Tracy Falbe's Blog, page 60
October 23, 2011
My dog died yesterday
Sasha on vacation in Sonoma County, California, July 2007Over the past week I endured the time that all pet owners dread. My beloved German Shepherd mix Sasha died on October 22, 2011 of heart failure after 10 years of life. The past days have been grim for me. Her rapid decline and death tore me up badly. Sasha was truly my best friend. After her passing yesterday, I reflected on how I spent more time with her over the past 10 years than anyone, even my husband. If I was home, she was with me. If I was on vacation, she was with me. I used to sit at my desk at work and wish she was with me. Then I started working from home, and we were truly always together. She always helped me feel safer. Although she looks friendly and cuddly in the picture above, she was quite the intimidater in her day. When the hair went up on her back, she looked vicious. And her bark could rattle your spine.
Sasha lived most of her life in California. She made sure all the homeless people and wanna be gangbangers know that coming into my yard was not a plan. (And she always got a special treat for harassing missionaries.) Before I went to bed every night, I would put her out to do a patrol and then she would come in for her bedtime biscuit. Admittedly getting pizzas delivered was a bit of a hassle. Skateboarders especially offended her, and she taught them to carry their boards and walk by my yard. She had a vendetta with UPS.
I walked her almost every day, and everyone in our neighborhood knew us. I never got panhandled when she was with me. I called her "Mama's Big Bitch" and she was. When I shopped in the neighborhood, I would take her with me. I parked her outside the pizza place. I parked her in front of the hardware store. The people at the bank gave her biscuits.
Even in her old age, she still helped me feel safe. Just this summer when shady creeps were banging on doors in my neighborhood trying to sell cleaning supplies, Sasha went right into guard dog mode. She wanted to eat that guy, and damn her weakening heart she was going to try. Oh how that poor bastard made her feel young again.
I could go on and on with stories about her. She was endearing and sweet. She made herself at home everywhere she went. She assumed everyone loved her. She loved kitties, especially chasing them. That bitch ate my birthday cake and didn't regret it a bit. I never saw her put her tail between her legs. Never. She was an alpha female.
My home is so empty without her. My yard is so empty without her. I work in the garden and she's not there. I work in the kitchen and she's not there. I got up this morning, and she wasn't there. I'm a lone wolf again and have to walk the trail without my partner. I miss her so much. All I can do is be sad.
Sasha - Summer 2001 to October 22, 2011. Loved, Spoiled, and now Missed.
October 21, 2011
Enter the HARDCOVER Rys Rising: Book I giveaway on Goodreads
Goodreads.com members living in the United States can enter my giveaway for 1 copy of the Hardcover version of Rys Rising: Book I. The giveaway opened today October 21st and will close October 28th, next Friday. I'm not sure why the book cover won't show for the giveaway listing, but there's always something going wrong with my marketing. Anyway, click the "Enter to win" button below and in a week, Goodreads will select the winner and notify me. Because of shipping costs, the hardcover giveaway is only available to people with a U.S. address. The winner will receive the book directly from Lulu that is my print-on-demand manufacturer. I really like this version. It's a casewrap hardcover meaning that the art is printed directly on the cover and there is no book jacket. This hardcover is 407 pages and a $24 value.
Also note on the giveaway page there will be a link that says "read on Goodreads". I have enabled the ebook version to be a free read right at Goodreads, so add it to your to-read list and start sampling it right in your browser. You can download it too if you want.
Good luck!
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
Rys Rising
by Tracy Falbe
Giveaway ends October 28, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter to win
Also note on the giveaway page there will be a link that says "read on Goodreads". I have enabled the ebook version to be a free read right at Goodreads, so add it to your to-read list and start sampling it right in your browser. You can download it too if you want.
Good luck!
