Andrew McDowell's Blog, page 6

My Balticon Schedule

Here’s my final panel schedule for Balticon later this month at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore:

Saturday, May 25

1:00 PM

Autographs with Jack Campbell and Andrew McDowell

2:30 PM

The Importance of Book Design

Sunday, May 26

5:30 PM

Best Resources on Writing

Monday, May 27

11:30 AM

Recognizing Predatory Publishing Practices

1:00 PM

Dealing with Literary Rejection

Hope to see you there! And if you are reading this and are a mother, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day.

Announcements and Recent Events

A lot has been happening over the last few months. First off, this week I gave a presentation on word and page count for the Maryland Writers’ Association Frederick County chapter. I meant to record it for my YouTube channel. Sadly, I did not. Oh well. Maybe I’ll do that next time I give it.

For those of you who’ve followed me for a while, you may remember me discussing this topic before. For those of you who haven’t, here’s that post:

Count your Lucky Length

Kindle and Nook preorder links are now available for Beneath the Deep Wave! The latter is also on Goodreads!

Beneath the Deep Wave

Sally Cronin featured another of my blog posts from last year in her Posts from Your Archives series. Thanks, Sally!

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2024 #Potluck – #Authors #Marketing – Architecture of a Website by Andrew McDowell

A new poetry anthology is available featuring six of my poems, courtesy of poets Robbie Cheadle and Kaye Lynne Booth, who not only featured me but also allowed me to discuss my experiences with poetry as part of their Treasuring Poetry blog series a year ago. Many thanks to them, and also to Merril D. Smith for featuring a video of me reading one of my poems, which I’d written in college, as part of the anthology’s blog tour.

Poetry Treasure 4: In Touch with Nature, Blog Tour, Day 2

Check out my Poetry page for purchase links!

Coming Soon! Beneath the Deep Wave

That’s right! It’s coming out in August. Here is the cover:

Beneath the Deep Wave is available for preorder from some vendors as an eBook, but not yet in Kindle, Nook, or print. More sales links will be posted when available. In the meantime, here’s a synopsis, and be sure to read and review Mystical Greenwood before Beneath the Deep Wave comes out. That way you’ll be caught up and won’t have to deal with spoilers!

And would you believe it, this is my 100th blog post! That’s a milestone. Many thanks to Sally Cronin, also, for sharing one of my previous posts in her Posts from Your Archives series. It’s been a good start, I think, to the year. I’ve taken further steps to balance the scales beyond social media. For this year’s Lent, I’ve given up watching videos on the computer, so my only YouTube usage has been on the TV. I’ve also been trying to limit my email logins to three per day.

I hope to see you next month at my presentation on word and page counts. See my events page for more details! I’m also hoping to be on panels at this year’s Balticon. I’ll post more details when I have them.

Inscribed #5

Here are the latest additions to my collection of inscribed books.

I purchased Marissa D’Angelo‘s novel The Cursed Spirit and Captain Michael J. Dodd’s Chesapeake Bay Odyssey at the 2022 Maryland Writer’s Conference.

I got a copy of Who Can Best Work and Best Agree when Charles Matulewicz visited Odenton Lodge #209 (yes, I am a Freemason).

I purchased Lewis F. McIntyre‘s A Gathering of Eagles, F. J. Talley‘s Twin Worlds, and Millie Mack‘s Take a Dive for Murder at the 2023 Maryland Writers’ Conference.

Check out the others:

Inscribed #4Inscribed #3Inscribed #2Inscribed

If you’re a poetry lover and are looking to read some holiday-themed poetry either now or later in the year, check out this anthology from Southern Arizona Press featuring mine!

You can also mark it to read on Goodreads and read it as a PDF!

Many thanks to Zee Kelley for promoting Mystical Greenwood.

Happy Presidents’ Day to all my fellow Americans!

Lisa Haselton’s Interview

Many thanks to Lisa Haselton for interviewing me on her blog:

Interview with YA author Andrew McDowell

If you’re an author looking to do an online interview and promote one of your books, be sure to check out Lisa’s site!

