R.D. Vallier's Blog, page 6

Australia, India, UK

Okay Australia, India, and UK, here is your giveaway, as promised. :) Illustrated like the others, but I'm sorry I can't offer more copies at the moment (international shipping costs are harsh). I will definitely put more out in the future!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Darkshine


by R.D. Vallier

Giveaway ends September 06, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

BookLife Prize

The critic's review for Darkshine came in for The BookLife Prize in Fiction. (This is the Indie branch of Publisher's Weekly if you're unfamiliar with them). Although not as high as I wanted, (perfectionist, much?), and it will probably keep me out of the quarter finals, I did get a good editorial pull line. Time to raise the bar for Book 2 (and 3, because apparently I have a trilogy...), and beat that score. You can read the review here if you're interested. I am actually shocked I scored so high for prose. I always expect to get dinged for my writing style and the fact I couldn't afford a "pro" editor, but I'm always pleasantly surprised to find the opposite occurs. So far, anyway. :)

The paperback giveaway for Australia, India, and the UK got approved and starts on August 6th. I'll update with a link.

Otherwise, I've had a rough 2 weeks. Although I kicked ass the last week with book 2, I'm sooooo behind on everything else in life. In two days Darkshine's audiobook starts getting recorded (eek!), so that will suck up even more time. Hopefully that will be out in the world in a month-ish and I can put all that stress and worry to rest.

Now to deal with a biting toddler who refuses to sleep... for days!! Someone call for an exorcist.

IngeniousCat Review Blog

Darkshine has been recommended on Catherine Griffin's website, Catherine Griffin's website. Yippee!! Check it out to see the review, and to get other great recommendations for books available on Kindle Unlimited.

You can also check out her mystery novel Meanwhile, at the Dernstrum Institute... on Amazon.com and on Amazon UK.

England, 1923: Following the death of her eccentric inventor father, Constance Wright has no money and no prospects. She takes a secretarial job at the scientific institute founded by her late godfather. There, in between learning to type, fending off her boss, coping with the Giant Walking War Machine, ghosts, and a dangerous variety of cabbage, she discovers her godfather left her a trail of clues to follow. Clues that might lead her to a fortune... if she can find it. And someone else is already on the trail...

Darkshine is in bookstores!

Today is the last day to snag Darkshine for $0.99 on the Kindle Countdown Deal. It ends at 11pm.

Congrats to the Giveaway winners, and thanks all for another great ride. :) It seems every time I run a giveaway I get major internet/computer problems at the end that keeps me off line. Yuck! But that won't stop me from hosting the upcoming international one. Australia, UK, and India, I'm looking at you!

I am generally a reserved person. I try to be invisible for the most part, but I decided to gather my courage and ask bookstores to carry my book. What an experience! I went to 6. Darkshine now sits on five of their shelves, and 1 I am waiting on because the person I needed to speak to wasn't there. It was so nerve-wracking!! Three said straight out the gate they didn't have much shelf room ... but then they took a look at what I had to offer and either offered me commission or an outright sale on multiple copies! I actually have to place a new book order before I do more giveaways because they cleared my stock! I was even offered to do a local author event, which scares the crap out of me, but I will definitely do it. :) My heart was hammering for the 8 hours I was out, and I had to hold my breath to keep from crying the whole time ... but I did it! I did it! I did it! :D I'm going to hit more cities the next week my husband has off. And the audio book starts production in 2 weeks. It feels like progress after a lot of work and struggle.

Anyway, I'm happy and excited, which causes me to babble. But ... eek! ... I did a thing! :D

The End. (almost)

Last day for the USA Giveaway today! :)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Darkshine


by R.D. Vallier

Giveaway ends July 18, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Giveaway, & Surrendering with Unexpected Story Benefits

Darkshine is only $0.99 until 7/21, during a Kindle Countdown Deal.(Sorry if I’m repetitive, but I’m only allowed to do this once every 3 month period!) Paperback is $9.99. I’m also hosting random giveaways on my Twitter.

Here’s the moth, snug in its little book and ready to find a new home. :)

I realized I was running myself too far into the ground. My husband and I decided to not work on the house extension until our son is a bit older. Instead, we will finish up what we have (kitchen/dining/bath/greenhouse/office), and connect a yurt for the bedrooms. When we started the homestead idea about 15 years ago, we wanted a yurt to be our main residence, so a part of me really likes this idea. Another part of me counts it as a failure because I didn’t finish the main vision. It will get us into a “complete” home around fall, however, so I am sure I will get over it quickly. The travel trailer sucks.

Now, here’s the unexpected benefit: Where we decided to purchase our yurt, and where we have to drive 17 hours to pick it up, is in “Delano’s territory,” a book 2 location. I lived near there for years, but I never trust my memory and had planned to return before publishing the book to make sure I didn’t screw anything up. This combines the trip, which makes me really happy! (Plus it is friggin’ cool to have part of our home be from there.) We will camp a few nights, which I’m looking forward to. Oh, I am near giddy with all the note taking about to take place!

