Liz DeJesus's Blog, page 40

December 3, 2012

Exciting announcement from Musa Publishing

Note: I didn't write this blog post. I'm just reposting this to share the incredible news from Musa Publishing.


Musa Publishing Announces Deal With Author Gary K. Wolf For Third Roger Rabbit Novel
Musa Publishing, an independent digital-first publisher, has announced today that they will publish Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? by author Gary K. Wolf, the third book featuring Wolf's iconic character, Roger Rabbit, and the denizens of Toontown.
"When I first got a submission in the inbox from Gary K. Wolf, creator of Roger Rabbit, I must admit that I didn't take it seriously. After all, why would such a well-known author be coming to Musa?" confesses Musa Editorial Director, Celina Summers. "But after I read his submission, all my doubts were erased. No other author in the world has that distinct narrative voice. Rather quickly, we accepted two novels from Gary—The Late Great Show! and Typical Day—and Gary became part of the Musa family. But even then, I never expected he'd bring us a Roger Rabbit novel. "
Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? is the culmination of a twenty year wait for fans of the world that Wolf first created in his 1981 Hugo-winning Who Censored Roger Rabbit? The third installment in the series has been promised to fans for a long time but never released. Now, with the 25th anniversary of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? on the horizon in 2013 and  and confirmation of a completed Roger Rabbit 2 script by director Robert Zemeckis last week stirring up excitement among Roger Rabbit fans, the collaboration between Wolf and Musa is coming at a significant time.
"I could easily have published Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? through a major print publishing house. Instead, I choose to make this the first book of the Roger Rabbit series to be published digitally," Wolf states. "That decision evolves directly from the way I work, from the core philosophy of what I write and why I write it. I always push the boundaries in my writing. I invent worlds that nobody else ever thought about. I create unique characters and situations. I try to always be at the forefront of my craft. That includes the way my writing is presented to my readers. Digital publishing is clearly the future. It’s the way books are headed, so I’m heading that way, too."With his first book at Musa, The Late Great Show!, released in October and his second novel, Typical Day, coming out on December 7, Wolf is no stranger to the Musa system. "I especially like the way Musa has taken digital publishing into areas that I never thought of. Using proprietary software, I’m able to interact with them electronically in real time. My editor, the publicity department, the art department, and everybody else involved with my work all have instant access to everything I submit. And vice versa."Wolf isn't the only well-known author bringing his works to Musa. USA Today bestselling author Sharon De Vita has a multi-book deal with the publisher, and her romantic mystery The Estrogen Posse has been increasing in sales since its release in October, 2011. Science fiction up-and-comer Gini Koch's serial—The Martian Alliance—is being published by Musa, along with new and backlisted works from well-known authors like Cindi Myers, Vella Munn, Helen Hardt, and Julia Bell. In addition, Musa is responsible for the Homer Eon Flint project, where the entire body of work of this lost American science fiction author is being saved from crumbling 1920s pulp magazines and disintegrating newspaper copy and published as e-books.
"Even two or three years ago, it would have been thought impossible to lure these writers to a small, young publisher," Summers explains.

"But because of our author-friendly policies and transparent business model, small publishers like Musa are able to release books like Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? digitally, with both a better product and prices far below what traditional publishers set for their e-books."Both Summers and Wolf are optimistic about the prospects for Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? The novel reunites all the old fan favorites—Eddie Valiant, his fuzzy sidekick Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and Roger’s va-va-voom mate Jessica, who continue their madcap human and Toonian adventures. This time, Eddie is hired to bodyguard for Gary Cooper and Roger Rabbit, the stars of a new movie that's been receiving dire threats—shut down the film or else.
"Musa is thrilled to publish the next installment in the Roger Rabbit world," Summers says. "Toontown and e-publishing are destined to work well together. Gary has such an innovative mind. He takes risks daily with his fiction—he enjoys taking creative risks. He can do that comfortably at Musa because we encourage all our authors to reach further, to attempt things they normally wouldn't. E-publishing is all about trying things that traditional publishers might be uncertain about."
With the release of Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? set for November of 2013, Musa and Wolf are poised to gratify millions of Roger Rabbit fans across the world. The entertainment franchise is worth over $500,000,000 and the fandom is as eager as ever to follow their beloved Roger Rabbit and Eddie Valiant into new adventures—including e-publishing.
"Digital publishing is the wave of the future, and I’ve always been a wave of the future kind of guy," Wolf states matter-of-factly. "For me, going digital wasn’t in any way a last resort. It was a necessity."

Gary Wolf is the NYT Bestselling author of numerous book, articles, and short stories including Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?, Space Vulture, and The Late Great Show! His movie credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the three Roger Rabbit cartoons Tummy Trouble, Rollercoaster Rabbit, and Trail Mix-up, and—coming in 2014—screen adaptations of his science fiction novels The Resurrectionist and Killerball. Awards for Wolf’s work include the Hugo Award, British Science Fiction Award, SF Chronicle Award, and 4 Academy Awards. Wolf is an avid Yoga enthusiast and lives in Boston where he is a full-time author, screenwriter, lecturer, entertainment consultant, and consummate “grown-up kid.” Look for his next Roger Rabbit installment to be released November, 2013 by Musa Publishing.

