Devorah Fox's Blog, page 50

Just “wow!”

The Lost King can now be found at the Estelle Stair Gallery on Austin Street in Rockport, Texas, thanks to Pat Chapman who organized this and to resident artist/gallery owner Lisa Baer Frederick. This is “wow” for me on two levels. One is practical: there really aren’t any independent bookstores in the area so we writers have to think outside the box (as in big box store) to get our books into retail outlets where readers can find them. Sure, The Lost King is available from amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and a host of other online retailers. But some people including me just like shopping in a brick-and-mortar store.

The other “wow” is sentimental: I have loved that gallery since the first day that I stepped into it. And now I’m part of it! How awesome is that?

Check out the gallery not just to pick up a copy of my book and books by other local authors like Pat. There’s also the artwork by Lisa and other artists to enjoy, not to mention the gallery building itself. Recently restored, it’s a Texas Historic Landmark and dates back to the 1870′s.

As I said, “wow!”

Winner!

Done! I met the National Novel Writing Month goal of 50,000 words written in November.
I had actually written 50586 when I submitted my manuscript for validating, but who’s counting? Oh, right, I was!

That said, in typical NaNoWriMo fashion, I am done but not finished. I totally skipped the story’s Act Two because that’s going to require a lot of research, and I don’t have an ending yet. So I have more writing to do before I have a complete first draft.

And parts of it are pure dreck. But, parts of it are pretty exciting, like the battle with the giant squid.

I’ll be stepping away from it for a few weeks to address my inbox, laundry, cat, friends, and everything else that got neglected while I kept my nose to the grindstone. But I will get back to it and hope to have it out sometime next year. And I’m pencilling in NaNoWriMo 2013.

Thanks to all for the encouraging words.

Talking about books

I’m excited to report that the Port Aransas Book Club has chosen to read The Lost King and has invited me to their January 2013 meeting at the Ellis Memorial Library to be pilloried… er, to answer questions and chat.
I so enjoyed the many book chats that I was able to attend in Scottsdale when I lived in Arizona, but I never pictured myself on the other side of the audience.

Speaking of the The Lost King, friend Andrea reports that it can be found on Powell’s Books, for those who like to shop there.

From lemons to lemonade

When John Evans’ doctor diagnosed arthritis and advised John to keep his hands moving, John looked for a hands-on hobby…

…and for you iOS fans…

I am pleased to report that The Lost King is now available as a digital book in iBooks. Just download the free iBooks app for your iPhone, iPad or other iOS device and then search for The Lost King.
Meanwhile, I’m hard at work on the sequel. Week Two of National Novel Writing Month ends today and I’m on track. By the end of the day tomorrow I’ll be halfway to the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words.

 

NaNoWriMo 2012

My NaNoWriMo 2012 word count is on track. Writing marathons are easy. Just don’t eat, sleep …
Seriously, I’m about 8,000 words into my newest novel. Working title,  The Changeling Prince. All kinds of surprising developments are presenting themselves. It’s like the book is writing itself. Yeah, right, like it’s that simple.

Stay tuned for more adventures

The Lost King continues to get around. He can now be found in the Nook Book e-book store. So if you happen to have a Nook e-reader, now you have something new to read on it.
Of course, if you prefer print, The Lost King is also available in that form in the Barnes & Noble online bookstore.

It looks like King BeWilliam will be having more adventures. I’ll be working on a sequel as part of National Novel Writing Month beginning November 1.

Now all I’ve got to do is finish my current project. Here’s a bit from Chapter 8:

In the distance, sprinklers launched plumes of water over Oceanview’s luxuriant grass. Holly could imagine the water bill. Considering that it hadn’t rained since spring, Oceanview probably had to run sprinklers all day, every day, in order to keep the grass so green.

Keeping cemetery grass green had turned out to be not a problem for the proprietor of Watkins’ Funeral Home and Bait Shop, the Riprap Ridge cemetery that Tres had chosen for Clark’s final resting place.

Making progress

The Lost King’s wanderings have led him to yet another outpost. He can now be found in the Sony Reader Store. So, if you happen to have a Sony e-reader, now you have something new to read on it.
If you prefer print, you can of course find The Lost King on amazon.com and also at the Port Aransas Art Center and at Sirena Water Wear. By the way, Tracy Davis has moved to a bigger space in the second phase of the Tower Center. So you can check out Sirena Water Wear’s new home and merchandise and grab a copy of the book.

As for my current endeavor, here’s a selection from Chapter 7:

“Tell me something good, Berry,” he said. “Tell me there’s a good reason why you’re still there and not boarding a plane bound for ‘Frisco.”

“Sir . . . how did you get this number?”

“I’m a journalist, remember, Berry?”

Holly was for the moment speechless. Somehow she had never quite thought of her boss as an actual journalist.

More from the work in progress

A nugget from Chapter 6 of my novel-in-progress:

Joe Eddie didn’t have a liquor license so he didn’t actually sell beer. He gave the beer away. What he did sell was the container.

I’m congratulating myself because I discovered I had changed one character’s job title midway. Glad I fixed that error before it found its way into print!

Back to speed editing

Working on Chapter 5 of the novel-in-progress today:

“Wisconsin-American.” That was rich. Sure he came to south Texas from what was originally a family of Cheeseheads, but that was generations ago.

National Novel Writing Month starts November 1. I’ve got to make some tracks if I’m going to finish this project before starting a new one!