Deborah J. Lightfoot's Blog

     The Wisewoman , Book 3 of WATERSPELL, got a highly insightful, illuminating review from Tahlia Newland of Awesome Indies. Here's an excerpt:

     "The Wisewoman is a wonderful end to a fabulous trilogy that should be read by every fantasy reader who would like something a little different. The author cleverly creates tension without resorting to the battles, complex political intrigue and predictable structure favoured by many in the traditional fantasy genre. Instead we have a sensitive journey through a series of events that culminate in the answer to the ongoing mystery of the series – who is Carin and how is earth, the world of her birth, linked to the one she now calls home?

     "I loved the ending … I give it 5 stars without hesitation. Deborah Lightfoot’s books well deserve their place on the Awesome Indies listing."
* * *
     To read the complete review, click over to Awesome Indies.

     Partial Spoiler Alert: The review reveals aspects of the relationship between Carin and Lord Verek that readers might not wish to know if they are still in Book 1: The Warlock , just beginning their journey with these characters.

     Thank you, Tahlia Newland, for a wonderfully insightful review. Nothing thrills a writer more than hearing from a fellow author who perceives a work's deep layers and connects with all its nuances.



     The WATERSPELL trilogy begins with Book 1: The Warlock and Book 2: The Wysard , available in paperback and e-book editions at all major online retailers.

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My book tour continues almost daily through June 22. Here's the complete schedule from "Reading Addiction." Please drop by and say hello!


WATERSPELL Tour Runs May 28 - June 22
First Week:May 28 - A Dream Within a Dream - Giveaway/Excerpt May 29 - Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt May 30 - Taking It One Page at a Time - Giveaway/Excerpt May 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 1 - Rea's Reading and Reviews - REVIEW


Second Week:June 4 - Becky's Barmy Book Blog - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 5 - The Life and Lies of an Inanimate Object - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 6 - Hazel the Witch - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - eBook Apothecary - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - What's Hot - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway June 8 - Bookworm Lisa - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt


Third Week:June 11 - Inside BJ's Head - Giveaway/Excerpt June 12 - Warrior Princess Romance Author - Interview/Excerpt June 12 - FireStarBook - REVIEW/Giveaway June 13 - Twigs for Pigs - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 14 - Reader Girls - Giveaway/Excerpt June 16 - Memories Overtaking Me - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway


Fourth Week:June 17 - Sweeping the USA - Giveaway/Excerpt June 18 - Bookspark - Interview/Giveaway June 19 - Book Brief's - REVIEW/Giveaway June 20 - Willing to See Less - Giveaway/Excerpt June 21 - Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Giveaway/Excerpt June 22 - How I See it - REVIEW/Giveaway

SmashwordsSummer Sale!
Now Through August 15
To get each WATERSPELL e-book for half price (just $1.50 per book) use these Coupon Codes:
    Book 1: The Warlock — BT62D
    Book 2: The Wysard  — VX76B
    Book 3: The Wisewoman — NW54W

     Hosting me today is Hannah, known in the blogosphere as Inky. At "Book Haven Extraordinaire" Inky blogs her "crazy awesome passion for books and lit." She asked me marvelously quirky interview questions, like "Idea of a perfect dinner?" and "Favorite fictional crush?" 


     Inky is also reviewing WATERSPELL Book 1: The Warlock, something I'm majorly excited about! :-D

     Please stop by and see what she says. Guaranteed excitement: Nothing about Inky is boring! I'm delighted to have the WATERSPELL trilogy featured at Book Haven Extraordinaire.




Tomorrow's stop on theWATERSPELL Virtual Book Tour:
Rea's Reading and ReviewsHosted by Rea, a trilingual Brit who reads all genres but gravitates towards fantasy

As an Anglophile of long standing, I'm VERY curious to hear what Rea thinks. She, too, is planning a review.

My book tour continues almost daily through June 22. Here's the complete schedule from "Reading Addiction." Please drop by and say hello!

