MeiLin Miranda's Blog, page 39
January 15, 2012
The Kickstarter funded--but don't stop now!
I came home from a bellydancing party to discover that not only had the Kickstarter made its goal in less than four days, it was $200 over! 113% funded!
But there are 26 more days to go and there's no reason to stop there! Every $500 I go over unlocks more rewards for backers.
If I go $500 over, I'm rewriting a set of prequel stories from Temmin's childhood to hand out to backers.
PS: There's a video thank you from me
If I go $1000 over, it'll speed up production of the book 1 audiobook (I'll be able to buy the remaining gear and set up my home studio) and $30 and above backers will get a full copy instead of having to listen to it piecemeal via podcast like the rest of the world. (The audiobook will be available for sale but it'll be something like $20.)
If I go $1500 over, I'll be able to hire help to finish the world map and ALL backers will get a high-res digital version of it. Everyone else will be able to see low-res versions here, and they'll be included in the books.
If I go $2000 over I'll investigate how much it'd cost to have the world map printed on posters and send those to $100 and over backers. I haven't committed to that last because a) I don't know how much it'd cost and b) I have no serious reason to believe I'll go $1000 over let alone $2000 over. Even so, I never thought I'd get one taker for the $250 level reward (having a walk-on character named after them) and 3 people bit. One never knows!
This has been an incredible weekend and I'm absolutely exhausted now. Thank you all so, so very much.
PS: There's a video thank-you from me at Kickstarter. 
LESS THAN $100 TO THE KICKSTARTER GOAL IN LESS THAN 4 DAYS
I canNOT believe this. As of this writing, I am 94% funded at Kickstarter--less than $100 to go until I reach $1500. This is amazing. I truly expected it would take the full month to get there and even then I worried I wouldn't make it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Even when we get to 100%, for every $500 we go over new bennies unlock, so don't stop pledging! Oh gods, I just can't believe this.
Ad sale!
Hey! Have an Etsy shop, web serial, novel or something else to promote? Buy an ad on or the (including MLM) for half off--that's as little as $5 for a whole week of advertising! Use promo code "serversale" (no quotation marks)!
January 14, 2012
Kickstarter Update: Almost 90% funded in less than two days!
HOLY CARP! As of this writing, the Kickstarter project is at $1,300+ of a $1,500 goal--in less than 36 hours! I have 28 days to get $200. 
What happens if we go over?
At $500 over, I'm rewriting the stories about Temmin's childhood to make them work with current canon, and I'll be packaging them up as a free ebook for
donors of $30 or more.
At $1000 over, I'll be able to record the book one audiobook MUCH sooner than otherwise. Everyone at $30 or more will get a free copy of the complete audiobook. I'll be podcasting it in half-hour or so installments over the course of--well, probably a year--and the complete audiobook will be available for purchase here.
If we go $1500 over, I'll be able to hire help to finish the map of the world. Everyone, regardless of pledge level, will get a high-res digital copy.
If we go $2000 over, I'll be investigating printing a poster of the map for pledges of $100 or more. I don't know how much it'd cost, so I can't 100% commit to that.
As things stand, what I'm asking for is the barest of bare minimums. There won't be much if any left over for me--it's all spoken for. So I really hope we go over!
January 13, 2012
Kickstarting Book Two
I gave in to the inevitable and launched a Kickstarter for book two. Funds were coming in here fairly well, but Kickstarter is more visible. People have a more secure feeling about it. And it may also reach people who read and loved book one but don't check this site.
If you originally bought a presale here, you're not missing anything in terms of rewards per dollar amount at Kickstarter (ie, if you bought a $50 presale, you're getting the same things as someone who "kicks" $60--it's more to account for overhead), but there are some opportunities I didn't offer here. For instance, for $500 I'll name a book two minor secondary character after you (my choice, not necessarily someone who looks or acts like you) and you'll get a 15-minute Skype chat with me. For $1000 I'll name a book 3 major secondary character after you (same provisos) and chat for 30 minutes.
Anyway, here's the video. Yes, that's what I look like:
January 9, 2012
Second edit of book two is with Netta!
I compiled the latest version of the book and sent it off to Netta today. The last version she got was 160,000+ words; this one was 147,000+ words. No major plot points were excised; I just severely tightened up the writing. Not too much, I hope.
