Leah R. Cutter's Blog, page 32
November 6, 2012
Free Fiction! The Third Raven
To celebrate the release of “The Raven and the Dancing Tiger” I’m offering one of the associated stories set in the same world for free this week.
The raven clan takes pride in three things: the education of their children, the fierceness of their warriors, and how they care for their own.
However, Pedrek, a retired raven warrior, finds a raven clan boy alone in a remote mountain village, ignorant of his heritage as well as cursed: he looks like a dreaded half-breed, with one human arm and one black raven’s wing.
Can Pedrek break the curse and bring the boy fully into the clan? Or has he been too long on his own?
Get it here free for this week.
For the rest of the month, I’m offering the story for $0.99 at the usual locations:
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
November 5, 2012
The Raven and the Dancing Tiger now available!
My new novel, “The Raven and the Dancing Tiger” is now available as an ebook!
Peter is interested in just three things: dancing, finding a girlfriend, and hiding his raven soul.
Peter is a raven warrior, an ancient race known for their assassination and fighting skills. Through secrecy and strict teaching, they’ve learned to cope with the modern world.
When Peter meets Tamara, he knows she’s different. Special.
He doesn’t learn until too late that she has secrets too.
Tamara is a tiger warrior.
And her kind are only interested in killing his kind.
Available on Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Read the first two chapters for free!
The novel will be available as a paperback in about a month.
I’m also re-releasing The Third Raven, since it’s kind of the inspiration of the novel. It will be available for free, here on my site until next Monday, and for only $.99 at all the regular outlets for the month of November. (I’ll re-announce this tomorrow.) It now includes the first two chapters at the back of the story.
Go! Read! Enjoy!
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
November 3, 2012
Another one done
I finished the hand written draft of the short story for this week. Huzzah! Tentative title: “The Viper in Tulum”
I like it, I really do. But I’m also frustrated with it, and disappointed in myself. I feel as though only 70% of what I had in my head actually made it to the page, that there’s still so much missing that I wanted to tell.
Part of that, I realize, is because I wasn’t fully imbedded behind the character’s eyes. But that’s tricky with this story, because the character is hiding, even from himself, until the very last scene. He doesn’t speak with his true voice until then.
When I go to type it up tomorrow, I also have to decide if this is going to stay a short story (around 4000 words) or if I expand it by dramatizing the backstory, instead of summarizing it. The writer part of my head thinks it would be cool, but the craft side isn’t convinced. It would end up doubling the size of the story.
Plus, I’m supposed to finish this story tomorrow, and I don’t think I could dramatize the backstory, type it all up, as well as go do the social things I’m supposed to do tomorrow.
What I may do is this: leave the story as is, but give myself permission to go back and flesh it out more later, say, when I finish writing the next novel.
You see, this story is part of the origin story for the next novel, “The Guardian Hound,” which takes place after “The Raven and the Dancing Tiger” and is set in the same world, with some of the same characters and some new characters. (Though the POV will be from a new character, and I think I’ll stick with his POV the entire time.)
I cannot tell you how much fun I’ve had with this story, expanding this world. Kept me awake last night thinking of things. Making shit up: that’s the coolest part of writing, don’t you know.
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
November 2, 2012
Ups and downs, plus TRATDT sneak peek
So the good news is that I didn’t break any of the bones in my foot. I have injured it though, bad enough that I need to stay off it, keep it iced and elevated. (Fine line between stubborn and stupid, and I keep waltzing over it. Or rather, this time, Lindy Hopping over it.)
It means no dancing for the next month or so.
I will admit that I’m already bored of sitting.
I’ve finished all the edits on TRATDT. I’ll be uploading it to all the various outlets this weekend, and hopefully announcing its general availability on Monday.
If you’d like a preview, Here’s a link to the page.
And here’s a link to the first two chapters as a PDF.
Tonight, I start writing the next short story. No idea what I’m going to write, but I feel like writing something fun and light hearted, because it’s cold and rainy and my foot hurts.