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(http://goodreads.com/images/layout/gr... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(http://goodreads.com/images/layout/gr... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; }
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Rys Rising
by Tracy Falbe
Giveaway ends October 28, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter to win
October 19, 2011
Thank you Heidi Ruby Miller for the interview
Heidi Ruby Miller author of Ambasadora introduced me to her readers today at her blog. I picked six of her interview questions to answer. Go read the interview to find out about the crush I have on the bad guy in Rys Rising: Book I and also what food I can happily eat every day.
Heidi Ruby Miller: HEIDI'S PICK SIX: Tracy Falbe
Heidi Ruby Miller: HEIDI'S PICK SIX: Tracy Falbe
October 18, 2011
Upcoming blog appearances
Tomorrow I'm expecting an interview to appear at the Just A Girl blog of author Heidi Ruby Miller. She kindly agreed to interview me as I promote my newest novel Rys Rising: Book I in little dribs and drabs. Honestly I've been too busy working on getting the sequel Savage Storm presentable that I haven't come up with any brilliant marketing schemes for my new series. I guess I have the rest of my life to promote my novels. That's the great thing about being an indie writer. I get to keep my work available to the public for as long as I want. No one is going to decide my chance is over and kick me to the curb.
Heidi Ruby Miller describes herself as someone who loves "science fiction, high-heeled shoes, action movies, Chanel, loud music, and of course, romance."
She is the author of: Ambasadora
I also received an email today that fantasy author W. Brondt Kamffer who will soon be posting a mini review of the Union of Renegades podcast. Eight chapters are live so far and new chapters will be added every week. If you'd like to know Kamffer's opinions on the audiobook thus far, please go subscribe to updates at his website.
Kamffer is the author of The Ossian Chronicles:
Heidi Ruby Miller describes herself as someone who loves "science fiction, high-heeled shoes, action movies, Chanel, loud music, and of course, romance."
She is the author of: Ambasadora
I also received an email today that fantasy author W. Brondt Kamffer who will soon be posting a mini review of the Union of Renegades podcast. Eight chapters are live so far and new chapters will be added every week. If you'd like to know Kamffer's opinions on the audiobook thus far, please go subscribe to updates at his website.
Kamffer is the author of The Ossian Chronicles:
October 15, 2011
An indie author talks about book marketing
I've been publishing my fantasy novels for close to six years now. I'll be releasing another one soon, so one might think that I've learned a thing or two about book marketing. The truth is that I can't honestly claim to know what works and what doesn't. I probably do most everything wrong.
Here's a list of my many failings as a book marketer:
1. I don't have some amazing aspect of my life that makes me intriguing. I'm not twelve years old or the survivor of pirate abduction. I've never been to prison and I wasn't raised by wolves. I'm not missing my hands and forced to type with my feet. I haven't given birth to quintuplets. I'm not the favored pupil of a martial arts master. I'm not married to a wizard. So you get the idea. I don't have any detail about my life to hook people and make them think, "Oh, wow, I want to look at her book."
2. I don't blather away with controversial opinions about publishing. Some indie authors are quite militant about their indie publishing, and I think that's great but it's just not my style. I don't feel much need to continually trash the publishing industry because it could not be bothered to look at my work. I get it. I'm not wanted, so I'll just go sell my novels myself. That's really what I want to do anyway. Readers care about good stories way more than my inability to fit in with corporate America.
3. I'm not very active at forums. Participating in forums is always listed as one of those things to do to get your novels noticed, but I'm just not very good at it. I dabble in it, but I mostly don't have much to say. Also as far as I can tell all forums related to reading have become populated almost entirely by authors engaged in book marketing.
4. I have a terrible suspicion that I suck at social media. I use Twitter the most and actually enjoy that venue. I've met some cool people and had them guest post at my blog. I even have a few of my readers following me. That's great. But in general I'm clueless about social media. Everything I read on the subject says it's all about building a relationship. But the way I see things, there really isn't a relationship until someone actually samples my work. Then the relationship starts and I have to prove myself. Social media advice from all quarters also always insists that I not constantly talk about my products. Um, but I'm using social media to market my products. And no one is going to talk about my products unless I do it first. So, as I said, I'm a little lost here.
