Susan Buffum's Blog: Welcome to My World, page 5
October 4, 2017
Writing Again
This has been a busy year as I've revised the interior layouts of all previously self published books and updated the covers of many of them as well. I really haven't written much new except for ghost stories, and I finished the second novella that is included in Bending Birches. This past Sunday I began writing the sequel to Black Knight, White Rook, the series that started with Black King Takes White Queen. The new book doesn't have a firm title yet, but Pawns will be a part of it.
I've also created my NaNo novel that I'll begin writing on November 1st, whether or not the novel I'm currently writing is finished. The NaNo novel will be the werewolf (actually lycanthrope) novel inspired by the mechanical clock tower in the town I live in several months ago. Kelly has been waiting for me to buckle down and write the novel...there were a couple of false starts this summer, but other things kept interfering in the writing process.
I still have some ghost stories to write for October 28th.
I LOVE October! It's my favorite month!
Out giveaway winners- your books are in the mail today, October 4th!
I've also created my NaNo novel that I'll begin writing on November 1st, whether or not the novel I'm currently writing is finished. The NaNo novel will be the werewolf (actually lycanthrope) novel inspired by the mechanical clock tower in the town I live in several months ago. Kelly has been waiting for me to buckle down and write the novel...there were a couple of false starts this summer, but other things kept interfering in the writing process.
I still have some ghost stories to write for October 28th.
I LOVE October! It's my favorite month!
Out giveaway winners- your books are in the mail today, October 4th!
September 28, 2017
Disturbing
Kelly and I are appearing at an event in mid-October for Fall/Halloween. We've both been writing ghost stories, so we decided to put together an anthology of our supernatural, paranormal, disturbing (and my one and only horror story,) stories in a co-authored volume. The eeriest photograph (other than all the old gravestones from our many cemetery crawls as taphophiles) is the one of the linden tree in our front yard- it seems to have eyes that stare right into the living room! It looks alien and disturbing.
So, when trying to think up a title for our joint collection we discarded Tales From the Dark Side of the Mind and Unthinkable (which was a movie a few years ago)...and were stumped. I uploaded the photograph and said, "This is just disturbing." Ah!
Disturbing!
Thus a title was born.
Disturbing will be available at the October event, but it should be available on Amazon.com as early as tomorrow, or at the latest by the end of this weekend. If anything- just go look at the cover. That tree will give you nightmares! I'll also make it available for Kindle.
Tis the season to... scare you!
So, when trying to think up a title for our joint collection we discarded Tales From the Dark Side of the Mind and Unthinkable (which was a movie a few years ago)...and were stumped. I uploaded the photograph and said, "This is just disturbing." Ah!
Disturbing!
Thus a title was born.
Disturbing will be available at the October event, but it should be available on Amazon.com as early as tomorrow, or at the latest by the end of this weekend. If anything- just go look at the cover. That tree will give you nightmares! I'll also make it available for Kindle.
Tis the season to... scare you!
September 25, 2017
Writer's Group Launched
Well, this past Saturday was launch day for a writer's group co-founded by my author daughter (Kelly) and me. It took us a little while to decide to do this because neither of us are fans of the type of group where writers sit around a table and write to prompts for an hour or so. I also didn't want a group of writers who sit around and spoon-feed praise to voracious egos. I wanted it to be more interactive, more laid back and member driven, not just a group of people led by a moderator with little input by members.
I was pleased with the initial meeting turnout, plus the four new members who walked through the door and signed up that day. The group consists of writers and authors at many levels of the craft who write in a variety of genres. And a couple who aspire to write but haven't taken the leap of faith in themselves yet- but with a safety net of writers in place, they'll soon be taking that leap!
This was basically a meet and greet and get to know one another meeting with one fun writing exercise. Everyone brought their favorite word to the meeting and threw them into a hat which was passed around, then we wrote for five minutes using the word we drew. There was one poem written, a plethora (my daughter's favorite word) of writing styles revealed, and one aspiring writer created an anacronym out of her selected word, assigning a new word to each letter of that word, then using ALL the new words plus the original word in her prose. She did great!
