writers On The Move: ACX Update and a n audible.com Tutorial: The last known activity on both books - State of Successes and Finally Home - was that the books were submitted as finalized by me on June ...
Writers On The Move: ACX Update and a n audible.com Tutorial: The last known activity on both books - State of Successes and Finally Home - was that the books were submitted as finalized by me on June ...
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
Finally Home Audio
I've approved everything, gotten the cover for the audio books and now it is in the hands of ACX to finalize everything. Here is what the audio cover looks like:
I'm trying to figure out how to add the sample audio file so that I can start promoting the audio version, but have yet to figure that out. As soon as I do, the audio file will be on the sidebar of my blog. Once you hear the sample file, how about dropping by Sienna Beckman's website and leaving her a note on what a great job she has done.
Audio books are available through amazon.com, audible.com and itunes. So hopefully within the next day or two this will go live. See you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, May 31, 2013
End-of-School Year Freebie
So here it is the end of the month and summer is upon us, although everyone is saying the beginning of Summer was last weekend. If you haven't picked up your copy of Finally Home for you Kindle yet and would like a copy, this weekend (today, tomorrow and Sunday) you can download a copy for free. If you like Nancy Drew mysteries and would like to try a new story on the lines of a Nancy Drew mystery or know a middle grade/young adult reader who is into mysteries and Nancy Drew, please direct them here for their free copy. Hope you all will get your copy and enjoy the read.
The audio book should be up on amazon, audible,com and through itunes within a week or so. See you all in the postings - E :)
The audio book should be up on amazon, audible,com and through itunes within a week or so. See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Carpe Diem (again)
The other night I was watching the Disney Channel (yeah, I know why are you watching the Disney Channel?), and was inspired by a Phineas and Ferb video take. It was about carpe diem. I wish I could remember the words because it was very inspiring but then again that was a late night moment that has passed.
I did take the opportunity to contact National Geographic today and have been referred to several persons but I'm not sure I'm getting to the right person. Time will tell. So Phineas and Ferb, thanks for reminding me to "seize the day" again. I needed it. I can only move upward now that the ball is rolling. See you all in the postings - E :)
UPDATE (05/29/2013): So I was searching the net for the Phineas and Ferb video and found this one although I don't remember seeing the chorus line of dancers at the beginning on the one I saw the other night or Kenny Ortega making an appearance near the end but this is pretty much the video I saw and apparently it is a couple of years old. Hope you all enjoy it and remember to Carpe Diem - seize the day -
Phineas & Ferb Carpe Diem Video
See you all in the postings - E :)
I did take the opportunity to contact National Geographic today and have been referred to several persons but I'm not sure I'm getting to the right person. Time will tell. So Phineas and Ferb, thanks for reminding me to "seize the day" again. I needed it. I can only move upward now that the ball is rolling. See you all in the postings - E :)
UPDATE (05/29/2013): So I was searching the net for the Phineas and Ferb video and found this one although I don't remember seeing the chorus line of dancers at the beginning on the one I saw the other night or Kenny Ortega making an appearance near the end but this is pretty much the video I saw and apparently it is a couple of years old. Hope you all enjoy it and remember to Carpe Diem - seize the day -
Phineas & Ferb Carpe Diem Video
See you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Just Call Me Slack
It has been 3 weeks since my last post and I have no excuse for it other than to say that I have been slack all around. I got a new computer in April and about 2-1/2 weeks later had to return it due to the fact that the scroll on the touchpad didn't work and the system was slow, albeit faster than what is in my dinosaur of a computer now, and apparently had the wrong operating system as nothing really seemed to work like it was supposed to. I did notice there were some Windows 7 files on what was supposed to be a Windows 8 based computer. Even wor tech support guys said the system wasn't operating properly and that I should take it back. Now I'm back on my old laptop again and can't take it with me anywhere due to the monitor being broken at the hinges and the slightest movement causes me to lose my ability to see anything on the screen other than a bunch of lines, meaning I have to hibernate the old thing and then turn it back on to get my screen back.
So slack days should be over and I hope to get back to posting on a more regular basis.
