Angela Verdenius's Blog - Posts Tagged "books"
Going Nuts
Oh man, I know I'm supposed to be resting my tennis elbow, but it's driving me nuts. I've snuck on here to do my emails (okay, and scribble on this blog), but I keep having ideas for other stories. I'm trying to just jot ideas down and not start writing LOL.
ARGH!!!!!!
On the upside, I am catching up on TV shows and reading!!!
ARGH!!!!!!
On the upside, I am catching up on TV shows and reading!!!
Luke's Book Buying Links & other things
Firstly, as promised, just to let you know pre-orders for Luke's story are available at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and All Romance eBooks. I have no idea how to do the links here without posting the whole spiel for each website, so all I can offer is that the links are on my website www.angelaverdenius.com if you want them.
Now that I've finished the editing and am simply waiting for release day, I have had my usual 2 weeks off from writing (one week left now) and I have binged on watching DVDs on my days off from the hospital! And I mean BINGED! I have already watched the complete Season 4 of Grimm, Season 1 of Dominion, complete series of South of Hell, as well as watching 3 horror movies in one afternoon (that'd be last Friday, people). I still have the complete series of 2 Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place to watch, and about 6 seasons of Rules of Engagement. Doubt very much I'll get those all watched before the end of this week coming, as I still have to work the day job, but I will get to watch some of them! I've never seen 2 Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place, but it has Ryan Reynolds in it and as he's a hunk, I am so there, baby!
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies is out, too, and I'm thinking...should I buy the DVD or rent it?! Decisions, decisions! Renting is probably the cheapest option, as I've just paid the plumber's bill (there went my left kidney). But it's...you know...zombies!!!!!!!
Been working my way through the Nightside series on my kindle, think there's only one book left in the series. Devastation! I love binging on a great series, but when it's over, I'm left looking around going...what now? (whimper) Never mind, there's heaps of awesome books still to read! I'm sure I can find something in my 800+ books on my kindle, right? *sheepish expression*
Okay, better stop here. I have to get ready for work soon, Got to keep the cats in the comfort to which they've become accustomed. Have a great Sunday, everyone, I'll catch you later!
Now that I've finished the editing and am simply waiting for release day, I have had my usual 2 weeks off from writing (one week left now) and I have binged on watching DVDs on my days off from the hospital! And I mean BINGED! I have already watched the complete Season 4 of Grimm, Season 1 of Dominion, complete series of South of Hell, as well as watching 3 horror movies in one afternoon (that'd be last Friday, people). I still have the complete series of 2 Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place to watch, and about 6 seasons of Rules of Engagement. Doubt very much I'll get those all watched before the end of this week coming, as I still have to work the day job, but I will get to watch some of them! I've never seen 2 Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place, but it has Ryan Reynolds in it and as he's a hunk, I am so there, baby!
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies is out, too, and I'm thinking...should I buy the DVD or rent it?! Decisions, decisions! Renting is probably the cheapest option, as I've just paid the plumber's bill (there went my left kidney). But it's...you know...zombies!!!!!!!
Been working my way through the Nightside series on my kindle, think there's only one book left in the series. Devastation! I love binging on a great series, but when it's over, I'm left looking around going...what now? (whimper) Never mind, there's heaps of awesome books still to read! I'm sure I can find something in my 800+ books on my kindle, right? *sheepish expression*
Okay, better stop here. I have to get ready for work soon, Got to keep the cats in the comfort to which they've become accustomed. Have a great Sunday, everyone, I'll catch you later!
Case of the Writing ARGHS!!!
So I should be writing instead of playing around on the internet. So why aren't I? Because my stupid *&$! characters are giving me the *^#! whoopsies, that's why!
As usual, my writing is full of ups and downs - hope one second, elation as it comes together, total despair as it flounders and I come to a halt screaming - WHAT? WHAT!? Are you kidding me? Why? Why why WHY?
I have the keys from the keyboard imprinted in my forehead and I've drunk a gallon of Diet Coke trying to write this book. ARGH! Aaron, you're killing me! I've started it so many times, and I'm ... ARGH! It's right there in my grasp, then flicks away.
ARGH!!!!
Did I mention - ARGH!?
Not that I'm giving up. If I'd been going to do that, none of my books would ever have been written.
I've had people say to me - it's easy to write a book. You just sit and bang it out, don't you?
No, I sit and bang the keyboard. With my forehead. Many times. Over and over again. The desk gets its share of my forehead, too.
So why do I torture myself, you might ask? The answer is because I love writing, I love my characters, but there are definitely times when the writing isn't smooth going. There are times when the pages roll, the keyboard clacks merrily, and I slurp Diet Coke happily as the story unfolds. Then there are times when it kicks, starts and stops, nothing seems right, and I slurp Diet Coke sadly as the story does NOT unfold.
