Sarah Ettritch's Blog, page 24
June 10, 2011
1911 Journal: Noteworthy Excerpts #2
I can't believe it's almost mid-June and that I'll release Threaded Through Time, Book One in less than a month. I've been talking about Kate's journal as a lead up to the book's release, so this post will be the second to last one about Kate and her journal. Let's get to it:
A joyous day for me for I have my degree at last. A real B.A. Mother telephoned to me about it. Will seem queer not to study any more. – September 28, 1911
Yay, Kate!
Her degree was announced in one of Ottawa's newspapers, The Evening Citizen. She pasted the announcement in the journal. It included a photo, so I actually got to see what she looked like, which was nice. Here's the announcement:
Miss Kate [surname], who has been made a B.A. of [mumble, mumble] university in the fall supplemental examination, is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. [surname], of [address], and is well known among Ottawa's young people. She received her preliminary training at the Ottawa Collegiate institute. From this she graduated with honors (sic) five years ago and has since been attending [university]. She is most popular in a wide circle of friends.
Based on all the social activities recorded in her journal, that last line was certainly true. Unfortunately, they screwed up the headline of the announcement. They changed one letter in her first name, which turned it into a man's name. Was it an honest mistake? Kate didn't mention it in her entry, but I bet she was miffed.
She glued another newspaper announcement into her September 27th entry, this one from The Ottawa Free Press. It listed everyone who received degrees that semester from the university she attended.
The final excerpt isn't from a journal entry, but from a card tucked into the journal. It's a business-sized card for someone who ran for president in the 1908 A.M.S elections, whatever those were. The following is written on the back of the card, in Kate's handwriting:
St. Peter was grouchy; said he
The nerve of some people beats me
This flip New York kid
With the tilt to her lid
Wants me to give her a night key
I've searched for this on Google and can't find anything about it, so I don't know if she wrote it, if someone told it to her, or what. One of her sisters spent time in New York, so maybe it originated with her. If you know who wrote it or where it's from, do tell!
Threaded Through Time, Book One Cover
If you've visited my website recently, you might have already seen this on the sidebar or on the page for Threaded Through Time, Book One. In case you haven't . . .
The cover was designed by the wonderful Patty G. Henderson.
I hope to post Chapter One next week, to give you a feel for the story and characters. If all goes to plan, the book should be available around July 5th. After discussing the story with my editor, I've decided that it falls into the Romantic Fantasy genre.
Enjoy your weekend!
May 28, 2011
50% Off Memorial Day Weekend Rebate
To celebrate Memorial Day weekend, All Romance Books is offering a 50% rebate on all eBooks purchased using a credit card or PayPal. The offer runs from 12:01 am on 5/28/11 to 11:59 pm on 5/30/11 (US/Central).
The Salbine Sisters is available at All Romance Books. You can pick it up here and take advantage of the rebate. At 50% off, it's a steal!
Thought I'd let you know. Hope your weekend is going well.
May 27, 2011
My Writing Warm Up Routine
I've noticed that many writers reveal what they listen to when they write. I thought I'd discuss what I listened to when I wrote Threaded Through Time, Book One.
Nothing.
Have a great weekend!
Just kidding—sort of. I don't write to music. I used to, but I haven't done so for a couple of years. However, I do use music to warm up before a writing session. I've noticed that I play the same set of songs when I'm working on a particular project, and that held true for Threaded Through Time, Book One (I'll drop the Book One from this point forward).
I'm an avid computer gamer, and we gamers are treated to fantastic soundtracks. I often buy game music, so it's not surprising that my warm up music for Threaded Through Time consisted of songs from the soundtracks for two brilliant role-playing games: Dragon Age: Origins and Divinity 2: Ego Draconis.
The Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack was composed by Inon Zur. One of my favourite tracks is Ruins of Ostagar, the song I most associate with Threaded Through Time. The moment I hear it, the characters are there. It's almost as if listening to the song is my way of calling them to me, which is useful when I'm working on multiple projects.
Other songs on the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack that I sometimes played: Dragon Age: Origins, The Chantry's Hubris, Mages in Their Chantry, and The Betrayal. But Ruins of Ostagar was the only song I played every time. I'd be embarrassed to tell you the iTunes count for that one. You can listen to the tracks, including Ruins of Ostagar (it's near the bottom of the list), at the official soundtrack site.
I also listened to tracks from the Divinity 2: Ego Draconis soundtrack, composed by Kirill Pokrovsky. Pokrovsky gives away his soundtracks for free on his website, which is incredibly generous of him.