WATERSPELL Tour Runs May 28 - June 22
First Week:May 28 - A Dream Within a Dream - Giveaway/Excerpt May 29 - Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt May 30 - Taking It One Page at a Time - Giveaway/Excerpt May 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 1 - Rea's Reading and Reviews - REVIEW


Second Week:June 4 - Becky's Barmy Book Blog - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 5 - The Life and Lies of an Inanimate Object - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 6 - Hazel the Witch - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - eBook Apothecary - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - What's Hot - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway June 8 - Bookworm Lisa - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt


Third Week:June 11 - Inside BJ's Head - Giveaway/Excerpt June 12 - Warrior Princess Romance Author - Interview/Excerpt June 12 - FireStarBook - REVIEW/Giveaway June 13 - Twigs for Pigs - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 14 - Reader Girls - Giveaway/Excerpt June 16 - Memories Overtaking Me - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway


Fourth Week:June 17 - Sweeping the USA - Giveaway/Excerpt June 18 - Bookspark - Interview/Giveaway June 19 - Book Brief's - REVIEW/Giveaway June 20 - Willing to See Less - Giveaway/Excerpt June 21 - Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Giveaway/Excerpt June 22 - How I See it - REVIEW/Giveaway

SmashwordsSummer Sale!
Now Through August 15
To get each WATERSPELL e-book for half price (just $1.50 per book) use these Coupon Codes:
    Book 1: The Warlock — BT62D
    Book 2: The Wysard  — VX76B
    Book 3: The Wisewoman — NW54W

     Today's host of my book tour is Danica Page, a freelance journalist who blogs at "Taking It One Page at a Time."


     Danica has posted a short excerpt from WATERSPELL Book 1: The Warlock. You can read a longer sample -- the whole first chapter and more -- at Amazon where it says "Click to Look Inside."

      The ongoing main event is a GIVEAWAY. To win free e-books of Book 1: The Warlock and Book 2: The Wysard, enter at "Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight," using the Rafflecopter widget that appears just above the Comments section.


Tomorrow's stop on theWATERSPELL Virtual Book Tour:
May 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire
Hosted by Hannah, also known as Inky
Hannah is interviewing me (wonderfully quirky questions like "Idea of a perfect dinner?"). She's also planning a REVIEW, which has me quite excited. :-)



My book tour continues almost daily through June 22. Here's the complete schedule from "Reading Addiction." Please drop by and say hello!

WATERSPELL Tour Runs May 28 - June 22
First Week:May 28 - A Dream Within a Dream - Giveaway/Excerpt May 29 - Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt May 30 - Taking It One Page at a Time - Giveaway/Excerpt May 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 1 - Rea's Reading and Reviews - REVIEW


Second Week:June 4 - Becky's Barmy Book Blog - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 5 - The Life and Lies of an Inanimate Object - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 6 - Hazel the Witch - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - eBook Apothecary - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - What's Hot - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway June 8 - Bookworm Lisa - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt


Third Week:June 11 - Inside BJ's Head - Giveaway/Excerpt June 12 - Warrior Princess Romance Author - Interview/Excerpt June 12 - FireStarBook - REVIEW/Giveaway June 13 - Twigs for Pigs - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 14 - Reader Girls - Giveaway/Excerpt June 16 - Memories Overtaking Me - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway


Fourth Week:June 17 - Sweeping the USA - Giveaway/Excerpt June 18 - Bookspark - Interview/Giveaway June 19 - Book Brief's - REVIEW/Giveaway June 20 - Willing to See Less - Giveaway/Excerpt June 21 - Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Giveaway/Excerpt June 22 - How I See it - REVIEW/Giveaway

SmashwordsSummer Sale!Now Through August 15To get each WATERSPELL e-book for half price (just $1.50 per book) use these Coupon Codes:
    Book 1: The Warlock — BT62D
    Book 2: The Wysard  — VX76B
    Book 3: The Wisewoman — NW54W

     Today's host of my WATERSPELL Book Tour is Nicole Zoltack, a writer and editor who blogs at "Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight."


     Nicole is the author of the fantasy romance novels Woman of Honor , Knight of Glory , and Champion of Valor . She's interviewing me! I am excited to be interviewed by a sister writer and fellow "genre jumper." Nicole asked questions about style, the challenges of writing, subthemes, mentors, work schedules -- all kinds of writer-to-writer concerns.

     Please join us today, May 29, at Nicole's beautifully designed blog, Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight.

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Tomorrow's stop on the
WATERSPELL Virtual Book Tour:May 30 - Taking It One Page at a Time, hosted by freelance journalist Danica Page



The tour continues almost daily through June 22. Here's the complete schedule from "Reading Addiction." Please drop by and say hello!