What I have been doing to market myself is known as content marketing. I give people content. Those who enjoy it might come back for more. I have free ebooks that lead into series. (See the left sidebar.) I recently launched the free serial podcast of Union of Renegades. I've added little quotes from my novels to my tweets as a micro form of content marketing. My marketing boils down to "Hey, come read or listen to my fiction for free. If you like it, buy more." This actually works, and I think it would work even better if more people knew about me, so I guess I'll just keep talking about myself and my fiction because that's book marketing as far as I can tell.
If you'd like to help me out, tell someone about my novels.
Here's a list of my many failings as a book marketer:
1. I don't have some amazing aspect of my life that makes me intriguing. I'm not twelve years old or the survivor of pirate abduction. I've never been to prison and I wasn't raised by wolves. I'm not missing my hands and forced to type with my feet. I haven't given birth to quintuplets. I'm not the favored pupil of a martial arts master. I'm not married to a wizard. So you get the idea. I don't have any detail about my life to hook people and make them think, "Oh, wow, I want to look at her book."
2. I don't blather away with controversial opinions about publishing. Some indie authors are quite militant about their indie publishing, and I think that's great but it's just not my style. I don't feel much need to continually trash the publishing industry because it could not be bothered to look at my work. I get it. I'm not wanted, so I'll just go sell my novels myself. That's really what I want to do anyway. Readers care about good stories way more than my inability to fit in with corporate America.
3. I'm not very active at forums. Participating in forums is always listed as one of those things to do to get your novels noticed, but I'm just not very good at it. I dabble in it, but I mostly don't have much to say. Also as far as I can tell all forums related to reading have become populated almost entirely by authors engaged in book marketing.
4. I have a terrible suspicion that I suck at social media. I use Twitter the most and actually enjoy that venue. I've met some cool people and had them guest post at my blog. I even have a few of my readers following me. That's great. But in general I'm clueless about social media. Everything I read on the subject says it's all about building a relationship. But the way I see things, there really isn't a relationship until someone actually samples my work. Then the relationship starts and I have to prove myself. Social media advice from all quarters also always insists that I not constantly talk about my products. Um, but I'm using social media to market my products. And no one is going to talk about my products unless I do it first. So, as I said, I'm a little lost here.
What I have been doing to market myself is known as content marketing. I give people content. Those who enjoy it might come back for more. I have free ebooks that lead into series. (See the left sidebar.) I recently launched the free serial podcast of Union of Renegades. I've added little quotes from my novels to my tweets as a micro form of content marketing. My marketing boils down to "Hey, come read or listen to my fiction for free. If you like it, buy more." This actually works, and I think it would work even better if more people knew about me, so I guess I'll just keep talking about myself and my fiction because that's book marketing as far as I can tell.
If you'd like to help me out, tell someone about my novels.
October 14, 2011
Thank you to SFSignal.com
The long running science fiction and fantasy blog SFSignal kindly mentioned the ongoing podcast of my fantasy novel Union of Renegades.
Please see today's sci fi and fantasy tidbits. This site is great at spotting all kinds of genre entertainment in many mediums.
If you're interested in listening to Union of Renegades, please visit the fantasy podcast page and subscribe.
Please see today's sci fi and fantasy tidbits. This site is great at spotting all kinds of genre entertainment in many mediums.
If you're interested in listening to Union of Renegades, please visit the fantasy podcast page and subscribe.
October 13, 2011
Indie Writer News -- Dragons and Rockstars
Joseph Robert Lewis is getting to be downright prolific. This week he sent me an announcement for his latest work The Dragon and the Lotus.
About the book:
As a child in Kathmandu, Asha was bitten by a dragon and gained the ability to hear the souls of all living things. Years later in India, she uses her strange gift and her training as an herbalist to save people possessed by ghosts, poisoned by legendary beasts, and tortured by the cruel doctors of Ming. And to fight the occasional bear or tiger, of course.