UPDATE ON AUDIO BOOKS: Finally Home has had the once over listen through (and yes, I was very slack when it came to going through the narrations) and I've sent some suggested changes to the narrator. Sienna did a great job for the most part and as stated previously, if I were to pick a person to play Kelly or how I pictured Kelly, she would be the perfect fit.
State of Successes has been completed and I'm waiting on Heather to get the final cover to me to upload that so I can finalize the production of that book. It looks like the state books will be published audio wise before Finally Home but that's okay - all in due time.
I will probably submit the contract to Francene in June to work on State of Wilderness next. August will be State of Heights and September or October will be State of Nature. I'm also looking into a sponsor for the state series to hopefully get them back on track, but more on that when I find a sponsor and the money is flowing in to pay the bills (Heather, printing, et cetera), which will p robably be posted on the JGDS blog when I have updates.
FAMILY NEWS: Youngest son, who is now living with my parents and my oldest son, got his GED and has finally gotten a job, working in the same plant oldest son is but on opposite days (when oldest is working, youngest is off and vice versa). The last I heard was when they get established a bit more they plan on moving out on their own. I don't think it is a good idea due to the fact that my parents' aren't in any condition to really be left taking care of themselves; more or less, my father would have to take care of my mother (she is pretty much in an Alzheimer state) and himself (he has back problems and is having to use a walker to get around and possibly heading to wheelchair or some sort of hoveround craft to get around among many other illnesses). I would prefer that my parents have someone around to help out but who am I to say what the boys will do in the next few months. I guess when I go up there for the High Country Festival of the book next month (June 21 at Watagua High School in Boone, NC) I'll find out everything. Daughter who had moved to West Virginia in November and back home in February finally got a job. She starts next Thursday for training and then goes directly to work at the store she will be working (training is in one town and store she will be working is in our county seat town). So that is the best news for her since she has been without a job since moving back home and has been driving me nuts - constantly on the go and begging her father and me for money all the time; I just hope she will be saving her money and not be on the go as much (working second or third shift, she won't have time to go galavanting all the time).
School is out in Utah and I've not had any classroom visits with them in over a month and I miss them. Taught my POV sessions and then they had state testing and worked on a project for the town and then end of year reviews and studying. I look forward to working with the next group of students in the fall. Just to let teachers and librarians know, I am available for school visits as per my website and I will do virtual classroom visits as well.
Bring on the Summer and hopefully lots of good news to report and more books being published. See you all in the postings - E :)
So slack days should be over and I hope to get back to posting on a more regular basis.
UPDATE ON AUDIO BOOKS: Finally Home has had the once over listen through (and yes, I was very slack when it came to going through the narrations) and I've sent some suggested changes to the narrator. Sienna did a great job for the most part and as stated previously, if I were to pick a person to play Kelly or how I pictured Kelly, she would be the perfect fit.
State of Successes has been completed and I'm waiting on Heather to get the final cover to me to upload that so I can finalize the production of that book. It looks like the state books will be published audio wise before Finally Home but that's okay - all in due time.
I will probably submit the contract to Francene in June to work on State of Wilderness next. August will be State of Heights and September or October will be State of Nature. I'm also looking into a sponsor for the state series to hopefully get them back on track, but more on that when I find a sponsor and the money is flowing in to pay the bills (Heather, printing, et cetera), which will p robably be posted on the JGDS blog when I have updates.
FAMILY NEWS: Youngest son, who is now living with my parents and my oldest son, got his GED and has finally gotten a job, working in the same plant oldest son is but on opposite days (when oldest is working, youngest is off and vice versa). The last I heard was when they get established a bit more they plan on moving out on their own. I don't think it is a good idea due to the fact that my parents' aren't in any condition to really be left taking care of themselves; more or less, my father would have to take care of my mother (she is pretty much in an Alzheimer state) and himself (he has back problems and is having to use a walker to get around and possibly heading to wheelchair or some sort of hoveround craft to get around among many other illnesses). I would prefer that my parents have someone around to help out but who am I to say what the boys will do in the next few months. I guess when I go up there for the High Country Festival of the book next month (June 21 at Watagua High School in Boone, NC) I'll find out everything. Daughter who had moved to West Virginia in November and back home in February finally got a job. She starts next Thursday for training and then goes directly to work at the store she will be working (training is in one town and store she will be working is in our county seat town). So that is the best news for her since she has been without a job since moving back home and has been driving me nuts - constantly on the go and begging her father and me for money all the time; I just hope she will be saving her money and not be on the go as much (working second or third shift, she won't have time to go galavanting all the time).
