Sarah Mäkelä's Blog, page 34

Weekly Wrap Up + Friday the 13th

In Friday the 13th style, the day has been a little weird... already. Blogger is not playing well, so I've resorted to mobile blogging. Something I had wanted to try, but never had a reason to. Haha. So, I hope everyone has a great Friday the 13th. I know I'll have plenty of black cat action since I own one. =)

Anyways, this week's stats... I'm at 4,264 / 25,000 words on my current WIP. I missed writing on Wednesday, but that's it, which I'm pretty proud of.

Interesting Link:

http://www.ashleymarch.com/blog/?p=1439 -- Discusses Facebook's new rules on contests. Make sure to read this.
So, how is your Friday going? What's your weekly progress been? Any links to share? Have a great weekend!

Werewolves, My Favorite Paranormal Creature

Yet another Into the Paranormal Wednesday! I decided to do a fun post today.

Photo by Daniel MottSo, what is my favorite paranormal creature? That's an easy one! It's got to be werewolves. I've had a strong love of wolves for a very long time, ever since I was a child. The possibility of a person being able to change into a wolf utterly fascinates me.

Mind you, I imagine werewolves not as the ugly creatures depicted in some movies, but more a lot more wolflike. Sure! They probably have a half-man/half-wolf form, but I still like to think of them as being relatively attractive in that form as well. Large and very muscular, but not gruesome.

My love for them as continued to grow since I first started reading paranormal romance and urban fantasy. One of my favorite authors who I think writes excellent werewolves is Laurell K. Hamilton. For me, she really sums up how I picture them. Ilona Andrews is another author that really masters shapeshifters in my opinion.

Your turn! What is your favorite paranormal creature? And who are some of your favorite authors that you feel sum up the being really well?

Guest Author Lisa Kessler

Hi everyone –

Thank you to Sarah for inviting me to blog today!

I met Sarah a few months ago when we formed an online critique group. There are four of us on our "Almost Fabulous" crit crew, and since we created the group all of us have been contracted or published! YAY!

Our group has been supportive and informative about everything from self-publishing, marketing, pitching, and even what it's like working with an editor to hone a book.

But now that we're contracted, do we still need a critique group?

My answer is yes.

Even though we've sold a book or a series, we will still be writing new material, and the group we've got has eagle eyes lemme tell ya! LOL

For example, my new self-published release, Across the Veil …

It's only 26 pages long. It was too long to submit for most short story anthologies, and too short for most ePub novellas. But it was a good story.

I wanted to send it into the world.

I decided to release it myself as an eBook, but before formatting and uploading it, I ran it through our critique group. I'm so glad I did! Even though I had edited the story numerous times, my group found a few things I missed that really cleaned up the book. I'm grateful to every one of them! :-)

With self-publishing becoming a more common practice, I think critique groups grow in importance. As a reader, there is nothing worse than paying for a poorly edited book. It's frustrating. Didn't the author care enough to correct typos and be sure they tied up all the loose plot lines in their story?

A great critique group can save you from putting out work that's not quite ready yet. After I've edited a story a few times, I stop noticing missing words, etc. It's frustrating! You need a fresh pair of eyes that you trust to tell you if a character isn't working, or their motivations seem a little off.

I'd rather have my critique group find weaknesses instead of a reviewer, right?

So with every good review I see for Across the Veil , I feel like hugging my critique group for helping me polish it until it shined.

If you're thinking about self-publishing or even if you're under contract for a book, a good critique group is one of the best tools you can add to your writer's tool kit.

Thank you to Sarah and the rest of our Almost Fabulous crew for all the feedback! And I hope we can keep helping each other on the path to being full-time writers… :-)

What about you? Do you have a critique group? Are you looking for one?

Experimenting with Genres

Okay, so it's kind of a given, and it's good to do in all aspects of life. How does skydiving sound? How about taking a pottery class? Having hobbies and exploring things you haven't tried before can bring new excitement and happiness. How does this relate to writing?
Well, I recently delved into the genre of cyberpunk romance. It's new for me, and something I've been wanting to try for a while. In January, I jumped right in and loved it. Last November for National Novel Writing Month, I tried my hand at writing post-apocalyptic paranormal romance. I've done paranormal romance, but the post-apoc part made it feel like such an experiment. That novel was lots of fun to write too. It gave me a chance to try something new and exciting.
Of course, I've heard that people should stick with one genre and go-go-go. Practice your craft and hone your skills. I agree. I've completed 2.5 urban fantasy novels, 4 paranormal romances (and 1 novella), a sweet contemporary, and a cyberpunk romance novella. I can definitely say that sweet contemporary isn't my best genre, or one I'd likely retry in the future. I've gained enough experience with urban fantasy and paranormal romance to know that I love it, but it's good to try new things, especially if you're starting to feel blah. Maybe you'll find a new favorite genre, or maybe you'll be able to say you've tried it and it's not for you. People shouldn't go chasing the newest trend, but who knows? There's always something to learn, and maybe you and the genre will just click.
So have you tried a new genre or different kind of project that has really excited you recently? Are you planning on it?

