Patti Ann Colt's Blog, page 4

Boo and Lindy's Matchmaking Adventure

I'm pleased to announce a new short story has been published in the Echo Falls, Texas series.  Boo and Lindy's Matchmaking Adventure is now available.  The publication date - June 22nd -  is a date that is very special to me.  Today would have been my parents' 71st anniversary.  I know you all have been missing Echo Falls.  I hope Boo and Lindy's story gives you a nice visit.  The story is only available on Amazon. 



Fireman Adam Caldwell is the son of Echo Falls Fire Chief Sally Caldwell.  You met her in Book #2  The Sweetheart Dance.  If I can find some more writing time, short stories for Adam's brothers Rand and Gage will follow.  And, of course, I implied that Boo and Lindy's next pumpkin magic victim was going to be Adam's friend, Ned Foley.  Maybe so.  We'll see.



The story stretches from Christmas to Easter.  Hope you like seeing Echo Falls at Christmas and enjoy another visit to the Sweetheart Dance with Adam and Juliette.



Boo and Lindy Applegate are worried
about the sadness in their first grade teacher's eyes.  Wanting to help, they ask Santa for someone special to be Miss Day's friend. Kissing her would be good, too.



Fireman Adam Caldwell moved back home to be near his family and
serve the Echo Falls Fire Department. A loss in the fire station poker game places Adam in charge of answering the towns’
“Dear Santa” letters. All the requests prove simple to answer, except
one. In a dilemma, Adam sets out to learn more about “Miss Day.” A
chance encounter with Boo and Lindy fosters Adam’s need to befriend the
teacher.

Juliette Day's fiancee abandoned her at the altar and disappeared with her sister.  Now Juliette's off the
commitment market until she can heal from the pain and humiliation.  But she is enticed by Adam and their charming Christmas date.  Over the next
few months, his faithful presence, thoughtful courtship and steamy
kisses push her to rethink her decision to stay alone. How can she resolve her deep-seated anger over
the betrayal and give Adam the unfettered forever love he’s asking for?

Leia Shae - Born Anew - Playlist #1

For your enjoyment, I've put together a playlist - songs that inspired me as I wrote about rock star Leia Shae in The Rock Star's Sheriff.  Music is critical in fueling the inspiration for many of my stories, but never more so than in this book with a successful music career at its center. Inspired by singers like Leann Rimes, Mandy Moore and Christina Aguilera, here is a list of my favorite girl songs. Enjoy these selections, then pick up your copy of The Rock Star's Sheriff. 



1.       Party in the U.S.A.  Miley Cyrus 




2.      
Since U Been Gone  Kelly Clarkson 



3.      
According to You Orianthi



4.      
Who Says Selena Gomez 



5.      
Over It 
Katharine McPhee 



6.      
Call Me Maybe Carly Rae Jepsen



7.      
Who Knew 
P!nk 



8.      
A Thousand Miles 
Vanessa Carlton 



9.      
The Game of Love 
Michelle Branch w/Carlos Santana 



10.  
Before He Cheats Carrie Underwood 

11.  
How Do I Live 
Leann Rimes 



12.  
The Voice Within Christina Aguilera 



13.  
Candy Mandy Moore



14.  
Hot N Cold Katy Perry 

Flashes of Inspiration

I'm at that stage of life where sometimes I sleep and sometimes I don't.  After a couple of nights of not, I had one night where I fell asleep early, for obvious reasons.  I woke up, middle of the dark night, and a brilliant idea exploded - three additional scenes for a book that is already published. I reached for a notepad and wrote them down.  Now, that might be a problem with a traditionally published story, but since I am an independently published author, it's an opportunity. 



Cowboy's Heart has been selling like hotcakes at a church social.  I'm thrilled and grateful and excited to get the next ones to you - Cowboy's Sweetheart, Cowboy's Bride, Cowboy's Angel -  so you can experience the full range of stories they way they bloomed in my head.  Yet, so many of you loved Jess and Amy Rose and complained that Cowboy's Heart was way too short (actually totals about 14,000 words).  That has been on my mind.  Yes, you may put two and two together now. The flash of inspiration for more scenes is for Cowboy's Heart. I'm thrilled that I am able to add those scenes and give you more time with Jess and Amy Rose!