Alas...such is the life of a writer... But never fear, I've had my break and whine, I'm going back to shake Aaron around by his shirt front! (If I'm lucky, I'll rip it off). Oops, did I say that out loud?
As usual, my writing is full of ups and downs - hope one second, elation as it comes together, total despair as it flounders and I come to a halt screaming - WHAT? WHAT!? Are you kidding me? Why? Why why WHY?
I have the keys from the keyboard imprinted in my forehead and I've drunk a gallon of Diet Coke trying to write this book. ARGH! Aaron, you're killing me! I've started it so many times, and I'm ... ARGH! It's right there in my grasp, then flicks away.
ARGH!!!!
Did I mention - ARGH!?
Not that I'm giving up. If I'd been going to do that, none of my books would ever have been written.
I've had people say to me - it's easy to write a book. You just sit and bang it out, don't you?
No, I sit and bang the keyboard. With my forehead. Many times. Over and over again. The desk gets its share of my forehead, too.
So why do I torture myself, you might ask? The answer is because I love writing, I love my characters, but there are definitely times when the writing isn't smooth going. There are times when the pages roll, the keyboard clacks merrily, and I slurp Diet Coke happily as the story unfolds. Then there are times when it kicks, starts and stops, nothing seems right, and I slurp Diet Coke sadly as the story does NOT unfold.
Alas...such is the life of a writer... But never fear, I've had my break and whine, I'm going back to shake Aaron around by his shirt front! (If I'm lucky, I'll rip it off). Oops, did I say that out loud?
Checking In!
So, just checking in with everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, whether it was busy with family and friends, or quiet and restful. Mum and I and the furries had a quiet Christmas - ate too much, watched TV & DVDs, read, went for a couple of walks. Very restful!
Can I just add, for those who have a DVD or book at the bottom of the TBR pile, that that book or DVD may just turn out to be awesome? I had pushed The Chronicles of Shannarah TV series to the bottom of the TBWatched DVD pile and pulled it out in a fit of not-knowing-what-to-watch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This has happened to me with books I've shoved to the bottom of the TBR pile only to find, when I've finally picked it up to read, that's it's the Best Book Ever and I've had to go and gradually buy the back-list! So just a little hint, my dear friends.
So saying, I'm having a wonderful time reading the Tomes of Bill. Also spending some of my holidays playing with new program concepts for book covers, playing with box set covers, cruising the internet looking at weird and wonderful things (especially on You Tube) and thinking about TWD S7 which is coming in the New Year. About Oct. Long way away. Okay, not wanting to think about that so much anymore ;-)
Anyway, hope you're all feeling rested after Christmas!
cheers!!
Can I just add, for those who have a DVD or book at the bottom of the TBR pile, that that book or DVD may just turn out to be awesome? I had pushed The Chronicles of Shannarah TV series to the bottom of the TBWatched DVD pile and pulled it out in a fit of not-knowing-what-to-watch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This has happened to me with books I've shoved to the bottom of the TBR pile only to find, when I've finally picked it up to read, that's it's the Best Book Ever and I've had to go and gradually buy the back-list! So just a little hint, my dear friends.
So saying, I'm having a wonderful time reading the Tomes of Bill. Also spending some of my holidays playing with new program concepts for book covers, playing with box set covers, cruising the internet looking at weird and wonderful things (especially on You Tube) and thinking about TWD S7 which is coming in the New Year. About Oct. Long way away. Okay, not wanting to think about that so much anymore ;-)
Anyway, hope you're all feeling rested after Christmas!
cheers!!
Good books - and Spurned by the Cat
So, books first. Over the last couple of months I've ordered 4 different paperbacks that go into my treasured collection - the Touch-On-Pain-of-Death shelf of our library shelves. So now all 4 paperbacks are sitting on the little library in my bedroom, burning a hole in the shelf, calling - CALLING! - to me to pick them up and read them RIGHT NOW.
However, I am one of those people who once I start reading a series I love, have to read them ALL before I start a book from another series. So saying, I am hooked on the Arisen military/zombie series and currently reading
, and as there are still 3 more books to read in this series, it's going to be a little while before I get to those 4 paperbacks.
Never mind! Something to look forward to!
Now to something that staggered me early this morning. We have this little torti cat (think they're called 'Calicos' in the US) who has graced us with her presence for about 5 years now. She's a pure torti with no white, semi-long haired, very pretty. She sometimes lives in our back and front yard. We're not actually sure if she's a stray or whether she belongs to someone, because she's sterilized and in good nick, no matter how long she disappears for. She'll disappear for up to four days then pop back up again, happy and hearty. Once she disappeared for 2 months and we thought she must have died, only to have her pop up one day - 'tah-dah!' So she comes and goes.