Weekly Wrap Up + Awards!

This has been quite a week! Wrapped up the A to Z Challenge last Saturday, which was so much fun! I really enjoyed meeting everyone. And then I found out that two of my novellas have been contracted with the winner of the Shamrock Challenge being released in June. Wow! I've definitely been pinching myself.

No progress meter to share this week. I'll get back to that within the next couple of weeks.

Interesting Links:

http://smallstepstobigchange.com/?p=387 -- That article has great tips on decluttering email, which is something I've been trying to conquer. hahahttp://live-your-love.com/kindle-publishing-blog/ -- This one is about publishing your blog on Kindle and how it could expand your readership (as well as bring in a little moolah).http://www.kazmahoney.com/2011/05/03/spring-into-summer-sis-50kwriting-challenge/ -- Wanting to get a jumpstart on your next project? Here's a 50k summer writing challenge.http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/the-dreaded-adverb-problem -- Last but not least, this one is craft related and discusses adverbs in depth. Have any interesting links you've found? Let me know! How have you progressed through this week?

Thanks for the Versatile Blogger Award, C R Ward!

This award requires that you
1. Link back to the awarder (which I've done above)
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award this to 10-15 newly discovered bloggers
4. Tell said bloggers they have an award waiting.

My Seven Things:
1. I adore cats. They're so awesome.
2. I'm also a huge fan of Finland, that country between Sweden and Russia. =P I've visited there 3 times now.
3. I much prefer the cold to heat. With that in mind, Winter is my favorite season.
4. I almost got an English/History double major in college, but I decided that I wanted to graduate sooner than later.
5. I love music. Trance, Rock, and Symphonic Goth Metal are some of my favorites, but I listen to all kinds.
6. I'm not really a morning person. I prefer staying up late at night.
7. I love gaming. PC games, console games, board games, and, heck, card games too! I love to play.

My list of people are:
Kinley Baker
Claire Goverts
Elizabeth Twist
Canyon Girl
Gabriella Hewitt
Mara Nash
Lauracea
K.C. Woolf
Erin Kane Spock
J.L. Campbell
Charmaine Clancy

Into the Paranormal: Bigfoot

So, we talked about the Yeti  not long ago. Today we'll be discussing his North American counterpart today, the Bigfoot. Typically described as being very tall (between seven and ten feet), having a powerful build, bipedal, and covered in dark red fur, he also has big feet. Surprising, right? According to wikipedia.org, "the enormous footprints for which it is named have been as large as 24 inches (60 cm) long and 8 inches (20 cm) wide."

He's mainly spotted in the Pacific Northwest, but there have been supposed sightings across the country. Even as far away as Texas and Florida. He resides in forests.

Members of the Lummi tribe told about experiences with "Ts'emekwes," their version of Bigfoot. Another version is the stiyaha, which were nocturnal creatures that children were warned to not speak its name for fear of the monsters coming to drag someone away to kill them. And even another version from Native Americans residing in Spokane, Washington is that the creatures lived on the peaks of mountains and stole salmon from the fishing nets.

Interesting Tidbits:
He's also known as Sasquatch, which is derived from "Sésquac" meaning "wild man" in a Salishan (Native American) language from the Pacific Northwest. Some believe that a story in Theodore Roosevelt's 1892 book The Wilderness Hunter that tells of an event between a couple of hunters and a pissed-off bear could actually be historical evidence of Bigfoot's existence.
Most believe that Bigfoot encounters are either misidentification of mangy bears or hoaxes. Some think that the Bigfoot could be an extinct Gigantopithecus (giant ape) or an extinct hominidae (also an ape). Still Bigfoot believers are positive that he's out there.What do you think? Is Bigfoot real? Give me your thoughts on the subject. Have you seen a movie or read a book with him in it?

The Graveyard Wedding

Feel free to comment to let me know what you think!

The Graveyard Wedding was published in Fall Issue by Runes Online Magazine. October '05.
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The Graveyard Wedding
by Sarah Mäkelä

Walking through the graveyard one night, I came across a wedding procession. All I wanted to do was just visit my deceased mother. What was going on?

It disturbed me, but I couldn't look away. The moon shone brightly illuminating the event. Only a dozen people were in attendance. It seemed small and quaint. I ducked behind a headstone making sure to keep quiet so I would remain unnoticed.