I've got two writing projects on my desk and an edit of another.  The first is Secret Daddy, a Parson Corners story.  Leia Shae's security chief Mark Banning is the strong, silent type.  I'm in the midst of tormenting him with a outgoing, outspoken, sexy woman and a vulnerable, scared little girl, both need him to open his damaged heart. Originally planned as a "short" story, it's morphing into more.  I'm at the point where it should be stopping if it's a short story, and yet it's not even really to the good stuff yet.  Novella or novel is still to be worked out.  (Yes, for those of you keeping track, I am a plotter - but sometimes you just gotta go where the story takes you!)



The second writing project is Copper Canyon's, Cowboy's Sweetheart.  Here you'll meet Jess's brother Shane, former bronc-rider turned fireman.  What could be sexier right?  Wedding Cake Designer Kendra Dawson certainly thinks so, until she finds out he lied to her.  Shane's got some fast talking to do.  Fortunately, best friend, Nick Campbell and sister-in-law, Amy Rose, are there to help him get on the right track with the woman he wants for his wife.



And if that wasn't enough, Boo and Lindy's Matchmaking Adventure - an Echo Falls short story (20,000 words) - is in the final edit/proofread.  Echo Falls fireman, Adam Caldwell, and first grade teacher, Juliette Day, are in the crosshairs of the forbidden pumpkin magic - wielded by twins Boo and Lindy who believe love conquers all.  But does it?



I also have a promo video in rough draft for the Copper Canyon series and for Rock Star's Sheriff, a concert poster for Leia and her latest album cover, some new Echo Falls extras planned, and am launching a new pen name - Maren Franklin.  Watch for the Leia stuff later this week.  My website is slowly undergoing a transformation.  I know you aren't seeing it, because it isn't published yet, but sometime in the next month or so, it'll be all pretty and ready for you to view.  Hopefully, Maren's will be up and running then, too.  (Yes, her first book is Gunner's Girls Book #1- MICKI'S PERIL and will be out sometime late September/early October).



So, back to Cowboy's Heart - yes, I'll be pausing to write these three scenes and put a 2nd edition copy into production. It will have a slightly different cover, so you will be able to tell the difference.  For those of you who bought a 1st edition copy, watch for the announcement to send me your email address with an "I bought it" security question and I'll have a coupon code for a free copy of the 2nd edition, sometime end of July.  Also, I will be publishing the 2nd edition Cowboy's Heart and Cowboy's Sweetheart together as soon as Sweetheart is ready to publish, and the combo will run on sale for about 30 days, if you'd rather update your Cowboy's Heart edition with the duo.



Finally, my business partner, Anne M. Carpenter, and I would like to say "THANKS" to the many readers who have visited and bought books of interest from KLG PRESS - you are the best! 

Copper Canyon Future

I'm glad so many of you downloaded Cowboy's Heart.  From the feedback I've received, the main complaint is that the story is too short, too short, too short. 



I love Amy Rose and Jess.  I'd agree with the 'too short' assessment except for one thing.  This isn't the end of Copper Canyon. It's only the beginning.



This hometown romance series includes eight books.  Six are short stories from 14,000 to 20,000.  The shorts are Cowboy's Heart, Cowboy's Sweetheart, Cowboy's Bride, Cowboy's Dream, Cowboy's Hope, and Cowboy's Wish and will be released over the next seven months. These are about six men who are connected through blood and true friendship, who each learn how to win the heart of a strong, loving woman.



There are also two full novels - Cowboy's Angel and Cowboy for Christmas.  The full books concern men and families who epitomize Copper Canyon.  The first is Cowboy's Angel and concerns a family that moves to Copper Canyon and adopts it for their own and in the process heal a painful family tragedy.  The other full, Cowboy For Christmas, is about a family that has lived in Copper Canyon for generations.  You can find the release schedule on my website - pattianncolt.com.  Click the Copper Canyon tab. 



