Quick Update While I Have Internet and a SALE!

Hi.  For like 3 hours I will have some internet, so I wanted to come on and tell you how much I am enjoying vacation and how much I'm enjoying the thought of getting back to WORK!  :)
For now, though, I'm reading, reading, reading.  You can keep track of my stuff on goodreads, as always.

My biggest announcement is that I've been having an issue with Amazon KDP (MORE ON THAT LATER!!!  A LONG ENTRY TO COME!) and have set my Compis' price -for a very limited time- to $.99!  Tell your friends, tell your relatives, tell strangers on the street!  This is a blip in the radar and will probably NEVER happen again and it will only be on sale for like 5 or 6 days.

I just did it this morning after receiving numerous emails from KDP, so it may take a day or so to go live.  Enjoy it while it lasts and have a great next week!  I'll see you soon for the next ROW!

Happy Reading!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I love Oprah.  Well, everything except her bookclub.  Man, Oprah, do you want me to slit my wrists and leave behind two innocent babies, because YOUR BOOKS ARE SO DEPRESSING!!!  Like,"I have no will to live" depressing.

My favorite episodes of Oprah before her show ended were those ones where she had a "favorite things" episode.  She'd stand up on the stage and start throwing stuff at the audience.
"Have a new playstation!"
"It's a year's supply of $5,000 face lotion!"
"A new Jetpack!"

Okay, maybe not that last one, but you'd think so, from the way the people in the audience act.

See what I mean?  Who likes bees that much?

To kick off my lovely vacay, I now give to you, Kate's favorite things on the internet!  Be forewarned, many of these are nerdy in the extreme.

The first is poupee dolls.  It's this little game/social networking thingamagig.  Basically, you join up, and you get a little paper doll.

This is just an example; my doll doesn't look like this.  So you earn "ribbons"—the poupee girl cash—and you buy super cute clothes and accessories and you dress her every day.  This is my 3rd year.  And I love it.  I'm not a super girly girl in real life (yes, I wear dresses, but man, what a hassle) and I don't have the budget to buy myself endless amounts of cute clothing.  So poupee is how I feel my need for shoes and bags.  It's Japanese, which leads to some rather confusing site announcements, but more and more Americans join every day.

Next up is my beloved Korean dramas.  Imagine that you are awake all hours of the night and you can't make a lot of noise.  Imagine also that you've run through everything in your Netflix queue and all your Friends DVDs.  Let the dramz begin.  Kdramas are these amazing, short series that are pure entertainment and romance.  Why do I love them?  Well, first, they're subtitled. So I can turn down the sound and not worry about keeping the household awake when I'm up with New Baby.  Second, they are so CLEAN.  I mean, I'm not against a healthy amount of sexiness in my shows, but I've got kids.  I don't want to watch anything that will be bad for their eyes.  Most of what's in them is hugging and hand holding.  It's like Pride &
Prejudice with Korean Smartphones.

And Coffee Prince is like the BEST THING EVER!!!  *sigh*  (The above link is to my favorite Korean Drama site, Drama beans.  It's a page with the BEST of the Kdramas. And also, there are a TON of Kdramas on Hulu.)

Then there is cracked.com.  If you want to know the top 5 reasons for anything—the awful websites of people who should know better (*cough* George R.R. Martin *cough*), gay guys who got more women than straight men, things flight safety presentations should mention—read these articles and be wildly entertained.  Kind of like the onion, except it doesn't take itself as seriously.  

And finally, thanks to my son, I have become doubly addicted.  First of all, I am addicted to My Little Pony. The first time I saw it, I was like... "Uh, that's cute, son, but what happened to Mighty Machines?"  Cut to two days later and I was like, "MUST. WATCH. ANOTHER. EPISODE!"  Seriously, I love the show.  Applejack is my favorite character and I'm not sure if that's because she's so sassy or because I just love that cereal. :)  

And from there blossoms my other newest addiction: My Little Pony gifs. :)  My favorite tmblr is HERE.