Before the end of the first meeting I had an author volunteer to discuss how to make an author event and reading more engaging for the audience. That's something I definitely need to learn how to do! Ironically, her discussion will come one hour after my author event for my new vampire novel! Maybe I need to get a crash course prior to 2PM!!
There was great camaraderie and a relaxed atmosphere at this first meeting-and awesome mini cupcakes from the bakery shop owned by one author's daughter! Mama Cakes rules!
I'm sure there will be people coming and going as in any group, but with an open invitation for local and area authors to drop-in, and no mandatory attendance rule, we'll have to wait and see who wanders through the door to join us at any given meeting!
I was pleased with the initial meeting turnout, plus the four new members who walked through the door and signed up that day. The group consists of writers and authors at many levels of the craft who write in a variety of genres. And a couple who aspire to write but haven't taken the leap of faith in themselves yet- but with a safety net of writers in place, they'll soon be taking that leap!
This was basically a meet and greet and get to know one another meeting with one fun writing exercise. Everyone brought their favorite word to the meeting and threw them into a hat which was passed around, then we wrote for five minutes using the word we drew. There was one poem written, a plethora (my daughter's favorite word) of writing styles revealed, and one aspiring writer created an anacronym out of her selected word, assigning a new word to each letter of that word, then using ALL the new words plus the original word in her prose. She did great!
Before the end of the first meeting I had an author volunteer to discuss how to make an author event and reading more engaging for the audience. That's something I definitely need to learn how to do! Ironically, her discussion will come one hour after my author event for my new vampire novel! Maybe I need to get a crash course prior to 2PM!!
There was great camaraderie and a relaxed atmosphere at this first meeting-and awesome mini cupcakes from the bakery shop owned by one author's daughter! Mama Cakes rules!
I'm sure there will be people coming and going as in any group, but with an open invitation for local and area authors to drop-in, and no mandatory attendance rule, we'll have to wait and see who wanders through the door to join us at any given meeting!
September 15, 2017
Two weeks until Out Giveaway ends
I've entered Out in the Best Book Awards for Fiction-Cross Genre since it is part supernatural, part fantasy, part romance so it really doesn't fit into the rigid genre molds as strictly this or that. It's also contemporary. I would be hard=pressed to pin it down into a single genre, but that's how I prefer to write since I am not a formulaic author. I like to push the envelope and write outside the genre lines.
I've also entered it in the IPPY Awards under the fantasy category since there wasn't a category it really fit into.
The giveaway books are First Cover editions. When I went to package the books to ship for judging I realized the purple font was too dark for older eyes to discern clearly, so rushed in to lighten the print font, but the cover image remains identical- just a paler shade of purple which make the cover copy easier to read back and front. I learned that lesson from a Writer's Digest self-published novel contest...make sure the printed text on your cover is readable to all ages, and include an author photo. Done and done. But the seven giveaway books are originals set aside for goodreads...so you'll get the original color I prefer, not the wimp-out paler purple necessary to please the judges.
Giveaway ends September 30th! An advance reader (who didn't have the final revision version- rated it 4 stars. My brother couldn't put it down, my sister got bogged down in an emotional scene about a canine victim of a vampire (but her dog is ailing so she's emotional anyway...but I'm hoping she can move past that scene and finish the book because I think she'll like in the end, but I can't reveal why because that would be a spoiler! My best advice, Lynnmarie, is keep reading! I wouldn't let you down!
I've also entered it in the IPPY Awards under the fantasy category since there wasn't a category it really fit into.
The giveaway books are First Cover editions. When I went to package the books to ship for judging I realized the purple font was too dark for older eyes to discern clearly, so rushed in to lighten the print font, but the cover image remains identical- just a paler shade of purple which make the cover copy easier to read back and front. I learned that lesson from a Writer's Digest self-published novel contest...make sure the printed text on your cover is readable to all ages, and include an author photo. Done and done. But the seven giveaway books are originals set aside for goodreads...so you'll get the original color I prefer, not the wimp-out paler purple necessary to please the judges.
Giveaway ends September 30th! An advance reader (who didn't have the final revision version- rated it 4 stars. My brother couldn't put it down, my sister got bogged down in an emotional scene about a canine victim of a vampire (but her dog is ailing so she's emotional anyway...but I'm hoping she can move past that scene and finish the book because I think she'll like in the end, but I can't reveal why because that would be a spoiler! My best advice, Lynnmarie, is keep reading! I wouldn't let you down!