Now Duchess (as we call her - or Dutch, depending), had disappeared for about 3 days. No food eaten though we keep putting fresh out every morning and every night. I think either her owners (if she has any) are home more than they used to be, or someone in the neighborhood is letting her into their home. Either way, she had done her disappearing act.
So I was up early as usual going for my morning walk (I know, right? Sick. Why would anyone in their right mind get up early on their day off to go for a walk?!), and I'm trotting along and lo and behold, I'm passing Betty's house and there is Duchess, sniffing the trampoline in Betty's front yard.
"Dutch!" I cry out, "There you are!"
And Dutch looks at me.
"Come here, sweet thing," I coo, stopping and holding out my hand.
My gosh, you'd have thought I was doing something exceedingly nasty. She pulled her ears back (Dutch, not Betty. Betty was smart enough to still be in bed), and trotted under the trampoline. Get this - Dutch went UNDER it and stared out at me.
Now I felt like a fool, with cars going past while I'm trying to coax Dutch out for a pat. And I realised something. Isn't this what kids do when they reach a certain age and don't want their parents to acknowledge them at school? You know, don't kiss them goodbye and wave them into the classroom? This is Dutch. OMG, Dutch didn't want me to say anything to her with other people around!
When did this happen? When did Dutch decide that I was embarrassing? Is she ashamed of me?
I realised something else. Apparently I am perfectly fine to have around when she's in MY yard, or MY carport, and even MY driveway - I can kiss and cuddle her, rub her belly, stroke her, give her fresh food and water, but how dare I approach her out in public?
As I thoughtfully trotted on home with Dutch watching me in righteous indignation from beneath Betty's trampoline (should a lady in her 70s even have a trampoline?), I pondered how animals and humans are so alike.
Yep, I'd been taught my place by Dutch. Guess I'll have to wait until she decides to grace me with her presence once more before I'm worthy enough to pat her.
*sigh*...must be tough for that cat trying to teach us dumb humans our place in the hierarchy...
However, I am one of those people who once I start reading a series I love, have to read them ALL before I start a book from another series. So saying, I am hooked on the Arisen military/zombie series and currently reading
, and as there are still 3 more books to read in this series, it's going to be a little while before I get to those 4 paperbacks.Never mind! Something to look forward to!
Now to something that staggered me early this morning. We have this little torti cat (think they're called 'Calicos' in the US) who has graced us with her presence for about 5 years now. She's a pure torti with no white, semi-long haired, very pretty. She sometimes lives in our back and front yard. We're not actually sure if she's a stray or whether she belongs to someone, because she's sterilized and in good nick, no matter how long she disappears for. She'll disappear for up to four days then pop back up again, happy and hearty. Once she disappeared for 2 months and we thought she must have died, only to have her pop up one day - 'tah-dah!' So she comes and goes.
Now Duchess (as we call her - or Dutch, depending), had disappeared for about 3 days. No food eaten though we keep putting fresh out every morning and every night. I think either her owners (if she has any) are home more than they used to be, or someone in the neighborhood is letting her into their home. Either way, she had done her disappearing act.
So I was up early as usual going for my morning walk (I know, right? Sick. Why would anyone in their right mind get up early on their day off to go for a walk?!), and I'm trotting along and lo and behold, I'm passing Betty's house and there is Duchess, sniffing the trampoline in Betty's front yard.
"Dutch!" I cry out, "There you are!"
And Dutch looks at me.
"Come here, sweet thing," I coo, stopping and holding out my hand.
My gosh, you'd have thought I was doing something exceedingly nasty. She pulled her ears back (Dutch, not Betty. Betty was smart enough to still be in bed), and trotted under the trampoline. Get this - Dutch went UNDER it and stared out at me.
Now I felt like a fool, with cars going past while I'm trying to coax Dutch out for a pat. And I realised something. Isn't this what kids do when they reach a certain age and don't want their parents to acknowledge them at school? You know, don't kiss them goodbye and wave them into the classroom? This is Dutch. OMG, Dutch didn't want me to say anything to her with other people around!
When did this happen? When did Dutch decide that I was embarrassing? Is she ashamed of me?
I realised something else. Apparently I am perfectly fine to have around when she's in MY yard, or MY carport, and even MY driveway - I can kiss and cuddle her, rub her belly, stroke her, give her fresh food and water, but how dare I approach her out in public?
As I thoughtfully trotted on home with Dutch watching me in righteous indignation from beneath Betty's trampoline (should a lady in her 70s even have a trampoline?), I pondered how animals and humans are so alike.
Yep, I'd been taught my place by Dutch. Guess I'll have to wait until she decides to grace me with her presence once more before I'm worthy enough to pat her.