In quick ROW update news, I've been writing a sequel to Fire of God, which is one of my Angelic Agents short stories.  I'm not sure how long it's going to be yet, but I'm going to keep writing until it's finished.  I've also started plotting the next book in the Five Tribes series.  Terris is going to be AWESOME, but I'm afraid there are some plot changes ahead.  Aeris really got away from me. hahaha

Happy Father's Day and Happy Reading!

Tah-Dah! *poof*

So, Aeris is done.  Finished.  Over with my proof reader.  It is out in the ether.  I'd post a meme of triumph, but the truth is, I'm just numb.  This is the part, even larger than the editing, where I start to doubt myself and my abilities.  Not fishing for compliments here, it's just the plain truth.
When I've finished my edits and left it in the hands of a proof reader, I start thinking, "I should have changed this.  I'm still torn about that.  Was I too obvious?  Too vague?  Did I edit my natural prose too much?"  I think I have pretty healthy instincts on what to edit in my own writing.  But no one is perfect, and neither will my story be.
So, let's go over what happened.  Aeris went through two edits.
The first read through and edit was for continuity, naming, and storyline.  That is where the biggest changes happened in Aeris.  I rewrote Zyander's storyline.  I deleted two chapters from Luka's story, then added a whole new one at the end of the book.  I moved 3 or 4 chapters into different order.  I deleted parts of Nikka's story, and rewrote portions of it.  Then there were the MULTIPLE changes along the way, the little ones.
The second read through and edit were for paragraph, sentence, style and structure.  This is the most tedious, but ultimately necessary part of my editing.  This is where I examined each sentence for its meaning, and its form.  I try not to mess too much with my inherent writing style, because, well, I like my style.  It's not for everyone, but its what makes me unique.  Still, writing at 5 in the morning is telling sometimes.  Many sentences were unclear, or said too much or were repetitive.  Those have got to go.

Now, the book will be with the proofreader for about a month, I'm guessing.  When it gets back, I will look over any changes that are called for, then I'll format the book, and post it on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.
What am I doing while I wait?  Taking a much deserved break.  I've been dwelling on this storyline so long my brain hurts, frankly.  I've got several chapters plotted out for when I start up with Terris, but for now, I'm going to be on vacation for three weeks.  YES, THREE.  I'll be in Utah, Yosemite and the Sierra Nevadas.  Some of the time I'll have access to the internet, so I may post an entry or two.
I will also—because I have a DISEASE—still be writing.

I've gotten some requests to write more of my angelic agents, so I will probably do a third in Gideon & Samora's tale, and start in on the story of Bethel and her transformation.  Fun stuff!

I will also have my kindle and like a BAZILLION books on it.  If you are interested in knowing what I'll be reading, I made a list on my pinterest.  LINK HERE

And finally, I just want to give a shout-out to Kait Nolan and her wonderful ROW80 writing challenge.  Without the cheers and encouragement of so many who have been on this year-long journey with me since the beginning, I don't know if I ever would have finished Aeris.  So thanks, everyone!

Happy Reading!

Look, a Shiny Distraction!

The world is full of people who will either drag you down or lift you up.  I have seen both, and today is my day of VINDICATION!  Let me just note that vindication is a petty emotion.  It usually involves feeling like not only has someone stood up for the awesomeness that is you, but that you can now feel free to rub it in ALL THE PEOPLES' FACES!!

My family is amazing and supportive.  May you be blessed with such a plethora of willing and excited readers, encouragers, and cheerleaders, my friends.  One of these days, I will write a book about THEM, and you will know the depths of my thankfulness and appreciation.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as supportive as they are.  Here in the blogosphere, I must treat those in the real world like patients under the HIPAA code.  I will not name names.  It wouldn't be productive anyway.  Let's just say that a couple of weeks ago, a certain someone from my real life had some not so nice things to say about both me as a person and as a writer.  Suckage.  I brushed off the writerly part, because I've gotten a thick skin about this sort of thing.  But the personal stuff hurt.  I admit it.  

Cut to today, when said person commented to a friend of mine (perhaps not knowing he was a friend?) about me (thinking to gain a partner in commiseration), and my friend rose to my defense in the nicest way!  It was hard not to feel spitefully vindicated.  I squashed it down with a vengeance, but I will admit, it does warm my heart that I have good friends who have my back.