An immaculate oak table stood behind the wedding party. No dishes or cups lined it. It looked out of place. Why have a table, but nothing to eat?

The bride lifted her veil to kiss the groom. Her smile revealed those sharp, pointed teeth that gleamed in the moonlight.

I shifted my weight and a twig snapped. One of them looked in my direction. I turned to run, but they surrounded me. The groom invited me to dinner with a wicked smile to reveal more pointed teeth. I had no choice. They insisted I join in the celebration.

Next thing I knew they had placed me on the table; my limbs chained. The bride and groom stood to each side and had their toast of me.

Sold!

I have awesome news to share today! I was offered contracts for two stories (one is cyberpunk and the other is a paranormal romance).  I'd done a pitch session during DigiCon at SavvyAuthors in February, and I got two requests. So! I sent them off. Recently, when I checked up on one of them, I was told they were in the contest since they'd been submitted during the time when it was going on. Well, I tied for the win! Yay! :-D

I'm blown away and super excited! If you'd like to read the "contest winner info," it's here under Extras.

For everyone that followed me during the A to Z Challenge, my typical blogging schedule is Mondays: writing topic, (new thing) every other Tuesdays: guest blogger, Wednesdays: paranormal/mythology topic, and Fridays: about my books/me and my Weekly Wrap Up. Today is obviously off-topic, but I so can't hold in this news until Friday! haha

If you'd like to be a guest blogger here, please email me at sarah (at) sarahmakela (dot) com.

Z is for Zmeu

Woohoo! So, we've made it to the end of the A to Z Challenge. Who else is really excited about that? First of all, I'd like to say Thank You to everyone who has stopped by, commented, and followed my blog. You guys and gals have blown my mind! It's been a phenomenal month getting to meet everyone.

And now onto today's topic. A Zmeu is of Romanian folklore and mythology. It's basically a slavic dragon with anthropomorphic features, namely its humanoid legs, arms, and ability to use and make possession such as weapons. His magical powers include the ability to shapeshift, fly, and spit fire. He has supernatural strength.

In Romanian mythology, the zmeu is seen as the embodiment of selfishness and greed. He typically steals something that's very important, and Făt-Frumos, the Romanian version of "Prince Charming," has to gain it back through his selfless bravery. Even though the zmeu has amazing abilities, it's no match for Făt-Frumos.

In Moldavia, a zmeu is sometimes pictured as a vampire-like creature that takes the shape of a flame then goes in the room of a young girl or widow. Once inside, he becomes a man and seduces her.

Interesting Tidbits:
The name zmeu most likely comes from the Slavic word Zmey, which is a Slavic dragon with three heads. The plural form is zmei, and the feminine forms are zmeoaică and (fem. plural) zmeoaice.Some English translations refer to a zmeu as a variation of an ogre or giant from western European mythologies. Like ogres, a zmeu kidnaps a maiden to be his wife in his otherworldly realm.The word zmeu also refers to the kites that children fly. It's also the word for dragon in German, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish and Scottish English.
Have you heard of the Zmeu before? What do you think of them? Have you enjoyed the A to Z Challenge this month?

Y is for Yeti

The Yeti, also known as the Abominable snowman, is an ape-like creature that prefers the frozen mountain ranges of Himalaya, Nepal, India and Tibet. Meh-Teh is the common term it's known as in the region.

While similar to Bigfoot, the Yeti's North American counterpart, the Yeti differs in both preferred terrain, temperature and general surroundings. Men have hunted the Bigfoot with fervor, but the Himalayan mountains give plenty of cover and peace to the Yeti, as well as act as a natural deterrent to eager hunters.

The few eyewitness reports available say that the Yeti is a large creature that walks on two legs. It has a massive frame and ape-like features. The size of markings found in the snow suggest a creature, or creatures, able to walk great distances and reach to heights that normal humans, and sometimes even Sherpas, would have difficulty reaching.

Interesting Tidbit:
In 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, went in search of physical evidence of the Yeti existence. After sending a Yeti scalp from the Khumjung monastery to the West to be tested, the results showed it was probably the scalp from a Himalayan antelope. Anthropologist Myra Shackley didn't agreed saying that the "hairs from the scalp look distinctly monkey-like and that it contains parasitic mites of a species different from that recovered from the serow." (The Himalyan antelope is a serow.)
Walt Disney World's roller coaster Expedition Everest contains a 25-foot-tall audio-animatronic Yeti during the ride.For a list of movies, songs, and other popular culture items that feature the Yeti: click here.Have you heard of the Yeti before? Seen references to it in pop culture? Let me know!