The Late Great Show! and Typical Day are available through Musa Publishing, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and e-tailers worldwide.
More information available from Musa Publishing at www.musapublishing.com and www.musapublishing.blogspot.com .
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on December 03, 2012 09:31

December 1, 2012

Shattered Frost


Bluebeard by ~Raydiant on deviantART



the ghost wives by ~snowapples on deviantART




15749 / 50000 words. 31% done!
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on December 01, 2012 13:53

November 30, 2012

Shattered Frost


Bluebeard by ~littlecrow on deviantART


Bluebeard by ~SigmaUna on deviantART



15190 / 50000 words. 30% done!
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 30, 2012 14:50

Candy/business cards

Booksigning tips continue. :D

This idea comes courtesy of Mindy Hardwick. She told me that for a book signing I can also bring a bowl of candy. Which is genius, because everyone loves candy. :D I know I do. So I figured I'd take the idea a step further. 

Materials:

Candy or chocolate (whichever one you prefer)

Mini business cards (you can get them made at moo.com)

Hole puncher 

577965_10152283188285058_1268784029_n  

and voila!

319692_10152283186980058_549951305_n  

I can get people to stop by table for a free piece of candy and they will have no choice by to take one of my business cards with them. :D *evil laugh* Muahahahahaha!! :D

And on top of that the chocolate is delicious, it's dark chocolate (so it's good for you too). I mean...it's a win/win for everyone. :)
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 30, 2012 14:31

November 29, 2012

MiniWriMo Gold Badge!

miniwrimomedal  

The goal for the month was 7,500 words and I got 7,678 words (and that's just counting my WIP and not blog posts...which also count towards the Mini WriMo).

:D So happy!! :D

For more information about The Written Remains Guild and Mini WriMo please visit these sites.

http://www.writtenremains.org/ 
http://www.facebook.com/groups/296453977037108/ 
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 29, 2012 07:08

November 28, 2012

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

A big THANK YOU to JM Reinbold (author extraordinaire and The Written Remains founder and guild member) for inviting me to participate in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. Please click on over to JM’s blog where she answers the same ten questions about her awesome book in progress, DING DONG BELL, that I answer below about my book in progress.
The Next Big Thing was started by blogger She Writes to help female authors promote their current work in progress by answering ten questions and then "tagging" a few other women writers inviting them to share the status of their own current works in progress.
My answers are below, followed by links to the writer friends I've "tagged" for The Next Big Thing.
1. What is the working title of your book?
Shattered Frost.
2.  Where did the idea for your book come from?
It’s a continuation of the young adult fantasy series I’m currently writing. The first book is titled First Frost (Musa Publishing, June 2012), the second one is Glass Frost (contract pending) and Shattered Frost is the third novel in the series. 
I got the idea for the series while watching a commercial for a local children’s museum. I thought it would be cool if they had more themed museums for kids, like a pirate museum or a fairy tale themed museum. And once that idea came to my mind I knew that I just HAD to write this story down. 
3. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
In Shattered Frost we follow Bianca once more into Everafter where she encounters Bluebeard’s ghost and makes a dangerous trip into Wonderland. 
4. What genre does your book fall under?
Mostly fantasy. But it’s also young adult, adventure and a touch of humor.  
5. What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Bianca Frost would probably be played by Sarah Hyland (Modern Family).

Ming Lee would be played by Ellen Wong (Scott Pilgrim VS the World).
Terrance Connor would be played by Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian). 
Prince Ferdinand would be played by Lucas Till (X-Men: First Class). 

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Hopefully I can stay with my current publisher Musa Publishing. Since they published First Frost and I’ve already submitted Glass Frost to them (fingers crossed they’ll publish that one as well). They’ve been amazing to work with. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more dedicated group of people. 
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Shattered Frost is still in the first draft stage. My goal is to just write whatever comes to mind, whatever scenes stand out in my mind and then the second draft is sort of marrying the scenes together to the point where the story makes sense. Then the third (and fourth…fifth…and apparently never-ending drafts because a writer’s work is never really finished) draft is polishing my writing and adding description and information where needed.
But to answer the original question… it normally takes me about 6-7 months to write the first draft. Then I go back and work on the second draft and then I do that a few more times until I’m satisfied with my work. So it usually takes me about a year and a half to finish a novel. 
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. 