And now, my readers and writers alike, I will point you to many shiny distractions, so you don't ask how the editing on Aeris is going (fine, just fine.  Ask me next Sunday and you will hear me say YAY!  IT'S DONE!!).

HERE is an interesting article about the publishing industry from an insider.

HERE is yet another place to post your scribbles, fellow authors.

HERE is some excellent advice from writer Wesley Dean Smith on thinking of yourself as a publisher.

And HERE is a link to the awesome My Little Pony Tumblr I borrowed the gifs from.  My son is in love with this show right now, so I have it on the brain. :)

Happy Reading!  And stay awesome!

Alive and Kicking

Despite rumors to the contrary, I am still alive and writing.  Thank you for asking—those of you who did.  I've pretty much cut myself off from the internet these past two weeks.  Don't expect more of me, either, until about June 9th.

Why?  Well, every waking moment has been taken with either gardening or editing.  Have I gotten more done? Why yes I have.  I'm halfway there, folks.  Of course, halfway just isn't good enough, Dangit!  Which is why I've concocted my master plan.  Do nothing.

Hahaha, Just Kidding!

Oldest son is going to stay at grandma's for a week, and while he's there, I will be house sitting for my parents at their place.  An empty place.  With no distractions.  Except New Baby, of course.  But he's just gotten over a cold so he should be good for another 2 weeks.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that.  I'm about 25 pages behind because my parents came up for a week, then New Baby got sick, and now my sister and her husband are visiting for Memorial Day.  Which is all good and fun (except for sick baby, who spent literally a full day in my arms), but doesn't get the work done.  So the first week in June is my big push.

Gotta get it done, FOR GOOD!  AERIS MUST BE FINISHED!

I swear, if I get another email or message or comment telling me how much someone liked the book and how excited they are to read the next one, I will expire from guilt!  Seriously, I feel soooo bad.  I feel like I'm letting people down.  Not a good feeling.

So yeah.  I will try to update next weekend, but if I don't, you know it's because I'm WORKING.

Happy Reading!

SAY WHAT??

ROW80 confession time, folks.  It turns out that my editing eyes were bigger than my editing stomach.  In other words, I'm not as far along as I want to be.  In actuality I'm 47 out of 216 pages finished with editing Aeris.  

Yeah, I know.  Ultimate writer FAIL, right?  But it takes sooooo long!  I can't help it.  At this rate, much to my dismay, I think it's going to take about a month to finish these edits.  *sigh* Which pushes back my May release of Aeris to end of June.  That is the bad news.  The good news is, I CARE about how this book ends up.  The good news is, rather than do a slap-dash, half-assed effort and speed through my edits, I'm looking at the overall picture, the chapter-by-chapter picture, and the sentence-by-sentence picture.  My personal vow, and my commitment to my readers is that I'm going to put out the best possible product that I can, starting with my edits.  Thankfully, my proofreader is a very patient woman! So, Onward!  Remember, my Word Of The Year is DETERMINATION.

And now, to take my mind off of my troubles, I'm going to talk about what I've heard most authors discuss at one time or another: Inspiration.  More specifically, musical inspiration.  :)

I've read several different authors' blogs, and everyone has their own thing.  Heck, Vicki Keire posts her ongoing playlist for readers to sample.  (Much appreciated, Vicki!)

I am a Pandora girl by nature.  I have about... 20 different playlists going right now. hahaha  But here is my issue.  I can NOT write if the music has words.  I love music so much that if I hear a song I know, I start singing it and forget about writing. hahaha  So I had to find something else to inspire my writing.

Right now, my writing is pretty much all fantasy, what most would call "high" or "epic" fantasy.  It requires lots of dramatic writing: romantic, lots of action, full of longing.  It takes a special composer to write music that fits my world vision.  But I found one!

Let me introduce you, dear readers, to Bear McCreary, the genius behind the best sci-fi series of all time: Battlestar Galactica (reimagined version). (Side note: never thought I'd say that about any series but Firefly, but BSG is fully awesome!)  This is seriously some of the best music I've ever listened to.  Violins, piano, DRUMS, DRUMS, DRUMS!  Just what the author ordered. I've posted two of my favorites here.  SOOO GOOOD!