So, Cowboy's Heart is the first short story.  We are going to see Amy Rose and Jess again, in the next book - Cowboy's Sweetheart.  I'm not giving details, because I don't want to give it away.  Let's just say there's a big surprise for Jess and Amy Rose.  Plus, Amy Rose and Nick (from Cowboy's Bride) are instrumental in helping Shane solve his problem with Kendra. 



So check the release schedule on my website, and wait for the rest of the series.  It will ease your problem with too short, I promise.



In the meantime, Parson Corners awaits with Rock Star's Sheriff available and it's a full 75,000 word novel. Or you can find my Echo Falls work - The Daddy Spell, The Sweetheart Dance, and Kiss Me Goodnight!  You'll love that series, too!  Enjoy!

Amazon Select and Cowboy's Heart

On April 11, 2012, Cowboy's Heart was published to Amazon.  Since "we" (my business partner, Tiffany Aller, and our press, KLG Press) hadn't experimented yet with the Amazon Select program, we decided this was a good book to use in that experiment.  Between April 11th and 25th, I sold 19 copies on Amazon U.S.  Not bad considering it was ranked under 500,000 and pretty hard to find and I did absolutely no promotions.  Hell, I even forgot to put it on this blog.  (Yes, yes, yes - fixing that!  AND, bowing in thanks to all the ladies in the BFHS Class of 1975 whom I'm suspect bought those 19 copies!!)



The value of the Amazon Select program, I think, is in the free promotions days.  Today was the first of five for this book.  All day today, Cowboy's Heart is free to download.  (Run over and get yours now!)  Full statistics aren't in yet, but as of this moment, Cowboy's Heart is #52 on the Romance, Contemporary listings and 803 copies have been uploaded. 



Why would I want to give my work away free?  Well, I believe the main goal here is to connect with readers.  I love that part of being self-published.  There is nothing standing between me and you.  So today, I connected with 800 people (so far) across the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, and Italy who have never read my work.  What can I hope to gain from that?  Maybe 10%, 20%, or 50% of those Cowboy's Heart free readers continuing to watch for, buy and read that Copper Canyon series, or find my other series books from Echo Falls and Parson Corners.  In other words, more readers for my hometown romances.  And that tickles me pink.  



Stay tuned as I track the progress with my Copper Canyon series.  And yes, I still have pictures from the real Copper Canyon to share with you.  Soon, readers, soon!

Echo Falls Revisited

Hi all you Echo Falls fans out there!  I so glad so many of you enjoyed Kiss Me Goodnight!  I fell in love with Tom from the very first in The Daddy Spell and hoped for the perfect woman for him - if it couldn't be me! Of course, he lives in my imagination, so it can always be me, right? 



I also know many of you are dying for a revisit to Echo Falls.  Unfortunately, the next full novel won't be available until 2014.  Contract and scheduling difficulties to blame there, I'm afraid.  I'll give you a hint, though.  The next series of books I've written with pal and writing partner Kelly McCrady.  The Echo Falls Cops series will be just the thing to soothe your Echo Falls addiction.  Canyon Hearts is the first book and I won't say anymore.  It's too soon to get your interest piqued.  Let's just say rookie cop Matt Parker goes into overprotective mode for single-mom Trina Murray and Echo Falls has some serious problems in the community.  Yes, you'll see Tom and Bret and Grandma Olivia and Mayor Helen.  I promise the wait will be worth it.



In the meantime, knowing how much y'all love Boo and Lindy, I've written a short story starring the two matchmaking twins!  Boo and Lindy's Matchmaking Adventure will be published Friday, April 27th.   Fireman Adam Caldwell gets tasked to respond to all the Dear Santa letters and his first request is from Boo and Lindy - make the sadness in their teacher's eyes go away.  Adam doesn't really have a clue how to answer them, until he meets their teacher, Juliette Day.  Santa and the Applegate girls have nothing on love at first sight.  Watch for this short story through Amazon, Smashwords and Barnes and Noble!