School is out in Utah and I've not had any classroom visits with them in over a month and I miss them. Taught my POV sessions and then they had state testing and worked on a project for the town and then end of year reviews and studying. I look forward to working with the next group of students in the fall. Just to let teachers and librarians know, I am available for school visits as per my website and I will do virtual classroom visits as well.
Bring on the Summer and hopefully lots of good news to report and more books being published. See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Writing Tips for Young Writers
I subscribe to a homeschooling ezine called clickschooling.com (clickschooling offers links to varioius subjects Monday through Saturday, covering Math, Science, Language Arts, Music and Arts, Foreign Languages, and on Fridays they do a Virtual Field Trip - linking to various plants that show you how things are done or a behind the scenes look at various products and projects - they even had a tour of the Peeps Factory around Easter one time) and just happened to open today's email because the title caught my eye. It says "Tips for Young Writers" and who could resist that, especially when working with kids during writing time in school as well as sharing my writing knowledge (what little I do have - lol) during book events with young persons. So I clicked on the link and it took me to The Blue Zoo Writers website, which is a pretty cool site. There are tips for young writers but other information as well, like how to get published and brainstorming ideas to motivation on writing.
If you are a homeschooler teaching students writing or even a teacher who needs some writing advice, please check out the link and see what wonderful advice you can garner to help in your teaching endeavors. If you are a writer, there is plenty of information there for you as well. I would also suggest signing up for the Blue Zoo Writers' newsletter which can be found on the page as well.
Hope you all can use the information. See you all in the postings - Mrs. E :)
If you are a homeschooler teaching students writing or even a teacher who needs some writing advice, please check out the link and see what wonderful advice you can garner to help in your teaching endeavors. If you are a writer, there is plenty of information there for you as well. I would also suggest signing up for the Blue Zoo Writers' newsletter which can be found on the page as well.
Hope you all can use the information. See you all in the postings - Mrs. E :)
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Finally Home ACX Update
I was supposed to have my final copy of the audio book of Finally Home last week but Sienna has been having some technical issues. She assured me today it would be to me soon - within the next day or two. Once I get the file, I will go through it to approve or make corrections and send to her. If there are no corrections to be made, then I will approve it and release the audio version as soon as I can. Waiting on the updated cover from Heather as well since there are some changes to be made for ACX so right now things are in limbo.
For the release of the audio book of Finally Home, I'll be offering the ebook for free on Kindle next week, April 15-16. If you haven't already read it or purchased a copy, now is the time to get it for free. Be sure to tell all your friends so they can get their copies.
Also, Anita and I brainstormed a bit after our Sisters in Crime meeting last week about some situations or stories for Kelly and Emma Louise and there are some things brewing, so I may have a few more stories to make them a series. I'll add a tagline of "A Kelly Watson Mystery" to the new titles, and I guess I'll have to go back and eventually add that to Finally Home but right now I'll leave it as is. see you all in thep ostings - E :)
For the release of the audio book of Finally Home, I'll be offering the ebook for free on Kindle next week, April 15-16. If you haven't already read it or purchased a copy, now is the time to get it for free. Be sure to tell all your friends so they can get their copies.
Also, Anita and I brainstormed a bit after our Sisters in Crime meeting last week about some situations or stories for Kelly and Emma Louise and there are some things brewing, so I may have a few more stories to make them a series. I'll add a tagline of "A Kelly Watson Mystery" to the new titles, and I guess I'll have to go back and eventually add that to Finally Home but right now I'll leave it as is. see you all in thep ostings - E :)
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