As I revealed last month, the sequel to Mystical Greenwood is going to be published in August 2024. The title has now been unveiled. Here it is:

Beneath the Deep Wave

Stay tuned for more information!

Where Do I Go from Here?

With the new year coming, we always think about what we’re going to do differently. I’ve discussed resolutions before, but now I’ll speculate on where things may be going next for me as a writer.

Presently, the sequel to Mystical Greenwood is is in the hand of beta readers, and Fae Corps is aiming to release it in late August, just as the second edition of Mystical Greenwood was. Editing it had been my focus at the end of last year, and since I have always intended for the One with Nature series to be a trilogy, that means there will be one more book about Dermot and his fellow sorcerers.

But as I’ve said so many times, I don’t want to be confined to just one or two genres, so I do hope to venture out into all the others. I’ve had, over the years, different ideas for each, but I have discovered that I can only work on really one or sometimes two at a time. Many of them have really never come to fruition and remained solely based on themes or interests of mine that I’d like to pursue. Now, they could be late bloomers, but an episode of the Merry Writer Podcast from last year encouraged me to consider that I ought to be willing to let go of ideas that don’t grow. That could be.

True, I may not totally give up on all bits of them, but perhaps letting go can lead me to discovering new, better ones instead. Outside of One with Nature, that one mystery story involving abused pets has had the most attention, mainly because of how it had once been a college assignment. Still, I hope to finish it. Some of those themes previously mentioned are in mystery and horror, and I would like to do something in science fiction. I also hope to find some ways to dust off stories from history that, to me, aren’t as well known, but I admit that some of my favorite historical periods have been popular in fiction and film. I would also like to explore science fiction, but nothing concrete has formed in my head.

I won’t go into too many details, but just know that other ideas are there. Plus, they may not all be unique, something discussed in another good Merry Writer Podcast episode, but as long as I have some that I feel are unique, I’ll be content. Case in point, some reviewers of Mystical Greenwood described it as a typical fantasy hero’s journey, which it is, but that the focus on Nature made it stand out. Well, we’ll see where this year goes. Last year I resolved to be more positive and less worried about being perfect. I don’t believe I kept that. All I can do is try again and keep trying.

Many thanks to Sally Cronin for featuring Mystical Greenwood in her Christmas Book Fair. Enjoy this reading from earlier this week of a sneak peek from my next book. Happy Holidays to all!

How to Format Your Manuscript (Video)

If you missed my presentation on manuscript and book format last month at the Maryland Writers’ Association Annapolis chapter, here it is on YouTube:

It was a hybrid meeting, both in-person and online, and it was my first time recording a presentation on Zoom. Here’s the handout:

How to Format Your Manuscript Notes

For those of you who’ve been following me for some time now, if some of this sounds at all familiar, I did a post on this subject many years ago:

Formatting a Manuscript

With the holidays approaching, I hope you’ll consider buying either Mystical Greenwood (remember, the second One with Nature novel is being edited!) or one of the anthologies that features my work, such as the Christmas anthology I mentioned that features one of my short stories, “The Red House.”

It’s on Goodreads too! This was a short story written during my high school years that I’d thought lost, along with “Crossing the Estuary” in Fae Dreams. But I rediscovered both, thankfully, and here they are.

I’m continuing to edit the sequel to Mystical Greenwood. Remember, the holidays will be coming, and books make great gifts! Be sure to browse my publications. Happy reading!

The Hidden Gems Author Podcast

Many thanks to Craig and Roland of The Hidden Gems Author Podcast for featuring me in their 89th episode! I discuss with them the challenges I’ve had to face as an author due to my Asperger syndrome.

You can also listen to the episode on Podbean! If you’re an author with a writing-related subject you want to discuss, be sure to check them out!

And many thanks also to Sally Cronin for featuring an excerpt from Mystical Greenwood on her blog! Maybe that’ll entice you buy it! If you’re an author looking for more promotional opportunities, be sure to check out Sally’s site!

Smorgasbord Free Book Promotions 2023- Share an Excerpt from one of your published books – #Fantasy – Mystical Greenwood (One with Nature Book 1) by Andrew McDowell

Plus, I have more great news! A few weeks ago, after so much time, I finally completed a draft for the next book in the One with Nature series! Not only that, but Fae Corps is also aiming to publish it next August!