Copper Canyon Begins

Welcome to Copper Canyon, Texas! Yes, this is a real place, but some of
the details in my new short story are made up. That's the fun of writing
hometown romances - creating a town you'd love to visit or even live there. 



The first story in the series is available now on Amazon Select for
Kindle only. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you may read this book for
free. The print version will be available shortly. And Thursday, April 26th,
the book will be free to everyone on Amazon! Get yours today!








          JESS
O’HARE has loved Amy Rose Adams since high school. He may be a successful
rancher in Copper Canyon, Texas, but a shiny new truck and a new cowboy hat
doesn’t change the dirt under his nails. Standing in the way between him and
his sweetheart are her wealthy, overbearing parents. Their dictatorial
expectations lay a path for their daughter that leads away from him to the
family law firm in Dallas.





          Law
graduate AMY ROSE ADAMS has followed her parents’ mandates her entire life.
Only with Jess, and in Copper Canyon, can she be herself. But for three years,
she’s been taking the path of least resistance to hold the balance between her
parents and Jess.  When a fight with Jess
leads to an ultimatum – his road or her father’s – it echoes a similar fight
with her parents. 







         The best choice for
her future is severing her relationship with her parents.  But how will she make that step if she can’t
tell the man she fiercely loves that she’s carrying their baby?








 Watch for more Copper Canyon extras.  I have a book trailer in the works.  Plus, I took a trip to the real Copper Canyon and took pictures.  I'll be sharing those with you soon, along with my impressions.

What's up for the next story in the Copper Canyon series?  Brother Shane O'Hare is smitten with Kendra Dawson and tells a protective lie to keep her in his life.  But betrayed by a father who has been arrested for embezzling millions of dollars, Kendra's trust level is at an all time low.  When she finds out that Shane lied, will this Cowboy keep his Sweetheart?  And here's a sneak peak at the cover.







 

Editing vs. Proofreading

If my manuscript has been edited, hasn’t it been proofread?

No.

Proofreading and editing are not the same thing. You should consider multiple layers of polishing your work such as developmental/substantive editing, copy editing, and proofreading. At the very least, you need to proofread before you put your work before the public.

With a simple web search you can easily learn the difference in editing services and proofreading services. As long as you’re here, I’ll give you some links to get started.

Developmental editing or substantive editing (also called comprehensive editing) is far more in-depth than either copy editing or proofreading. The focus at this level of editing is for the editor to read the full text and point out anything to the writer that may reduce the reader’s understanding of the message the writer wishes to convey. Structure is a major component of this understanding. In a novel format, the editor is looking at characterization, plot, setting, and the story structure necessary for the chosen genre.

This “big picture edit” is something that a good critique group is invaluable for as well, but a professional editor will have experience in the publishing field that an average critique group lacks. Agree with your editor on whether he or she is to only take enough time to point out missing pieces, or if you will trust this person to rewrite passages for you as an example of how to improve the structure. As you can imagine, costs will vary depending on how heavily you want the developmental editor to monkey with your text. Most of us are flexible. A trusting work relationship with this editor is a gift; choose someone you can collaborate with, who “gets” your work, much as you would choose an agent to represent you.

Copy editing, also written copy-editing or copyediting, focuses on language use and consistency. Word Nerds, an Australian grammar-guide blog, has this to say about copy editing:

The copy editor will find and correct errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation. In addition, the copy editor will look for clarity of meaning. In some instances, the copy editor might feel that the work needs substantive editing or should be sent back to the author for rewriting.

…the copy editor needs to ensure the publication is consistent throughout. Copy editing for consistency covers aspects such as terminology, spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, shortened forms and quantitative information.

Numbers are another factor that a copy editor needs to look at when copy editing. Do you spell out numbers as words or do you use numerals?

A few of the elements that are checked for consistency during the copy editing process are spelling, dashes, abbreviations, numbers and bulleted lists.

After the author revises to either a substantive edit or copy edit, the manuscript may have inadvertent introduced errors. For example, as an editor, I prefer to use Word’s Track Changes. The author’s part in integrating my suggestions is to highlight the suggested change and poke either the “accept” or “reject” button. Sometimes accepting some changes and rejecting others leaves odd grammatical changes or punctuation errors if gone through quickly. Just like straight typos, these are things the author may not see because of familiarity with the text. Also, newer versions of Word will skip ahead to the next marked change once you poke “accept” or “reject,” causing you to perhaps not go over the altered sentence as closely as you might.