I played two songs religiously when working on Threaded Through Time. Fly, Dragon, Fly is an energetic piece of music that really gets the creative juices flowing. Festival of Immortals is a wonderful piece of music that's pleasing to the ear. I've linked to the two songs on YouTube:
Fly, Dragon, Fly
Festival of Immortals
I've been saying that, "I listened to," and, "I played," but I started the first draft of Threaded Through Time, Book Two this week, so I'm listening to and playing them again.
Two final notes:
Fly, Dragon, Fly and Festival of Immortals were also part of my warm up routine for The Salbine Sisters.
The tone of the music doesn't have to relate to the tone of the project (and often doesn't).
If you game, I recommend Dragon Age: Origins and Divinity 2 (buy the Dragon Knight saga, which contains both the original game and the expansion). Both are excellent games that I'll play numerous times.
Now have a great weekend!
May 20, 2011
1911 Journal: Noteworthy Excerpts #1
Let's get back to Kate's 1911 journal, one of the resources I used when writing Threaded Through Time. This is the first of two posts about journal entries that stood out for me. I've excerpted the interesting bits.
U.W. meeting in the afternoon with Mrs. Buchannan (whose husband has returned from India for a while). The woman was too emotional and as a result got quite a number of the girls in a hysterical condition. I left as early as I could. Not hysterical but tired of it. - February 24, 1911
I gather that Mrs. Buchannan was telling them stories about the horrible conditions in India. That's my guess, anyway. I chuckled as I imagined all these women swooning and groaning in horror, and I'm not surprised that Kate got the heck out of there. She doesn't come across as an emotional woman in her journal, and apparently she didn't suffer emotional women gladly, either.
Coronation Day but as it rained in the morning did not go up to see the celebration on the Hill till too late to see anything. – June 22, 1911
This is of historical interest. It refers to the coronation of George V, the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II. Canada is part of the Commonwealth realm, so the British monarch is also Canada's monarch and head of state. I wasn't around for Queen Elizabeth's coronation, so I don't know if there was a celebration on The Hill for that one, too. I doubt there will be any for future coronations.
Cat house on Parliament Hill
The Hill refers to Parliament Hill, the location of Canada's parliament buildings. See the linked Wikipedia article for some nice photos. I'll visit The Hill later this year. The main attraction for me will be the Canadian Parliamentary Cats. Who cares about the politicians? If you look closely at the upper-middle part of the cat house photo, you'll see one of the numerous statues on The Hill. It looks like it's walking along the tree branch.
One final entry for today:
In evening went to see the reception to Sir. W. Laurier. Such an enthusiastic one. Sir W. made a happy speech. C. and I came home then. Had ice-cream. – July 12, 1911
Another one of historical interest. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was Canada's prime minister from July 11, 1896 to October 6, 1911. He's mentioned in Threaded Through Time, which is set in Canada.
Enjoy your weekend!
May 13, 2011
What a Week!
To listen to the post, press the Play button below:
This week was a milestone week for me. I sent the June Rymellan story and the time travel fantasy to my editor. The Rymellan story is called Crossroads, and the fantasy is called Threaded Through Time. I feel especially good about the fantasy because I took a leap of faith and scheduled the editing date back in February, when I was only halfway through the first draft. I'm usually not reckless that way, but there was a reason for my madness.
When I was working on The Salbine Sisters, I finished the first draft and then contacted my editor to book the editing. At that point, it was May, 2010. Her earliest available slot was in January, 2011. Ouch! I was going to ask her to recommend another editor, but then I got a break. An author booked for August wasn't sure if his manuscript would be ready, so he agreed to be bumped and I took his spot. He'd probably done the same thing I did for Threaded Through Time—booked his spot well in advance.
I'm friends with my editor on Facebook, and back in February, she mentioned that she was already booked into April. I thought, "Oh boy, if I wait until I'm finished the first draft of the time travel fantasy to book an editing date, I probably won't get a spot until the fall." So I went ahead and set a date with her, and then crossed my fingers and put my nose to the grindstone. I came in well under my target date, and now I have a good idea of how long it will take me to write and edit the sequel. I'll be able to book an editing date in advance with more confidence.
Yes, there will be a sequel. A few weeks ago I said that I was considering a sequel and that I wanted my beta reader's feedback before I made a decision. It turns out we were on the same wavelength, so the story I just sent to my editor is actually Threaded Through Time, Book One.
When I posted my 2011 release schedule, I also said that I was going to write a science fiction story over the summer and that I'd start the sequel after that, if there was going to be one. I've changed my mind. I'm starting the sequel in a couple of weeks. The characters want it, I want it, and I might as well write it while Book One is still fresh in my mind. I'm hoping to release Book Two by the end of the year.
On a different topic, I've tinkered with my website. The most noticeable change is that I've done away with the WIP page. My feeling was that people visited the page to find out when a book or story would be released, not for the nitty-gritty details. I've posted my 2011 release schedule on the homepage, where it's easy to find.