With the help of a beautiful blind nun and a sleepy little mongoose, Asha confronts both victims and predators, including the man who stole her childhood and killed her lover. But when she journeys into the west, Asha discovers that there are fates worse than death and there are human monsters that can only be defeated by a woman with the strength of a dragon.
Series: The Dragon and the Lotus is a part of The Other Earth series. This story spans several years and ends shortly after the conclusion of the Halcyon Trilogy.
Genre: historical fantasy, mystery, adventure, India, Persia
Length: 80,000 words
Web: http://josephrobertlewis.wordpress.com/books/the-dragon-and-the-lotus/
Go backstage at Indie Author Rockstar
Every month the Indie Author Rockstar blog randomly chooses 5 titles from its growing list of approved submissions and tries to bring them some extra love and attention from readers.
After the blog members vote, a "rockstar" will be selected from this month's batch of nominees and that esteemed title will continue to receive extra promotion.
October's rockstar nominees are:
MAD GODS - REVELATION: CANCELLED ? by Athanasios
THE CURSE GIRL by Kate Avery Ellison
THE COMPANY OF FELLOWS by Dan Holloway
THE HERO ALWAYS WINS by Robert Eaton
ISABEAU by N. Gemini Sasson
ANOMALY by Thea Atkinson
IMPEDING JUSTICE by Mel Comley
See full descriptions of these novels at Indie Author Rockstar and good luck to the nominees.
I'd also like to add that I submitted my latest novel Rys Rising: Book I to the Rockstar program. My novel made it into the contestant pool from which random nominees are drawn, so I'm hoping I'll get picked someday. Until then I will languish in obscurity as usual.
October 12, 2011
Chapter 7. Partnership added to fantasy audiobook podcast
Have a long commute? Stuck in a body cast? Enjoy knitting? There are many reasons people choose audiobooks for entertainment. They get the ages old pleasure of listening to a story while being able to occupy their hands with other tasks. Some people even like to relax and just listen while going to sleep although I hope that my fantasy novel Union of Renegades won't put you to sleep.
I recently launched the serial podcast of the epic fantasy Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I at Podiobooks.com. This week the 7th chapter Partnership was published. New chapters will be added every week until all FORTY chapters have been made available to listeners.
Please subscribe to the Union of Renegades podcast at:
Podiobooks
or
iTunes
About the novel:
Dreibrand Veta has killed for his country. At the frontlines of imperial expansion, he seeks to rebuild the fortune of his noble family. In his daring travels he encounters the rys, a race far more powerful than the human empire that bred him. Dreibrand cannot defy the rys Queen Onja nor defend his companion, Miranda, and her children from the wicked tyrant Queen.
Desperate for help, Dreibrand and Miranda join Shan, a rys with emerging powers who plans to challenge Onja. In Shan's pursuit of the rys throne, he exerts his magical powers, gathers his allies, and incites rebellion among Onja's human subjects.
Great wealth and power will reward the kings, warriors, and spies that align themselves with the rys pretender, but defeat could mean worse than death. Onja can imprison souls and her genocidal rage is legendary. Everything is at risk for Shan's union of renegades.
I recently launched the serial podcast of the epic fantasy Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I at Podiobooks.com. This week the 7th chapter Partnership was published. New chapters will be added every week until all FORTY chapters have been made available to listeners.
Please subscribe to the Union of Renegades podcast at:
Podiobooks
or
iTunes
About the novel:
Dreibrand Veta has killed for his country. At the frontlines of imperial expansion, he seeks to rebuild the fortune of his noble family. In his daring travels he encounters the rys, a race far more powerful than the human empire that bred him. Dreibrand cannot defy the rys Queen Onja nor defend his companion, Miranda, and her children from the wicked tyrant Queen.