September 8, 2017
Out Feedback
Advance readers of my vampire novel, Out, which is currently available as a goodreads giveaway, have been coming in. So far everyone who has read it has enjoyed it. I have revised the cover font to lighten the print because after looking at it and trying to read the back cover text in low light I realized the pretty purple was too dark against the black, not enough contrast, so while the seven giveaway books will have the darker font, copies ordered from Amazon or as Kindle books will have the lighter cover font.
Self-publishing presents new lessons learned with every book! (Although no one who has read the book or seen it so far has commented negatively about the darker purple font- but I'm entering the novel in an indie publisher contest and from past experience know every aspect of the book is judged, so I want the cover copy legible!)
Self-publishing presents new lessons learned with every book! (Although no one who has read the book or seen it so far has commented negatively about the darker purple font- but I'm entering the novel in an indie publisher contest and from past experience know every aspect of the book is judged, so I want the cover copy legible!)
September 6, 2017
7 Christmas Stocking Stuffer Holiday Books Created
Over Labor Day weekend I embarked on a labor of love. I've been writing annual Christmas stories for family and friends since 1997. This marks 20 years of entertaining people with holiday stories. This will be my 21st year of writing a Christmas story.
Previously, the majority of my stories have been put into three 6x9 inch volumes of Christmas stories- Yuletide Stories, Always Christmas in My Heart, and Together for the Holidays.
I have taken the stand alone novellas and created smaller 5x8 books from them- The Winter Solstice Ball set at a grand resort hotel on the coast of Maine, The Red Velvet Suit (Santa's son is preparing to take the reins of the sleigh and must travel to Jack Frost's Tailor Shop to order his own red suit), and A Major Production (NYC director lands in a Maine playhouse during the holiday season, disrupting the production).
I've put family-driven stories in Christmas with the Family, inspirational stories in Christmas Inspirations, nostalgic stories in Christmases Past, present day stories in Christmases Present (including two from last year that were previously unpublished along with Christmas Bells (about a little girl who finds a silver sleigh bell in the street and convinces herself it fell off one of Santa's reindeer).
The smaller books will make perfect stocking stuffers, or nice gifts tucked in a basket with other goodies, or gifts for seniors in assisted living or nursing homes since they're easier to handle than the heavier 6x9 books. They'll also make nice Secret Santa gifts with a gift card to a local coffee shop or whatever tucked between the pages, or a mug and package of cocoa mix.
I had a lot of fun creating the smaller holiday books. Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays.
The books will be available later this month.
Previously, the majority of my stories have been put into three 6x9 inch volumes of Christmas stories- Yuletide Stories, Always Christmas in My Heart, and Together for the Holidays.
I have taken the stand alone novellas and created smaller 5x8 books from them- The Winter Solstice Ball set at a grand resort hotel on the coast of Maine, The Red Velvet Suit (Santa's son is preparing to take the reins of the sleigh and must travel to Jack Frost's Tailor Shop to order his own red suit), and A Major Production (NYC director lands in a Maine playhouse during the holiday season, disrupting the production).
I've put family-driven stories in Christmas with the Family, inspirational stories in Christmas Inspirations, nostalgic stories in Christmases Past, present day stories in Christmases Present (including two from last year that were previously unpublished along with Christmas Bells (about a little girl who finds a silver sleigh bell in the street and convinces herself it fell off one of Santa's reindeer).
The smaller books will make perfect stocking stuffers, or nice gifts tucked in a basket with other goodies, or gifts for seniors in assisted living or nursing homes since they're easier to handle than the heavier 6x9 books. They'll also make nice Secret Santa gifts with a gift card to a local coffee shop or whatever tucked between the pages, or a mug and package of cocoa mix.
I had a lot of fun creating the smaller holiday books. Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays.
The books will be available later this month.
September 1, 2017
Holiday Revisions
Earlier this year I revised all of my books to clean up the interior copy after learning how to justify the text. That removed uneven spacing at the margins and extra spaces. I revised some covers while I was tinkering with the books, giving many of them a fresh face.