I'm also doing a little experiment. I'm going to offer an audio version of lengthier posts and see how many people listen, rather than read. If I see that there's interest, I'll continue to do it. This week's audio is available at the top of the post.
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!
May 6, 2011
Reading: I Prefer the Slow Lane
Earlier this week I tried out RapidReader, a speed reading program someone mentioned in a podcast. RapidReader helps you read at high speeds by displaying words one by one at the centre of your computer screen. You drag a PDF or other document into RapidReader, and away you go.
Apparently reading the conventional way limits us because our eyes have to move across each line of text and we sound out the words in our head. The brain is capable of comprehending words solely by recognizing their shapes, so presenting the words differently allows us to read at higher speeds.
I'm not interested in speed reading, but curiosity got the better of me. I downloaded the trial and ran through the tutorial, and yes, I could read much faster. But it was a soulless experience. For me, reading is a leisure activity, even when I'm reading non-fiction for research purposes. I associate it with relaxation, a nice cup of tea, a cat on my lap or snuggled at my side, and the feeling that, just for a while, all is right with the world.
As I sat in front of my computer having words flashed at me at high speeds, I couldn't help but think about brainwashing. I also felt like a robot. Something was definitely missing for me. I prefer the conventional, slow, "limiting" way of reading. Sure, RapidReader might help me read a 50-page document in 10 minutes, but what's the rush? And I wouldn't dream of speed reading fiction. I'd go so far as to say that anyone who does is missing the point.
The RapidReader trial is free, so if you're curious, give it a go. You might enjoy the experience more than I did.
April 28, 2011
1911 Journal: Possible Lesbian Sighting?
Tomorrow I'll join the ranks of the temporarily insane. I'm getting up at 5 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding. I figured I'd post a day early, in case I'm too tired to post tomorrow (or, more likely, glued to the TV).
An entry from Kate's diary that piqued my interest:
Eliz. Lee wanted to give me some peanuts but I would not take them. E. is awfully like a boy. Adopts their style of dress nearly as possible as theirs without being really indecent. – September 23, 1911
Anyone else's gaydar go ding?
If you haven't seen this spoof of the Royal Wedding, it's worth watching. The Camilla lookalike is incredible.
Cheers!
April 25, 2011
Giveaway at Bibrary Bookslut
I'm giving away a copy of The Salbine Sisters (choice of print or eBook) as part of the Spring Celebration at Bibrary Bookslut. Sally's blog is definitely worth a visit. She also manages Bibrary.com, a database of LGBTQ science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature.
As part of this week's celebration, you can also win a book from Bold Strokes Books or JMS Books. To enter the giveaway, comment on any of the "Spring Celebration" posts.
One of those posts is an interview with me. Check it out and leave a comment for a chance to win!
April 15, 2011
My Release Schedule for 2011
Earlier this year I said that I'd chosen three writing projects, in addition to the Rymellan series, for 2011. Now that it's mid-April, I've revisited my choices and have a fair idea of what my release schedule will be for the rest of the year:
June: I'll post the June Rymellan story to Rymellan Fiction. I finished the first draft earlier this week, but because I'm juggling the time travel story, as well (and so is my beta reader, and so will my editor), the Rymellan story probably won't make it to the website until late June.
July: I'll release the time travel story in eBook format.
September: I'll post the September Rymellan story to Rymellan Fiction.
October: Torquere Press will release my contribution to its Sapphic Signs line. I'll start the story next week, so look for it on the WIP page.
December: I'll post the December Rymellan story to Rymellan Fiction.
What about the three projects I chose for 2011? The time travel story is there, but what about the other two?
I'll start project #2 after the Sapphic Signs story. The project is a pure science fiction piece. It's not lesbian fiction; in fact, sexual orientation is irrelevant within the context of the story. It will be short story/short novella length, and if I'm pleased with it when I'm done, I'll submit it to paying markets. Since I have no idea if it will ever be accepted or when, I won't be tracking this project on the WIP page. It'll look like I'm slacking off over the summer, when I'm not. 
Poor project #3 might be bumped into 2012, because I might write a sequel to the time travel story. I didn't leave any dangling threads in the story—they're all tied up—but it has the sort of ending that naturally leads to "What happens next?" I've decided there's a novella there, perhaps even a novel.
I'm going to discuss that specific aspect of the story with my beta reader to see how she feels about it. If she says, "No, I think it can stand as is," then I'll give the sequel further thought. If she says, "If you don't write a sequel, I'll kill you," then I'll definitely be swayed to write it. I'm not looking for her to tell me what to do, but her feedback will be important. If there will be a sequel, I'll want to release it in early 2012, so it will become project #3. If not, then I'll tell you more about project #3 when I get there.
Later.