*sigh*...must be tough for that cat trying to teach us dumb humans our place in the hierarchy...
Mercenary is Up!
Whoooo!! YES! Finally, I have finished re-writing the book, Mercenary.
This was not just an editing job. This was a complete revision and re-write. I’ve added scenes and changed some scenes, and fleshed it out a lot more.
The beauty of being able to revise/rewrite this series, is that not only am I catching mistakes, but I'm able to build more into the storylines. For example, with the previous version, there were things happening that didn't quite make sense until you got to book 18. I don’t believe that’s fair to the readers (and being a reader myself, I know that’d annoy me personally) so this time I've included a lot more detail and explanation, so it's clearer.
I'm hoping people like it. I LOVE the cover. Melody Simmons did an awesome job, and has done all the covers for the entire series. Yes, people, I have ALL the covers already and they are ALL gorgeous. I can’t thank her enough. While I chose the characters, she blended them into such beautiful backgrounds and completely captured the feel of the stories.
Interestingly, sci-fi romance doesn't seem to be a popular subgenre. Years ago I remember it was a large part of the paranormal romance rage, but seemed to dwindle away over time, which is a shame as there is so much scope with sci-fi romances.
For those who might be hesitant to dip their toes into this subgenre of sci-fi romance, you might want to try Outlaw, the first book in the series, which I have put up for sale for 99c at Amazon for a few weeks. I just changed the price this morning so I think it can take up to 72 hrs for the changes to take effect, but check it out in-between as it often takes less time.
Mercenary is now on Amazon and Smashwords for sale, and will be available soon at Kobo, iBooks and Barnes & Noble. Please note - I have found that most sci-fi romance readers seem to be on Kindle Unlimited, but because I know some readers prefer Kobo/B&N/iBooks and Smashwords, Mercenary will be going up at these places for about 4weeks before I flip them to KU. Unless, of course, suddenly sales sky-rocket at these other places ;-) Or at least I get enough sales to warrant leaving it there. But so far, like I said, most sci-fi romance readers seem to be at KU.
Okay, I'm off to update the website and do a few more things. I have an awesome TV horror series I’m halfway through, the Diamond Mosaic painting I want to try, and some good books calling my name. After all this I’ll be taking 2 - 3 weeks off to enjoy my downtime in-between the day job, but also to do some other chores badly needing doing. Then after that I’ll start the next Hope Bay novel.
But I will still be on-line even during my downtime, so drop me a line if you wish!
Cheers!
Ang
This was not just an editing job. This was a complete revision and re-write. I’ve added scenes and changed some scenes, and fleshed it out a lot more.
The beauty of being able to revise/rewrite this series, is that not only am I catching mistakes, but I'm able to build more into the storylines. For example, with the previous version, there were things happening that didn't quite make sense until you got to book 18. I don’t believe that’s fair to the readers (and being a reader myself, I know that’d annoy me personally) so this time I've included a lot more detail and explanation, so it's clearer.
I'm hoping people like it. I LOVE the cover. Melody Simmons did an awesome job, and has done all the covers for the entire series. Yes, people, I have ALL the covers already and they are ALL gorgeous. I can’t thank her enough. While I chose the characters, she blended them into such beautiful backgrounds and completely captured the feel of the stories.
Interestingly, sci-fi romance doesn't seem to be a popular subgenre. Years ago I remember it was a large part of the paranormal romance rage, but seemed to dwindle away over time, which is a shame as there is so much scope with sci-fi romances.
For those who might be hesitant to dip their toes into this subgenre of sci-fi romance, you might want to try Outlaw, the first book in the series, which I have put up for sale for 99c at Amazon for a few weeks. I just changed the price this morning so I think it can take up to 72 hrs for the changes to take effect, but check it out in-between as it often takes less time.
Mercenary is now on Amazon and Smashwords for sale, and will be available soon at Kobo, iBooks and Barnes & Noble. Please note - I have found that most sci-fi romance readers seem to be on Kindle Unlimited, but because I know some readers prefer Kobo/B&N/iBooks and Smashwords, Mercenary will be going up at these places for about 4weeks before I flip them to KU. Unless, of course, suddenly sales sky-rocket at these other places ;-) Or at least I get enough sales to warrant leaving it there. But so far, like I said, most sci-fi romance readers seem to be at KU.
Okay, I'm off to update the website and do a few more things. I have an awesome TV horror series I’m halfway through, the Diamond Mosaic painting I want to try, and some good books calling my name. After all this I’ll be taking 2 - 3 weeks off to enjoy my downtime in-between the day job, but also to do some other chores badly needing doing. Then after that I’ll start the next Hope Bay novel.
But I will still be on-line even during my downtime, so drop me a line if you wish!
Cheers!
Ang