Desperate for help, Dreibrand and Miranda join Shan, a rys with emerging powers who plans to challenge Onja. In Shan's pursuit of the rys throne, he exerts his magical powers, gathers his allies, and incites rebellion among Onja's human subjects.
Great wealth and power will reward the kings, warriors, and spies that align themselves with the rys pretender, but defeat could mean worse than death. Onja can imprison souls and her genocidal rage is legendary. Everything is at risk for Shan's union of renegades.
October 9, 2011
Progress update - Savage Storm: Rys Rising Book II
The desperately anticipated second novel of my new fantasy series Rys Rising remains on track for publication by the end of October. I am laboring daily over the final editing and proofreading of the manuscript, and the cover art being provided by Avatar Art is expected this month as well.
At this point I am exceedingly pleased with Savage Storm. Although I continue to weed out wordiness, cross check countless details, and correct tiny typos and technical errors, I am truly eager to bring the story to readers. I feel I have really learned not to hold back with my writing, and I am happy with the dramatic and epic scale of the novel.
Although I love the business of selling my fiction to readers, I truly do all this writing to entertain myself and process the thoughts and feelings that continually bombard my consciousness.
If you're waiting for the release of second novel, please go to the page I started for Savage Storm: Rys Rising Book II and use the form to join my readers' list. Then you'll get an email as soon as it's available as an ebook.
At this point I am exceedingly pleased with Savage Storm. Although I continue to weed out wordiness, cross check countless details, and correct tiny typos and technical errors, I am truly eager to bring the story to readers. I feel I have really learned not to hold back with my writing, and I am happy with the dramatic and epic scale of the novel.
Although I love the business of selling my fiction to readers, I truly do all this writing to entertain myself and process the thoughts and feelings that continually bombard my consciousness.
If you're waiting for the release of second novel, please go to the page I started for Savage Storm: Rys Rising Book II and use the form to join my readers' list. Then you'll get an email as soon as it's available as an ebook.
October 7, 2011
How to add Epub ebooks to Apple devices like iPhone & iPad
If you use Apple devices you may have already noticed how easy it is to shop and download samples within its ebook store iBooks. However, you may also be interested in knowing how to directly add epub format ebooks to your iPhone or iPad because not everything is in the Apple iBooks store. This information will also come in handy if someone wants to share an ebook with you that may or not be available within the Apple system.
1. Choose an ebook in the Epub format. It cannot have digital rights management encryption.
2. Open iTunes on your PC or Mac and put the epub ebooks into your Books Library. Do this by choosing File > Add File to Library. Dragging and dropping the files into the Books Library will work too.
3. Connect your iPad or other device to your PC or Mac with the USB cable. In iTunes, your iPad should now appear in the source list under devices.
4. To sync books to your device, click on iPad or iPhone under Devices and then click the Books tab at the top of the window. You can now choose to sync all books or selected books. After making your selections, click Apply to sync to your iPad.
The process will be the same for syncing to iPhone or iPod Touch using iOS 4.
If you would like to download free samples of two of my fantasy novels, you can add them to any of your Apple devices by going through iTunes on your computer.
Go to these pages at my website to download free fantasy ebooks.
Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I
Rys Rising: Book I
1. Choose an ebook in the Epub format. It cannot have digital rights management encryption.
2. Open iTunes on your PC or Mac and put the epub ebooks into your Books Library. Do this by choosing File > Add File to Library. Dragging and dropping the files into the Books Library will work too.
3. Connect your iPad or other device to your PC or Mac with the USB cable. In iTunes, your iPad should now appear in the source list under devices.
4. To sync books to your device, click on iPad or iPhone under Devices and then click the Books tab at the top of the window. You can now choose to sync all books or selected books. After making your selections, click Apply to sync to your iPad.
The process will be the same for syncing to iPhone or iPod Touch using iOS 4.
If you would like to download free samples of two of my fantasy novels, you can add them to any of your Apple devices by going through iTunes on your computer.
Go to these pages at my website to download free fantasy ebooks.
Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I
Rys Rising: Book I