WATERSPELL Tour Runs May 28 - June 22
First Week:May 28 - A Dream Within a Dream - Giveaway/Excerpt May 29 - Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt May 30 - Taking It One Page at a Time - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt May 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 1 - Rea's Reading and Reviews - REVIEW


Second Week:June 4 - Becky's Barmy Book Blog - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 5 - The Life and Lies of an Inanimate Object - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt June 6 - Hazel the Witch - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - eBook Apothecary - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 7 - What's Hot - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway June 8 - Bookworm Lisa - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt


Third Week:June 11 - Inside BJ's Head - Giveaway/Excerpt June 12 - Warrior Princess Romance Author - Interview/Excerpt June 12 - FireStarBook - REVIEW/Giveaway June 13 - Twigs for Pigs - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt June 14 - Reader Girls - Giveaway/Excerpt June 16 - Memories Overtaking Me - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway


Fourth Week:June 17 - Sweeping the USA - Giveaway/Excerpt June 18 - Bookspark - Interview/Giveaway June 19 - Book Brief's - REVIEW/Giveaway June 20 - Willing to See Less - Giveaway/Excerpt June 21 - Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Giveaway/Excerpt June 22 - How I See it - REVIEW/Giveaway

SmashwordsSummer Sale!Now Through August 15
To get each WATERSPELL e-book for half price (just $1.50 per book) use these Coupon Codes:
    Book 1: The Warlock — BT62D
    Book 2: The Wysard  — VX76B
    Book 3: The Wisewoman — NW54W

     The WATERSPELL Virtual Book Tour has officially begun. First stop: "A Dream Within a Dream," the blog hosted by avid reader and reviewer Stephanie.


     Steph has posted a short excerpt from WATERSPELL Book 1: The Warlock. You can read a longer sample -- the whole first chapter, and then some -- at Amazon where it says "Click to Look Inside."

      The main event today is a giveaway. To win free e-books of Book 1: The Warlock AND Book 2: The Wysard, enter at "A Dream Within a Dream," using the Rafflecopter widget just below the "Giveaway" icon.




     Tomorrow, May 29, the WATERSPELL tour moves to Nicole Zoltack's blog, "Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight." Nicole is interviewing me! I'm excited by this chance to share behind-the-scenes info about the writing life.


     The tour continues almost daily through June 22. Here's the complete schedule from "Reading Addiction." Please drop by and say hello!

WATERSPELLTour Runs May 28 - June 22
First Week:
May 28 - A Dream Within a Dream - Giveaway/ExcerptMay 29 - Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight - Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptMay 30 - Taking it One Page at a Time - Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptMay 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 1 - Rea's Reading and Reviews - REVIEW


Second Week:

June 4 - Becky's Barmy Book Blog - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 5 - The Life and Lies of an Inanimate Object - Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 6 - Hazel the Witch - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 7 - eBook Apothecary - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 7 - What's Hot - REVIEW/Interview/GiveawayJune 8 - Bookworm Lisa - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt


Third Week:

June 11 - Inside BJ's Head - Giveaway/ExcerptJune 12 - Warrior Princess Romance Author - Interview/ExcerptJune 12 - FireStarBook - REVIEW/GiveawayJune 13 - Twigs for Pigs - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 14 - Reader Girls - Giveaway/Excerpt June 16 - Memories Overtaking Me - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway


Fourth Week:

June 17 - Sweeping the USA - Giveaway/ExcerptJune 18 - Bookspark - Interview/GiveawayJune 19 - Book Brief's - REVIEW/GiveawayJune 20 - Willing to See Less - Giveaway/ExcerptJune 21 - Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Giveaway/ExcerptJune 22 - How I See it - REVIEW/Giveaway


   

     Everyone's invited to the WATERSPELL Book Tour , four weeks of fun: May 28–June 22. And since it's an Online Book Tour, everyone can attend!

     We'll have interviews, excerpts, reviews, giveaways, and contests. Here's your chance to meet the author, get the inside story of the WATERSPELL fantasy trilogy, learn how I wrote it, win books, and compare notes with other connoisseurs of fantasy literature.

     Follow me through the whole tour, comment on each post throughout the tour, and you'll have extra chances to win the complete 3-book set: 


WATERSPELL Book 1: The Warlock
WATERSPELL Book 2: The Wysard
WATERSPELL Book 3: The Wisewoman

     Here's the schedule. Please mark your calendars and bookmark the launch-point for the WATERSPELL Book Tour to be sure you're in on the action from Day One!