I skipped the three volumes of Christmas stories, postponing work on those books until later in the year. Now that September has arrived I'm more in the mood for revising Christmas stories, so have been working on that. Yuletide Stories and Always Christmas in My Heart are now done! Both are available for Kindle now, also (well Always Christmas in My Heart is in review this evening but should be approved before the weekend is over.) I'm nearly finished with Together for the Holidays- one story, The Red Velvet Suit, to go.
The thing that has floored me trough this revision process is how every story in all three books has made me cry so far! I wrote these stories. I've read them a gazillion times. But this time...they are touching me deeply, resonating within me. I don't know if it's because, since they were published, John and I have lost our last two parents (his Mom in 2016, his Dad a year to the date later in 2017) so we have no living parents between us any longer and are now the older generation carrying on holiday traditions of both our families.
Anyway- I've written a lot of books, a lot of stories, but these Christmas stories mean the most to me because they were written for friends and family originally with no intention of sharing them with a wider audience. Or maybe all the sentiment comes from how nostalgic they are- stories from a kinder, gentler time.
I don't know what it is, but they are near and dear to my heart and ready to go forth to a broader audience this holiday season with the addition of the ebook versions to the Kindle library/book store.
I skipped the three volumes of Christmas stories, postponing work on those books until later in the year. Now that September has arrived I'm more in the mood for revising Christmas stories, so have been working on that. Yuletide Stories and Always Christmas in My Heart are now done! Both are available for Kindle now, also (well Always Christmas in My Heart is in review this evening but should be approved before the weekend is over.) I'm nearly finished with Together for the Holidays- one story, The Red Velvet Suit, to go.
The thing that has floored me trough this revision process is how every story in all three books has made me cry so far! I wrote these stories. I've read them a gazillion times. But this time...they are touching me deeply, resonating within me. I don't know if it's because, since they were published, John and I have lost our last two parents (his Mom in 2016, his Dad a year to the date later in 2017) so we have no living parents between us any longer and are now the older generation carrying on holiday traditions of both our families.
Anyway- I've written a lot of books, a lot of stories, but these Christmas stories mean the most to me because they were written for friends and family originally with no intention of sharing them with a wider audience. Or maybe all the sentiment comes from how nostalgic they are- stories from a kinder, gentler time.
I don't know what it is, but they are near and dear to my heart and ready to go forth to a broader audience this holiday season with the addition of the ebook versions to the Kindle library/book store.
August 25, 2017
NaNoWriMo News
It's Official! Kelly applied to be a NaNoWriMo ML (Municipal Liaison) this year and was approved. I'm so proud of her for taking the initiative after we went all of last November without a western MA ML in out area, but lots of mutual support from the area writers participating, keeping moral up, urging those in a slump to think positive and keep writing, rooting one another on to an amazing word count and a lot of finished novels!
Not sure what I'll be writing for my novel this November, but I have a few ideas circulating in my head!
Not sure what I'll be writing for my novel this November, but I have a few ideas circulating in my head!
August 23, 2017
GIVEAWAY for 7 Copies of Out has Begun!
I have 7 signed first edition copies of vampire romance Out up for grabs in a giveaway that started yesterday. The giveaway ends September 30th prior to its October official launch date.
August 22, 2017
All Books Now in Kindle Bookstore
I've uploaded all my books, except the three Christmas story volumes which I'm in the process of revising right now, to Kindle. Life, Death, Love, Cats & Dogs just got a cover revision because I wasn't happy with the difficult to read font I'd chosen for the first version. Bending Birches also got a front and back cover font change- although I liked the original font, it made the back cover copy really hard to read, so I had to change it.
An author event has been scheduled for October 21st here in Westfield, MA for the official launch of my vampire romance novel, Out. Advance readers have been excited about the book- which makes me happy!
All books are available on Amazon.com.
An author event has been scheduled for October 21st here in Westfield, MA for the official launch of my vampire romance novel, Out. Advance readers have been excited about the book- which makes me happy!
All books are available on Amazon.com.
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Here I will write a little bit about my writing, how I write, how I create characters and environments...and maybe some little glimpses into my real life because writers and authors are real people af
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