That leaves one other major location for the 2nd book. We lived there for a short while, too. But, again, I don’t trust my memory. My husband suggested that trip, probably early next year. (Yay! More notes!) He misses our midnight strolls there, and I can’t wait to relive that again, even for just one more night. :)

$0.99 Sale until 7/21

Darkshine is only $0.99 until 7/21, during a Kindle Countdown Deal.I also reduced the paperback to $9.99. I’ll also be hosting random giveaways on my
Twitter.



And look who is waiting to go to their new home. :) (I have the moth done too, but it is home and I’m on the road.) Only three more days until the end of the Giveaway!

I try to ship out the same day.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Darkshine


by R.D. Vallier

Giveaway ends July 18, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Chickadee Test Sketch for Giveaway

Here is the test drawing for Darkshine's GoodReads’s USA Giveaway I have going on right now. I think I need to lengthen the tail, and I’m not sure about those blue highlights. Hm.

Pencil and ink stages also shown.

Also, if you’ve been waiting for a mailing or shipment from me, they have now all been sent out as of yesterday. So if you haven’t gotten it yet, you should in the next week or so (depending on media mail’s speed to your area).

$350 Studio Update

Here is a photo of the studio (which I’m now calling The Writing Shack, since it will mostly be used for writing ... and avoiding obligations. heh) in its current phase. The outside still needs one more layer of lime plaster, a gutter, dirt/plants on the roof, and finishing touches. I got that door for $5, and it came in that color. I like it, and will repaint it a similar color, as well as the window frame.

Here is what the skeleton looks like, with the desk for reference. I basically hacked a bunch of trees and branches, and made this base frame. The “ceiling” is canvas--a painters canvas tarp, much cheaper than by the yard--and it holds straw insulation with a pond liner on top to serve as the live roof. (Dirt and plants on top).

The recommendations on the concrete bags were off, and I had to double the amount. Ugh! But you can see the cement pad, which is over a bunch of old tires pounded with dirt. The boards surrounding it were just supposed to be a form, and my husband was going to make cement sides ... but I like how it looks so we’ll just neaten it up and leave it. It will eventually rot out, but it is just landfill finds, anyway, and easy to repair with the tires underneath.

The inside has been fully plastered, and just needs paint after it is dry, as well as shelving. I still have the handwritten version of the first novel I ever wrote, and it takes up a ton of space. I think I am going to modge podge the pages onto the shelves.

Okay, let’s see how I’m doing on my $350 base goal (I haven’t tallied yet).

Concrete: $80 (ugh)
Lumber: All Free thanks to the trees and the landfill.
Straw: $40 (I got most of it free)
Brackets, screws, hinges: $25
Metal mesh: $25 (I had extra on site from past projects).
Electrical wire: Free (taken from past projects)
Painter’s canvas: $25
Pond Liner roof: $65 (I splurged on the thicker model)
Lime: About $40
Sand: Free
Deadbolt: $13 (I totally screwed this up ... ugh)
Door: $5
Window: Free
Door Knobs: Free. I’m making them out of branches

Total: $318

Yipee! Okay, that’s my base cost, which will make it completely functional. My husband likes making solar panels from damaged cells he gets for cheap, and he has a bunch of extras we’re not using. Just one of those will be more than enough for all my power needs. We also have a “bad” battery, which we can’t use to power the house anymore because of some winter damage. But it is perfect for this studio, and holds enough charge for the laptop and LED bulbs (which we stocked up on when we found a liquidation at $2 a bulb ... we’re good on LED bulbs lol)

Now, that said. I already blew the budget because I found a great little rug I wanted for $80. I *could* have gotten away with the $20 rug (I need the sound buffer for audio recording) ... but it was ugly. And I like pretty. And I don’t have enough pretty in my life. (Justify! Justify! Justify!)

I also bought $15 of paint for my trim. The wall color will be the same as an accent on the main house, so I’ll figure out the split cost for that later since I haven’t bought it yet. If you count the desk that’s another $10, my chair is free, and I got my lighting for $3. The shelves will also be free, minus $2 in glue. So all total, an extra $110 in pretties, making it $428

Otherwise, I think I did pretty darn good with my little Writing Shack made from straw, mud, and trash. :) I can’t wait for it to be done! I’ll take pics of the inside when it is all prettied up.

Giveaway #2 Test Sketch

Here is the moth test sketch for the Illustrated Giveaway I launched the other day, but I’ve been so slammed with life I completely forgot to post it. This giveaway is only available to the USA, unfortunately, but that will change once I replenish my coffers from the last international one.

The color moth is above. Also posted is the pencil and ink sketches.


My little audio/writing studio is chugging along. I had to double the cement costs, and I feared I’d break the $350 budget because of it. But then some guy gave me all but 5 straw bales I needed for the walls and roof! He even let me use his trailer, and never asked my name or knew where I lived, who I was or anything. Wonderfully crazy. So now I am well below budget, and can put that $200 I saved on straw toward making it pretty and other things. :) I’m hoping it will be done, minus decor, this week. I live way out in boonies, though, and the holiday weekend might throw in a kink, restricting my supply needs.