If you’re planning to attend the Maryland Writers’ Conference, I hope to see you there. I am also giving a presentation on manuscript and book formatting later this month. You can attend in person or via Zoom. You can promote it on Facebook too!

Recent and Upcoming Appearances

Greetings, everyone. This month I’ve got some recent appearances as well as some upcoming ones to share.

First, here’s a sermon I gave at Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church in which I discuss my journey, personally and in writing, with social media, as I have mentioned gradually in past posts, as well as with physical clutter, with references to The Social Dilemma and The Minimalists. Even if you aren’t Christian or religious, I hope you’ll be inspired to consider placing more value on the people in your lives than in your physical possessions and digital presence. If you have trouble with the volume, there is closed captioning.

Be sure to check out Minimalism, and, if you have Netflix, The Social Dilemma and Less Is Now.

Also, here’s another poetry anthology from Southern Arizona Press featuring my work!

Goodreads | PDF

I am scheduled to appear on a new episode of the Hidden Gems Author Podcast. Stay tuned. I will be sure to share a link.

Also, I will also be giving a presentation at the Annapolis chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association next month on manuscript formatting. You can promote it on Facebook too. You can attend either in person or via Zoom. Hope to see you there!

Architecture of a Website

Even before I had published my first novel, I was told by at least one friend at a Maryland Writers’ Association meeting that I should have a website first. Some followers of my Facebook page, which came first, wondered whether I had one. Now it’s approaching eight years of being up on the web. So how did I build it? If you are an aspiring writer looking to build your online presence, perhaps you’re wondering where to start? Well, I’m no architect, but I’ll help you lay a few solid foundations.

Here are some steps you can follow:

Look at what other writers have done.See what you can do differently.Do what’s best for you and don’t be afraid to experiment.Be open to change.

It’s a good idea to do research. See what other writers have done. If you know any writers, ask them about their experiences, especially with their platforms. A few I knew through my connections had used WordPress and said good things about it, and at the time, it felt like a good platform to use. But there are others out there. So I looked at other sites to get a feel of what my own could include.

I should mention also that sometimes blog and website are used interchangeably, though there is a difference (like with memoir vs. autobiography). Websites, when you first visit them, place more emphasis on the pages, while a blog is all about the posts that come. That’s not to say a website can’t have a blog incorporated in it, but how you wish to market and share information helps you classify what your site/blog is.

Even though you should research other writers, don’t copy what they do exactly. Every writer’s site needs to be their own, in terms of content, display, and layout. I knew from the start that I had my own ideas even with what I had observed, and so I tried to merge them together. And it gradually evolved over time. I set myself a blog post a month because it worked and still works for me. I learned new things, and when WordPress made changes, such as moving from classic to block editor, I learned to evolve with them.

Websites and blogs are always changing (sort of like the Winchester Mystery House). What works one day may not work later on. That is not to say there should be some consistently and familiarity so people can return knowing what to expect. But mine has gone through several changes, including a change of domain name as well as two facelifts—I changed the theme twice, first after I wanted a theme that wasn’t like one site I’d observed in my research, and second (back in June) after learning the previous one had been retired and others that I follow had bugs with classic themes as opposed to hybrid ones. I even changed my color scheme so to ensure the site was readable. And in experimenting with different widgets, I chose to discontinue those labeled as “legacy” widgets when I discovered they sometimes disappeared in private browser mode or on a different browser.

Two final thoughts on building a website:

Aim for clarity and readability so visitors can easily understand what they find and navigate through it. This can be done with menu arrangement and color schemes.Get feedback. You don’t always have to accept others’ thoughts on improving your site, but it never hurts to listen if they genuinely want to help improve it. That’s why I created my Happy Customers page.

Writing Update: My essay “Rivers Flowing with History” is featured in the new issue of the MWA‘s Pen in Hand. Don’t forget to sign up for their annual conference!

Amazon | Goodreads | PDF

I’ll be giving a sermon at Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church next Sunday at 9:30 Eastern Time. Tune in live if you can’t attend in person!