Adding to today's big news: I got the first concept sketch from Bea Gonzalez today for the cover. Nothing I can show you guys yet, but when there is you'll see it.
I have decided to do a Kickstarter for the remaining money I need for book two. Fundraising here has done well; it's just that there are a lot of readers who don't come here and don't know about the presale. Kickstarter is a way to reach them, and I'm pretty confident I can make the rest of the money pretty quickly there.
January 7, 2012
Insomnia and Editing
I can't sleep and I'm forgetting to eat again. I'm not dancing. I'm miserable. Welcome to the final stages of writing a book.
I'm in the thick of editing book two and I'm like a freaked-out maniac. I'm just obsessed. I don't know if I'm in the middle of a (mild now that I'm on meds) manic swing or if it's just anxiousness to finish the damn book. I think it's the latter, but I don't know.
I'm coming to bed later and later. Velvetackbar has put his foot down; I am coming to bed at 9 when he does. "It'll be easier once I've finished this book," says me. "Baby, there will always be another book," says him. He's right, you know...
Still waiting for cover concept art from Bea Gonzalez. When I get it, you'll see it. I'll also be starting a Kickstarter at that point for the final leg of fundraising.
Anyway, I'm on chapter 11 of 18-plus-epilogue. I'm cruising right along. Netta still needs to look at the edited version. I have to go back with her notes (which so far have been minor).
And then you guys get it. 
January 5, 2012
New review for "Lovers and Beloveds"
I don't get many reviews these days for "Lovers and Beloveds"; I've been too busy writing "Son in Sorrow" to pursue them. But now and again one falls in my lap. This time, Maria T. Violante of Write, Read, Review has written one of the longest, most thoughtful reviews of LaB yet:
Note: I do not read erotic fiction, but I still found LAB to be captivating – almost like an anthropological study of sex, identify, gender, relationships, power, fetish, etc. Unlike your normal smut novel or porn piece, the sex is heart-breakingly realistic, full of warts and rough edges. People are attracted to individuals that fall outside of their mold – without really knowing why – and are uncomfortable with it. People have sex, not just because they are "in love" or "horny", but for many of the reasons they do in real life – loneliness, compensation for a bruised ego, the need to feel included or cared for. One motivation touched on is power – the need to possess it, to punish, or conversely, the need to yield to it, to be forgiven. We are shown a full spectrum of relationships that crosses lines of age, of gender, of occupation. At the same time, it isn't romanticized – Tremontine sex has as many consequences as in real-life. One of my favorite moments was the reaction of a mother whose husband had engaged in a few too many dalliances, and as a result, sired a daughter. The author could have presented the situation in many ways, but I think that with anyone, there's a definite wish to give your opinion on the matter – to either condemn or condone – but instead, Miranda was adept enough to instead offer us the observer's window into both the wife's anger and resentment, and the husbands confused mixture of pride, apathy, even reminiscence – without making us feel pushed into either judging or forgiving. Without a skilled hand or a perceptive eye, the scene wouldn't have worked; Miranda pulls it off beautifully.
Whenever someone really "gets it," I weep.
ETA: Maria is interviewing me on her site soon.
January 3, 2012
Got a Bad Blurb? I Can Help
You've written your opus. It's fabulous! Your editor says it's great, your beta readers rave, everyone loves it.
And you can't write a blurb for it to save your life.
Don't feel bad! Blurb-writing is one of the suckiest parts of being an independent. It's really hard to write blurbs for yourself. (Ask me how I know.)
That's why I'm here. I can help.
What I can do for you:
Make your blurb better.
Give you feedback to help make your next blurb better even without me.
What I can't do for you:
$50.00
Quantity:
January 1, 2012
"Fears Moon Woman" ebook free at Amazon Kindle Stores through 1/2/12
I'm giving the KDP Select thing a try on a couple of stories. Thus, "Fears Moon Woman," an erotic, rather melancholy short story featuring Rabbit Runnels of Scryer's Gulch, is free today and tomorrow at Amazon all over the world:
US
UK
DE
FR
IT
ES
If you download it, if you could go back and review I'd be eternally grateful! Enjoy, and Happy New Year, my dears!