May 28 - A Dream Within a Dream - Giveaway/ExcerptMay 29 - Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight - Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptMay 30 - Taking it One Page at a Time - Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptMay 31 - Book Haven Extraordinaire - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 1 - Rea's Reading and Reviews - REVIEWJune 4 - Becky's Barmy Book Blog - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 5 - The Life and Lies of an Inanimate Object - Interview/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 6 - Hazel the Witch - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 7 - eBook Apothecary - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 7 - What's Hot - REVIEW/Interview/GiveawayJune 8 - Bookworm Lisa - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 11 - Inside BJ's Head - Giveaway/ExcerptJune 12 - Warrior Princess Romance Author - Interview/ExcerptJune 13 - Twigs for Pigs - REVIEW/Giveaway/ExcerptJune 14 - Reader Girls - Giveaway/Excerpt June 16 - Memories Overtaking Me - REVIEW/Interview/GiveawayJune 18 - Bookspark - Interview/GiveawayJune 19 - Book Breif's - REVIEW/GiveawayJune 20 - Willing to See Less - Giveaway/ExcerptJune 21 - Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Giveaway/ExcerptJune 22 - How I See it - REVIEW/Giveaway

     Today’s e-mail brought the “Barnes & Noble Review” with its thoughtful and informative analysis by Paul Di Filippo, discussing A Wrinkle in Time , the famous YA science-fiction novel by Madeleine L’Engle.
     Wrinkle was among my favorite books as a girl. I remember being utterly enchanted, caught up in the tale as though it were real life. Intending to reread the story and its sequels, I purchased the Science Fiction Book Club’s 2003 edition of “The Time Quartet,” which includes A Wrinkle in Time as well as A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters.
     Since 2003, I’ve been too deep into my own novels—the WATERSPELL fantasy trilogy—to reread Wrinkle. But now it’s “time” (pardon the pun). My novels are published. For the first time in a decade, I actually have time to do something other than write, revise, and edit.
     Paul Di Filippo’s review of A Wrinkle in Time is fascinating reading. Here’s one passage that particularly caught my eye:
     “Her [L’Engle’s] fairy-tale tropes -- abducted parent; arrival of the Gandalfian stranger(s) initiating a quest; far-voyaging; realms under a spell; well-met comrades; exotic vistas -- are superbly arrayed yet never programmatic.”
     This list practically demands that I analyze my own work to see how these elements figure in WATERSPELL.
ELEMENTS OF “FANTASTIKA”
     First, a definition of the word “trope,” a term that is often used in discussions of speculative and genre fiction: A trope is a common or familiar theme or device.
     Here are the tropes that Di Filippo identifies, with a brief summary of how they appear in WATERSPELL.
Abducted parent. In my story, it’s the child (Carin) who is abducted. But her parents have gone missing too.
Arrival of the Gandalfian stranger. This is an interesting one. It requires thought to determine which of my characters is THE “Gandalfian stranger.” Carin herself is a stranger in a strange land. So is Megella, the wisewoman who acts as the “herald,” the player who brings a message or otherwise acts to set the events into motion. Verek is also a “Gandalfian stranger.” Like Megella (and Gandalf), he possesses knowledge and capabilities that are superior to those of the protagonist, Carin. But also like Gandalf, Verek requires assistance: he cannot succeed alone. Another candidate for this role is the monk Welwyn, who provides additional support to Carin in her quest. I must conclude that my novels brim with enigmatic “Gandalfian strangers.”
Initiating a quest. Megella initiates a quest by sending Carin off to find her place in the world. Even earlier, however, Carin was launched on her quest amidst circumstances that I cannot discuss here without spilling the beans. :-) This idea of questing, which is central to all types of heroic literature, is illustrated by a diagram I created to show the underlying structure of WATERSPELL:

Far-voyaging. For sure, there’s plenty of far-voyaging in WATERSPELL. Again, it would be a spoiler for me to reveal details of the places to which my characters travel. I’ll let a reviewer sum up this aspect. Tahlia Newland commented: “I enjoyed the second in this series even more than the first. The end of it takes us somewhere completely different …” Book 1 begins with a road trip, but Books 2 and 3 areroad trips.
Realms under a spell. That’s kind of self-evident from the series title: WATERSPELL. In my fantasy world(s), spells wreathe mountains, meadows, gardens, oceans … all of the bewitchments different, all placed for different purposes by different practitioners of the art magick.
Well-met comrades. Carin meets a wisewoman, a woodsprite, a housekeeper, a gardener, and a wizardly monk, each well-disposed toward her, or at least not actively hostile. She makes deadly enemies too. But it’s her relationship with the warlock, Verek, that raises the central question: Is he a well-met friend or a manipulative foe? Is he good or evil? Hero or villain? Do we root for him or against him?
Exotic vistas. WATERSPELL’s far-voyaging characters move through many an exotic landscape. Their travels take them to mountains, prairies, woodlands, valleys, rivers, seashores, sea cliffs: such lands and climes as I’ve encountered in my own travels, or read about, or invented in flights of fancy. One of the perks of writing fiction is the freedom to set one’s story against wild and dramatic backdrops, whether natural or made-up.
     I did not deliberately set out to incorporate into WATERSPELL these tropes of the fantasy genre. The story grew around them, or they grew into the story, as inevitably as a plant roots into soil. Years of reading fantasy and science fiction planted these elements within me. When the time was right, when I was ready to write the kind of story I love to read, the essentials were there, all set to serve me as they have served generations of storytellers.
     Whew! Thank you for reading this far. Paul Di Filippo’s list of “tropes” so inspired me, I had to pause and chew on them awhile. :-)

Here's a sharp analysis by author Tahlia Newland of Awesome Indies. She has her finger on the pulse of independent publishing. I learn a great deal from reading Tahlia's excellent blog.

The six kinds of Indie published booksBy Tahlia Newland
Posted on April 17, 2012

     It seems to me that there are six kinds of Indie Published books. Out of these six, only the last fits the idea that many people have that Indie books are of inferior quality. The number of books in the first five categories are growing, and I believe that the numbers of books in the last category will shrink as it becomes clear that readers won’t pay for poorly written books, especially as more blogsites appear that list ones of quality.

     Previously published authors’ backlists – you’ll find no surprises here. These books are exactly the same as what you’ll find in any bookstore. They were on the bookshelves years ago, but not now. The copyright has returned to the authors, so they’re putting them back in the market. They usually have an established reader base and many of their more recently acquired fans haven’t read their older books, so they’re snapping them up. Many of these authors are earning more than they ever did with the traditional system, and as other authors realise the viability of going Indie, the number of books in this category will grow.

     Agented authors books – these authors’ work is good enough to get an agent, but the agent didn’t score a publishing deal. Sometimes the author got sick of trying; sometimes they ran out of options and sometimes they just decided that going Indie was a better deal in the long run. A traditional publisher would most likely have published such books 5 or more years ago – agents only take books they think are good enough to sell – but they missed out because of the shrinking traditional publishing industry. Sometimes this is simply because they didn’t find the right publisher at the right time; sometimes it’s because they are a little different from the present fashion in the genre. For example, traditional publishers are favoring dark, brutal, often depressing stories for young adults. If you want something without that flavour, you’re likely to find it in Indie published books.

     Mainstream books by skilled authors who have decided against the traditional route – These books are similar to books produced by major publishers. They fit the genre and the fashion of the day and are professionally produced. The author has simply chosen Indie publishing because it suits them to take control of their own work.

     Books that are too short for traditional publishers to consider – In this category, we have novellas, novelettes and short story collections. Electronic books give authors the freedom to write stories to their natural length. They don’t have to pad something out to an acceptable length to make it salable in paperback. Shorter works work well on ereaders because they are so easy to carry around. You can read a short story while waiting for the doctor and you can read a novella while the rest of the family watch a b-grade movie on TV. There’s a lot of excellent books in this category, in fact all the short Indie fiction I’ve read has been excellent.

     Quality books that are different / alternative / outside the box – Books in this category are of a professional standard but are too different for a traditional publisher to risk taking on. Big publishers have to feel sure that they can sell a book to large enough numbers of readers to pay their huge overheads and make a profit. That means that they are limited to the demands of the present market as they perceive them to be. This is the most exciting category, because this is where you’ll find the real alternative to the mainstream. This is where new trends will emerge, where you’ll find talented new authors and books for niche markets or that break new ground.

     Books by unskilled authors without the skills to be published any other way – These books languish in the free or 99c categories of ebook – the good ones are usually only there for a short time, or they’re the first in a series, or a short work as a sample of an author’s work. You can avoid poor quality books by choosing titles from the Awesome Indies listing. As time goes on, these authors will either improve or give up. There are excellent books in the free and 99c bins, (especially the short ones) but don’t expect them all to be good and you won’t be disappointed.

     The last category is the one that gives Indie publishing a bad name, but the important thing to understand is that they are only one category of what you’ll find in Indie published books. Don’t let a few poor experiences turn you off the whole scene, it’s called throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

     Does this sound like a reasonable categorization to you? have I missed anything?