My other recent discovery is a guy who is admittedly an amateur composer.  The coolest part of his story is that he reads books and composes inspirational songs to match.  He is passionate about The Hunger Games, and has 3 albums worth of music for each of the 3 books.  His name is Sam Cushion and he is FANTASTIC!  Seriously, I love his compositions.  Here are two of my favorites.

This is why writers write!  To inspire and uplift!  Can you imagine someone loving your books so much that they want to write music dedicated to them?  That is so cool!  Sam Cushion, I salute you and your passion for reading!  You are awesome.

What do you listen to for inspiration?  If nothing, then I suggest you try out my two favorites.  

BTW- Here is a link to Sam Cushion's Website.

PS- That is New Baby putting in a cameo.  Can you believe his expression?  We still have no idea why he made that face.  There was no flash involved in the picture. :)

PPS- Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers!

Happy Reading!

I Must Have Been High

Seriously, have you read Aeris?  Have you?  I knew it would be rough.  I did.  But MAN ALIVE I HAD NO IDEA.

Honestly, I don't know if I was on crack when I wrote it or what, but IT NEEDS SO MUCH WORK!!!  Like 5 or 6 edits per kindle page(that's at LEAST, most of the time it's whole blocks of text that need work). 

Some people have problems with the words: writer's block or story structure.  They doubt themselves, their work languishes.  The words have never really been a problem for me.  No, the editing is where my big doubts hit.  I look over my work and shudder.  "This is awful!"  "What was I thinking?"  "This makes no sense!"  "How can I call myself a writer?!?!?!"  

It certainly doesn't help that I've read so many awesome and amazing books lately!  All I can do is read my words and fret over my characters not being kick butt enough, my stories not being action-packed enough, that my readers (the ones who've emailed to tell me how excited they are about the new book) will HATE where I've gone with the story line.  I don't want them to feel like I've let them down.

Anyway, to get my mind off of my troubles, let me tell you about my process for editing.  I've recently made a couple of changes, too, thanks to Elizabeth May and her FABULOUS ENTRY ON EDITING and also, if you're a glutton for punishment take a look at her really educational First Page Edits HERE and HERE.

I'm not that far yet.  I'm still in the early stages of my process.  The first thing I do with a book when I finish the rough draft is put it aside.  I sent it to beta readers.  I think about the overall arch of the story.  What are my character's motivations and does my plot reflect that?  Is there anything I put in that doesn't make sense for the story?  How will this book move me along toward Terris?  All of my musings are mental.

Then I start making notes in my Wonder Woman notebook (which is dedicated to all my Five Tribes scribblings.  Scrivener, anyone?).  I wait for the feedback.  With each passing comment, I get a sharper image of what I need to do to improve the book.  

I finally open the book again for myself.  It's been interesting this time around, because some of this stuff I haven't read in a YEAR, so it is totally foreign to me.  So I do a quick format job on my book (OMG, I HATE .mobi, did I mention that?  I have scads and scads of random paragraphs in italics, for no apparent reason!) and start reading.

Here is where I started to feel bad for my beta readers, because IT'S SO LONG!!!  It takes me an hour to get through 5 percent of the book, and I'm a fast reader.  I think it's gotta be close to 500 pages.  Holy crap?  Did that come out of my brain??  Using kindle notes and highlights, I mark the rough draft up for changes.  

What are my trouble spots to look out for?  Bad words: just, like, as, SO, basically, really, likely, and barely.  I keep my eyes out for adverbs (those bad TELLING -lys): softly, angrily, roughly, wistfully.  I don't have a huge problem with them, because I've become good at training myself out of using them when I write.  -ING on the other hand.  What a nightmare!  I'm like an addict.  So I mark those up.  I highlight anything that seems confusing or doesn't make sense.  I highlight stuff that is repetitive, or gives away any surprises I might have coming up.  I mark passages that are too passive or places where there is too much dialogue and not enough description.  Basically, my rough draft is a plethora of notes to myself.

And that is where I'm at right now.  The book took longer to read than I thought, so I will have to push back my editing deadline.  I'm thinking that it won't get done till the end of next week.  At which point it goes off to the proof reader and I get started on some of the other things on my list.

Happy Reading!