Proofreading is the final polishing step.

Proofreading: reviewing the final proof, sometimes in galley form, to remove typographical errors and verify compliance with publishers’ style requirements. The proofreader does not change the text in any way other than catching spelling or punctuation errors. Traditionally, this was separate from copy editing in that the proofreader compared the final proof side-by-side with an approved copy of the edited manuscript to make sure the typesetter had not introduced errors.

With electronic publishing this step has changed somewhat, but having your work proofread before publication is still essential. Do you ever read an article or novel and typos jump off the page at you—and you wonder, “Who edited this?” The author hears from readers about their error, which they may or may not have had any control over. The proofreader is the one who will keep you both from looking like an idiot in print.

A professional proofreader worth their salt will catch 100% of such errors. [Sadly, I catch about 97% of these on a cold-read; on a manuscript I’ve edited previously I’m likely to miss far more, the same as the author. Therefore, I do not offer proofreading services.]

Read more here.

For Word Nerds’ explanation of the differences between editing and proofreading in general, go here.
_____
Kelly Schaub is a freelance editor who masquerades as writer Kelly McCrady. She is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Willamette Writers.

Editing vs. Proofreading

If my manuscript has been edited, hasn't it been proofread?

No.

Proofreading and editing are not the same thing. You should consider multiple layers of polishing your work such as developmental/substantive editing, copy editing, and proofreading. At the very least, you need to proofread before you put your work before the public.

With a simple web search you can easily learn the difference in editing services and proofreading services. As long as you're here, I'll give you some links to get started.

Developmental editing or substantive editing (also called comprehensive editing) is far more in-depth than either copy editing or proofreading. The focus at this level of editing is for the editor to read the full text and point out anything to the writer that may reduce the reader's understanding of the message the writer wishes to convey. Structure is a major component of this understanding. In a novel format, the editor is looking at characterization, plot, setting, and the story structure necessary for the chosen genre.

This "big picture edit" is something that a good critique group is invaluable for as well, but a professional editor will have experience in the publishing field that an average critique group lacks. Agree with your editor on whether he or she is to only take enough time to point out missing pieces, or if you will trust this person to rewrite passages for you as an example of how to improve the structure. As you can imagine, costs will vary depending on how heavily you want the developmental editor to monkey with your text. Most of us are flexible. A trusting work relationship with this editor is a gift; choose someone you can collaborate with, who "gets" your work, much as you would choose an agent to represent you.

Copy editing, also written copy-editing or copyediting, focuses on language use and consistency. Word Nerds, an Australian grammar-guide blog, has this to say about copy editing:

The copy editor will find and correct errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation. In addition, the copy editor will look for clarity of meaning. In some instances, the copy editor might feel that the work needs substantive editing or should be sent back to the author for rewriting.

…the copy editor needs to ensure the publication is consistent throughout. Copy editing for consistency covers aspects such as terminology, spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, shortened forms and quantitative information.

Numbers are another factor that a copy editor needs to look at when copy editing. Do you spell out numbers as words or do you use numerals?

A few of the elements that are checked for consistency during the copy editing process are spelling, dashes, abbreviations, numbers and bulleted lists.

After the author revises to either a substantive edit or copy edit, the manuscript may have inadvertent introduced errors. For example, as an editor, I prefer to use Word's Track Changes. The author's part in integrating my suggestions is to highlight the suggested change and poke either the "accept" or "reject" button. Sometimes accepting some changes and rejecting others leaves odd grammatical changes or punctuation errors if gone through quickly. Just like straight typos, these are things the author may not see because of familiarity with the text. Also, newer versions of Word will skip ahead to the next marked change once you poke "accept" or "reject," causing you to perhaps not go over the altered sentence as closely as you might.

Proofreading is the final polishing step.