     Written by Tahlia Newland. If you enjoyed this blog post and would like to read more, you can subscribe to new content delivered by email or RSS feed. You can also follow Tahlia on Facebook and/or on Twitter.

       Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords, recently wrote the following in an opinion piece for CNN.com:

            Big publishers “price their books too high while most of their authors earn poverty wages. They take 12 to 18 months to publish a book -- an anachronism in today’s world of instant self-publishing. They often reject talented writers who don’t offer the celebrity platforms of more marketable ‘authors’ such as Snooki or Justin Bieber.            “… the self-inflicted wounds of large publishers have already begun to render their businesses less relevant to the future of publishing. Authors are beginning to turn their backs on traditional publishers in favor of self-publishing. Authors are now hiring their own editors, cover designers and marketing consultants. By assuming responsibility for the roles once played by publishers, authors are earning up to 70% of the list price as their e-book royalty versus the 17.5% paid by traditional publishers. They’re publishing low-cost e-books that are hitting all the bestseller lists. The all-important access to distribution -- once exclusively controlled by publishers -- is now available to all self-publishing authors.”

The Department of Justice Lawsuit
       Mark’s April 15, 2012, post, titled “A dark day for the future of books,” deals mainly with the Department of Justice’s wrongheaded legal action against Apple and five large book publishers for allegedly conspiring to raise e-book prices. When in fact, what publishers wanted to do was to protect their right to set the prices for their products: something I favor, since I’m a small publisher. I believe I should be free to set my own prices, and not have Amazon or anyone else dictate the retail price of the books I publish.
        Mark’s post is worth reading in its entirety. If you’re an author or a small publisher who is selling most of your titles through Amazon (as I am), you may think there’s nothing wrong with Amazon gaining complete market dominance. But to be healthy, the book business needs competitive players. If a single entity (Amazon) gains complete control, all will suffer: readers, writers, publishers, retailers, and device makers.

      This week I’ve learned a new skill. I found a way to pull together the covers of my three fantasy novels into a single image for posting on Facebook and other social media.



      For the techy-minded among you, creating a book-cover-collage JPG would be easy, I’m sure. But I had to logic through the steps, using the software that was available to me: much of it old, or free. These are the tools I used:
            WordPerfect 9.0 (copyright 1996–1999 Corel Corporation)            PrimoPDF 5.1 (copyright 1997–2009 by Nitro PDF)            Neevia Document Converter (copyright 1999–2012 by Neevia)            ZoomBrowser EX 5.0 (copyright 1996–2004 by Canon Inc.)
      I’ve never learned to manipulate images in Microsoft Word, but in WordPerfect it’s easy. To make my Facebook author page banner (what Facebook calls a “cover”), I began with a beautiful sunset-on-the-beach photo, a JPG that I borrowed from a Facebook friend. After opening the beach photo in WordPerfect, I opened each cover image for the WATERSPELL trilogy. WordPerfect let me position each book cover, side by side on top of the beach photo, all three books shifted slightly to the right to leave a space for my Facebook profile picture or icon.
      The resulting four-element image (three book covers against background photo), I saved as a WordPerfect document (.wpd). Then I “printed” it, choosing PrimoPDF as the “printer” in place of the laser or inkjet printer that I use for most of my print-outs. “Printing” the WordPerfect document with PrimoPDF had the effect of creating a PDF file.
      Next step: I used the Neevia Document Converter online to convert the PDF file to a JPG.
      After downloading the finished JPG, I used ZoomBrowser EX 5.0 (software that came with the Canon digital camera I got for Christmas 2005) to crop the image to the proper dimensions for a Facebook banner or cover: 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high. The JPG image I was working from was more than twice the size that I needed for my Facebook banner, so I cropped the JPG to roughly 1750 x 650 pixels, knowing that Facebook would shrink it as needed to fit the space they allow for the “cover photo.”
      From there, it was simply a matter of uploading my newly made three-book banner to use as my Facebook page’s cover photo. I think it turned out great. And I did it all with old software that I’d owned for years, augmented by free software I found online. Not a penny was spent out of pocket.
      You techy types may howl with laughter. But as a writer who doesn’t generally work with images, I am proud of myself for figuring out a way to combine the three book covers of my WATERSPELL trilogy into a single, correctly proportioned image to use on Facebook and elsewhere. Digital publishing is teaching me (forcing me to acquire) many new computer skills. I love it. ☺