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
October 31, 2012
Free Fiction! Old Friends
I’m putting “Old Friends” up for free for a week or so, here. After that, I’ll replace it with another story, and another, and so on, through to the end of the year.
Enjoy!
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
October 30, 2012
“Old Friends” now available!
Old Friends Now Available!
New fiction! Never before published!
Wei Fu not only loves the law, he respects it, which is more than those lazy students of his do. When one of his students shows an interest, Wei Fu befriends him, answers his questions.
Too many of his questions.
Until Wei Fu finds himself contemplating breaking the law himself, unless an old, true friend steps in to help.
This short story is set in Tang dynasty China.
This is one of the short stories I wrote for the short story workshop I took earlier this year. I believe the category for this story is “historic fiction.” There’s a hint of mystery, but I don’t think it really qualifies as a mystery. It’s more literary, and I think the cover reflects that.
I have a set of short stories set in ancient China. I just have to write one more and I think I’ll have enough for a collection.
This story is available at all the usual outlets.
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
October 28, 2012
2012 challenge updates
I started my challenge last week, to write a short story a week. So far, I’m two for two — I just finished writing a second short story today.
I plan on sending the first one off to a couple of markets, to see if it can find a home. If it can, great. If not, I’ll indie-pub it here. (Title: (in)substantial shadows)
The second one is erotica, and I plan on indie-pubbing it once I clean it up. (Title: The Festival of Sands)
If I was being strict with myself, I would try to push myself to pub it today. However, yesterday was a bust in terms of writing: I woke up with a migraine that would subside, then reappear, all day long. Very frustrating, and I only got about 1000 words written, instead of finishing the story as planned.
Therefore, I ended up writing almost the entire story today, and right now, I think it’s crap. It probably isn’t crap, and if there are crappy parts I know I can fix them, but I need a break from the story before I can see it clearly.
Tomorrow I’ll look over the story and fix what’s broken, then print it and read it out loud to fix any remaining issues, then I’ll put it up.
In other news, one of the short stories I’d sent out has come back home, so I plan on pubbing that one this week as well (Old Friends.)
I have also received the edits back on TRATDT, and I plan on working on that most of the week, hopefully finishing that by Thursday, so I have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to write the next story. Which also hopefully means that the next novel will be available early next week. (YAY!!!)
I guess that’s all the news for now. The trees in my backyard are still amazing. I should take more pictures.
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
October 18, 2012
Moving ahead
I finished the hand written draft of the first short story for this challenge. I don’t know if it will make sense to anyone who isn’t me, but I really like it. I will probably send it to a first reader or two to make sure that it makes sense.
It ended up being about 3500 words (assuming 6 pages = ~1000 words.) I figure the typed draft might end up being about 3800, as I need to add some stuff to the start of the story.
Writing the story felt good. Great, actually. I love writing short stories, I love experimenting, I love listening to those deep voices inside of me. I love playing this way.
One of the things that Dean has said, is that writers are mind control experts, directing the emotions of their readers, as well as exactly what they’re seeing. There were a couple of times while I was writing this story when I had one of those deep voices that piped up and said, “Here, now, you’re directing the reader this way.” Very odd, but very good: I think what this means is that I’m learning. I’m not there yet, but I’ll get there.
I’ve somewhat disappeared for the last couple of days. There are emails I need to respond to, things I must do, and I haven’t. I took some time tonight to figure out what was stressing me out so much.
To my surprise, it wasn’t the short story challenge. I’m not worried about writing a short story a week. That doesn’t feel like too much on top of everything else; the new day position for the day job, the holidays, the house, everything else.
What has been stressing me out has been the word count. I figured out that I’ve averaged about 500 words per day until this point. I’ve been worrying about making sure that I keep that average of 500 words per day.
Daily goals DO NOT WORK for me. A short story a week, with the focus on short, is doable, and all I need to focus on. Really.
So that’s what I am going to do. And tomorrow I’m going to answer email. Tonight, it’s the Project Runway finale!
