Kimber An's Blog, page 7

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Don't worry, Tom.  We're having beef prime rib this year."

Thanksgiving Day and the Fountain of Youth

I'm at Noble YA  today talking about how not to get 'old.'

My Q&A Turn at The Party!

Good morning!  My question is #18 at The Romance Reviews End of Year Party.   Pop over and scroll down.  If you've read or know anything about my books, it ought to be easy.  There are lots of prizes and some big grand prizes too. 

In the Hopper for 2012

I've been emailing with Kit Forbes about a series she's putting together based on her world-building and it got me to thinking about what I'll be writing in 2012.
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I will finish the Ophelia Dawson Chronicles.  There are two novels left, about 60,000 words each, hopefully to be released about six months apart.
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4)   Blood, Dark and Sweet   Ophelia and Adrian finally get together and kick some big time Newblood booty.
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5)   Sugar Crash   Ophelia nails Martin and saves the world.
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Between those big novel releases, I hope to put out a couple of short stories.  The one I'm cooking up for Kit Forbes' series is Wild Card, tentatively, and is a little steampunkish, the Heroine being the rejected American daughter of Van Helsing who has to go bail out her old man when Dracula throws him in the slammer.  It's sort of like Will Smith meeting Bram Stoker in the Wild, Wild West.  Um.  Yeah.  Guess we'll see how that works out.

The other is an even shorter story, Valentine's Day in the Hardware Store Parking Lot.  It's a sweet contemporary romantic story about knowing yourself first so you can know who you really need when he comes along.  Was that as clear as mud?
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Have a good week.

Viva Le Modern Technology!

It's true I want to live in a log home out in the wilds of Alaska with a big, old barn full of chickens, goats, and other critters, churn my own butter, and dig fence posts and build doghouses, but when it comes to writing I'm very glad to have modern technology.  In fact, I think I go low-tech in the rest of my life because I use so much high-tech in my writing life.  I do almost everything on the computer for the authorly side of my life.  Feeding the chickens balances that out, emotionally, I guess.  Balance is good for life. 
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Anyway, I bought this snazzy little voice recorder to keep in my purse alongside my mini-notebook and pen.  It's easier on my Tendonitis-prone hands.  I create a novel in my head completely and then I beat it out, ala Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet   as well as one I created myself which includes the finer points of the  Monomyth   And then I write a scene-by-scene outline.  After that's all worked out, then, I finally write the first draft.  By the time I get to starting the first draft of the next novel, Blood, Dark and Sweet on New Year's Day, I'll have my voice-activated software and know how to use it too.  But, until then, a simple voice recorder will do the job.  I'm supposed I'll still need to edit later drafts by hand, not sure.  Gotta get used to speaking it and see how it works out.
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Here's the voice-recorder link, in case you need one too-  http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=rca+voice+recorder&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS393US393&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&ion=1&biw=1067&bih=467&wrapid=tlif132119326645310&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=2543331498301412140&sa=X&ei=O8-_Ts_dB6OpiQKbo4G8Aw&ved=0CLQBEPMCMAU#    I found mine in the electronics section of the grocery store.  It's small and hard to find, so I had to ask an employee to find it for me.
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It took J.R.R. Tolkien nine years, I think, to write The Lord of the Rings.  Can you imagine what he might have done with our technology?

Done With More Stuff

This morning I registered at All-Romance eBooks   and made requests for a couple of the free promo ops.  Authors, there are paid promo ops and free promo ops there.  Also, you can write a short, short story in exchange for advertising.  I call this 'Singing for My Supper.'  Long and Short Reviews   has something similar. 

Almost Done Updating This Site

That's number one on my To Do List, if you want to scroll down and see that.  I've moved all excerpts and review links to each book's 'About' page.  And I've updated the Calendar page.  But, I still need to deal with the Interviews and Guest Posts page.  I can't believe how many Guest Posts I've done!  I think I might have to seperate these into two pages.  Anyway, time to get off and wrangle offspring.  I have at least one child down, possibly with Strep Throat, and I'm feeling it too.  Moms don't get 'sick days' though, you know.

SWEET BYTES is on Amazon.com Now!

http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Bytes-ebook/dp/B0063IYVKS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320698734&sr=1-1#_

To Do List

Staying off the computer as much as possible, so I have a To Do List so I make the most of my time.  Of course, I check email a couple of times a day.
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1) Update main site.
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2) Buy ads at Facebook and Goodreads.
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3) Update account at All-Romance eBooks, then avail myself of the free promotional opportunities.
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4) In Person

1)      Create Trading Cards
2)      Library Meeting
3)      grocery store/ Kindle sale
4)      Create and print up bookmarks, business cards, and flyers
5)      Make t-shirts and/or sweatshirts
6)      Make pinback buttons
7)      Put up flyers with business cards, place bookmarks or business cards at all Grocery Stores, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, and libraries, and any other bulletin board I fin
8)     update Alaska writers' groups
9)      Author's Portrait and fun pictures
5) Write Short, Short Story for Long and Short of It, mega review site, in exchange for ads.
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6) Write Fab ePubs post for this Saturday.
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7) Write synopsis for my Order of the Dragon story.  This is a series based on the world-building of Kit Forbes, but which will include stories from several authors.  Mine is tentatively titled 'Wild Card' and will probably be a little steampunkish.
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***Note to Self:   Ask one of my children how to use the voice activated feature on the iPad.***
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This is an author taking it easy while raising four children in the wilds of Alaska.  I know there's a doctor's appointment penciled in my calendar book somewhere, hmmm...

Research, Historical Documentaries, and Psychology and Such

I'm staying off the computer as much as possible to rest my hands, but I check email a couple times a day.  While I'm off, I do a lot of reading, mostly of old favorites.  And I watch Historical documentaries and shows like 'Fight Science.'  Storytellers are infinitely curious about the universe, so we're driven to research a lot of seemingly useless things.  I figured out that these things are not 'useless' at all.  In fact, they usually lead to story inspiriation or character-building, like I watched 1940's House a bazillion times leading up to and while writing a story called Manic Knight, which is set during that time period.  So, if you're a storyteller, you go ahead and research to your heart's content.  If anyone bothers you, just chuckle and challenge them to a game of Trivial Pursuit.
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I've been reading a lot about psychology.  What to know a funny thing?  You probably know that Narcisstic people are thought to be in love with themselves.  Well, turns out, that's only half true.  In fact, from what I've read, Narcisstics hate their true selves.  What most of the world and what they're in love with is a New Self they've invented because it's just too terrifying to deal with and try to fix the True Self.  Get close to a Narcisstic's True Self and he's likely to come unhinged with anger and hatred, because his True Self is like a wounded animal defending itself.  Only, this animal never heals.  In any case, think about Narcissis, the Ancient Greek who lended his name to this psychological disorder.  It wasn't himself he fell in love and died while looking at, it was the distorted, rippled image of himself he saw in the water.  Also, take note of Echo, the poor girl who fell in love with him.  She died too, of a broken heart.
Narcissistic_personality_disorder