the grimm legacy

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Well I always envisioned Bianca Frost having several books worth of adventures. The dream is for it to be an ongoing series but in reality I think it’ll be about 5 books. I came up with the idea of Bianca visiting Wonderland while still working on the second novel of the series (Glass Frost). So every once in a while I would get little snippets here, ideas for scenes, or random bits of conversation and I would put that in my Shattered Frost/Idea document so I wouldn’t forget any of it. But the image that was constant in my mind was that Bianca confronts Bluebeard’s ghost and there’s also a new character in Wonderland named Maggie. Can’t tell you too much about her because it’ll ruin the surprise. ;-)
Anyway, Bianca Frost is one of the most amazing characters that I’ve ever come up with. She has been an absolute joy to write for and it’s just a never ending fountain of inspiration every time I write for her and the other characters, Ming, Terrance and Prince Ferdinand. 
10. What else about your book might pique reader’s interest?
The book uses a lot of familiar fairy tale characters. While I twist them here and there to make the characters my own. I do my best to stick to the original story. I've done my research and I even use a few more obscure fairy tales that you may have never even heard of. My goal is to make you read even more after you've finished reading my book.

Authors that I've tagged are:

K Daniels
 
Nicky Penttila

Nancy Greene
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 28, 2012 16:30

November 26, 2012

Things to do: Book signing edition

Recently went to B & N and there was a lady there having a book signing. I purchased a copy of her book because I support indie authors. But I was surprised at how completely bare her table was. No business cards. No handouts. Nothing...just her book. I can understand if she couldn't afford any of it but how are people supposed to check out her book and her other books if they don't have something to take home and at least remind them of their visit? 

So in preparation of my own book signing on December 8th, here's a short list of everything I'm going to bring to Between Books. 

1. Business cards. Seriously, this is a basic necessity, you can go to vistaprint.com and get 250 of them for $10. I look at it as 250 potential book sales. Sure, someone can easily toss it in the trash the moment they walk out of the store but there's that tiny chance that someone might turn around and buy a copy of your book. 

2. Handouts. The last time I had a book signing I designed a really nice looking pamphlet with an excerpt of The Jackets. That actually worked for me. It gave people a moment to stop at my table or even walk around the store to read the excerpt. I had about 3-4 people come back to buy my book from that alone. And since my hubby printed them in color for me at work that didn't cost me anything so I actually made a profit. :D (See? The smartz. I haz them.)

3. The cover of your book on display. Some publishers will send the author a few pieces of cardboard with just the cover of your book. I use them and stick them by the store window and display it on the table.

4. Smile. No one will buy your book if you're a big ol' grouch. Smile. Chat with people. Be witty. Be funny. Show your personality. Don't just sit at the table staring off into space. 

5. Don't write during your book signing. You're not in a zoo. No one wants to see you in your natural habitat or your natural state of being. You're there to sell your book. Don't ignore people.

6. Freebies. People love free stuff. If you can afford it have some stickers made with the cover of your book. I went to moo.com and I got some really nice ones made.

7. Talk up your book. No one knows your book better than you do. When someone asks you what your book is about don't freeze up and please don't start with 'Uh...um...it's a like..." If it helps, try and memorize the blurb in the back of the book that way it gives you something to start with. Most people want to know about your writing. How long you've been at it. Is this your first book? Etc. Talk to people. Which is funny considering how most authors are a bunch of introverts and often lack social skills but this is one area you need to work on. Especially if you wanna make it as an author. 

8. Don't be nervous. People are just people. No one is going to judge you or make fun of you or anything like that. So just relax and have fun. 

9. Bring a nice pen. Don't bring a large marker, or a crazy colored Sharpie. Whatever pen you use to write with, use that to sign your books. No one wants to see your name signed in neon pink. Black or blue will suffice. 

10. Have fun. You're probably going to invite friends and family to your book signing. Have fun. Share your love of books and writing with them. 

Hope this helps. I'll be sure to share some pictures from my upcoming book signing. :) 

P.S. I'm also a featured author today at Addicted to Novels. Feel free to stop by and check it out. :)



  
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 26, 2012 08:36

November 25, 2012

Book Signing!!!

So it's been confirmed and yours truly will be at Between Books on December 8th 2012 at 4 PM. :D 

the jackets3   night gypsy2

SAT, DEC 8, 2012 - 4-6 PMSigning copies of Night Gypsy and The JacketsAlso featuring Ellie WoodruffBetween Books2703 Philadelphia PikeClaymont DE 19703Call 302.798.3378 for details.http://betweenbooks.com/ 
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 25, 2012 11:51

Shattered Frost


Winter Queen by ~Rosse on deviantART



Disney Princess Threathened III by ~forgotten-ladies on deviantART

This last image has nothing to do with my story. I just think it looks amazing. Jasmine and Belle look like they're ready to kick some ass. :D



14875 / 50000 words. 30% done!
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 25, 2012 07:05

November 24, 2012

Anatomie of a Gummi Bar

OMFG I love this.


Anatomie Gummi Bar by ~freeny on deviantART
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 24, 2012 05:26