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
October 16, 2012
Percentages
I started writing the first short story last night.
Yeah.
It’s one of those stories, that very literary, experimental SF that I don’t always like to read but I do write from time to time.
Originally, I was thinking that I’d never be able to send this story off anywhere, then I remembered all the literary SF that filled the Year’s Best volume I read this year. So depending on length, I may send it off.
I do adore the main character’s voice and his snarky attitude.
I only wrote the first 500 words or so, then I got distracted entering all my sales data into a single spreadsheet.
Interesting numbers about where I sold stories:
65% Amazon (56% US, 6% UK, 4% DE)
20% Smashwords (10% SM, 6% Apple, 4% Sony, 0% Kobo)
15% B&N
Obviously, Amazon is the biggest market for me. I hadn’t realized I’d sold that much in Germany or the UK.
Some of the Smashword sales were to Australia and Canada. And I did make some sales via Kobo via SM, but not enough to generate a percentage when compared to the other sales.
What’s also interesting is that I’ve proved to myself that Kindle Select isn’t all that. Did it help goose the numbers for the one book? Yes. But look at all the sales I get via the other channels. And the goosing was just that — it didn’t turn into long term sales. I’m glad I tried it with the one book, but I don’t feel the need to try it with any others, at least not at this time. Plus, “Baker’s Dozen,” a collection of short stories, has sold almost as many copies, without going through the Select program.
My biggest seller, by far, is “Paper Mage,” making 2x the sales of anything else. Next is “Caves of Buda,” then “Clockwork Kingdom,” followed closely by “Baker’s Dozen” which also surprised me — because collections don’t sell, or so I’ve been told. Bringing up the rear, “Zydeco Queen” has sold a lot more than “Jaguar.”
Short stories, in order of sales:
Were-Teen (unsurprising)
Dutiful Daughter (I had no idea)
Cold Comfort (Again, no idea)
Golden Charms
Hell By Any Other Name, Red Boots, Slipping the Leash, and True Vision are all tied for fifth
What have I learned from this very small sample from a single writer?
Longer works (novels, collections) sell better than short stories.
Funny short stories sell. (But I already knew that.) Only a few short stories have never found an audience — I need to look at those covers and blurbs, as well as what categories they’re in, to see if I’ve done them a diservice (and I know this is the case with at least one of them.) It doesn’t matter what I think of a story: Some of the stories that I didn’t think would sell are, and some that I thought would sell, aren’t.
Sell widely to many markets.
Keep writing.
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
October 15, 2012
Just the stats, ma’am
This weekend I got curious about how much I’d written, as well as published, this year.
I didn’t keep track of actual word count this year. It wouldn’t have made sense, at least not for the first few months of the year. I might try to keep better track next year as I’ll be doing much more straight generation, and not as much revision. I won’t keep track of the words written elsewhere, for example, this blog.
What I’ve written to date:
Light revisions on novel “Clockwork Kingdom” (~2000 words)
Major revisions on novel “Zydeco Queen and the Creole Fairy Courts” (~ 30,000 words)
Wrote “The Raven and the Dancing Tiger” (~66,000 words)
Wrote 10 short stories (~60,000 words)
Total: ~158,000 words. Not bad, actually. That comes to an average of ~500 words per day for the year so far.
I plan to write another 10 short stories before the end of the year, so we’ll see if I will maintain or up that average.
What I’ve published to date:
19 titles. This is counting some titles “twice” — the ebook version counts as one, and the paperback version counts as one, because of the amount of work that needs to go into the paperback version. Some of these titles were backlist as well.
Before the end of the year, I will have at least 2 more to add to the published total (“The Raven and the Dancing Tiger,” both as an ebook and as paper.)
I don’t know how many of the 10 short stories I’ll publish — we’ll have to see how I feel about them once I’ve written them.
My goal for publishing was to publish 25 pieces this year. I’m close to that, and I’m very pleased. I wasn’t tracking any of these numbers closely, but I’m happy to see how far I’ve come.
And now, time to move forward!
Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.