Proofreading: reviewing the final proof, sometimes in galley form, to remove typographical errors and verify compliance with publishers' style requirements. The proofreader does not change the text in any way other than catching spelling or punctuation errors. Traditionally, this was separate from copy editing in that the proofreader compared the final proof side-by-side with an approved copy of the edited manuscript to make sure the typesetter had not introduced errors.

With electronic publishing this step has changed somewhat, but having your work proofread before publication is still essential. Do you ever read an article or novel and typos jump off the page at you—and you wonder, "Who edited this?" The author hears from readers about their error, which they may or may not have had any control over. The proofreader is the one who will keep you both from looking like an idiot in print.

A professional proofreader worth their salt will catch 100% of such errors. [Sadly, I catch about 97% of these on a cold-read; on a manuscript I've edited previously I'm likely to miss far more, the same as the author. Therefore, I do not offer proofreading services.]

Read more here.

For Word Nerds' explanation of the differences between editing and proofreading in general, go here.
_____
Kelly Schaub is a freelance editor who masquerades as writer Kelly McCrady. She is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Willamette Writers.

Adjectives in a Series

If you are a native speaker of English, you understand the order of words in a sentence without too much thought; certain patterns exist that help us make sense of nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, and adjectives in a way that communicates our thoughts clearly. This is called syntax.

River the to going you are? No. Are you going to the river?

Unless you're Yoda. But he isn't a native English speaker.

Within those rules of syntax are hidden conventions such as the natural order of adjectives used to describe a noun. Would you say "the yellow smelly old six buckets"? No. A native English speaker would want these words to fall this way: the six smelly old yellow buckets.

Why? And what about commas separating the adjectives?

This is where further analysis reveals tricky little rules and a couple of easy tests to help a writer or editor out.

In English, we generally organize serial adjectives in this order:

1. article (the, a, an)
2. number or quantity
3. observations/ judgments (terrible, stinky, interesting, nice)
4. size
5. shape
6. age (old, new, ancient)
7. color or pattern
8. origin (American, French, Asian)
9. material (cloth, iron, wooden)
10. qualifier, often considered part of the noun (rocking chair, dish soap, soup tureen)

Another example, no commas needed: six dozen long-stemmed red roses

This English for Students website has more information and a great chart to help determine the best order for a series of adjectives—simply plug in the ones you want to use and the order is predetermined. The only missing category is quantity, which we usually express first or just after the article, if one is used.

Once you have your adjectives arranged in the order that sounds best to your English ear, how do you determine if commas are needed between them? In theory, you could write "the twenty creaky little squarish antique green Martian wooden soap boxes" and not need commas. For most purposes, that is far too many adjectives to stick together. However, it illustrates a point. In the correct order, you won't need commas.

If you use the adjectives "out" of order, perhaps to emphasize one over another, then place commas around the one that is out of order.

The new, cherry, American muscle car (article, age, observation (cherry = cool, neato, keen, awesome, spiffy), origin, qualifier)

If you use two adjectives from the same category (coordinated adjectives), you will need a comma to separate them.

The beautiful, fragrant rose (both observations)

Kim Kautzer at In Our Write Minds shows two ways to test whether you need commas or not by using "and" between them or by reversing the order of the adjectives.

One way to test whether a comma is needed between adjectives is if you can use the word "and" (or other conjunction) without changing the meaning of the phrase.

The beautiful and fragrant rose = yes, so a comma is needed.

"A wealthy business broker" changed to "a wealthy and business broker" = no, so no comma is needed.

A second way to test whether you need a comma is to switch the order of the adjectives. (This method is only practical if you have two or three, rather than all nine types).

The fragrant, beautiful rose = The beautiful, fragrant rose. Yes, a comma is needed.

A business wealthy broker = no; the order cannot be changed and still make sense, so no comma.

May the mysterious, overwhelming gray fog of grammar and comma rules lift for you on this issue.

[Previously published at Behind the Garden Gate, editors' blog for The Wild Rose Press]
_____
Kelly Schaub is a freelance editor who masquerades as writer Kelly McCrady. She is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Willamette Writers.