H.L. Reasby's Blog, page 8
June 14, 2011
Open call
I know how hard it can be getting promotional opportunities as a new writer. I've struggled with preconceived notions about self-publishing, especially. There are a lot of reviewers and interviewers out there that just won't have anything to do with you unless you have a big publisher backing you.
That said, I'm throwing the door open for cross-promotional opportunities. If you would like to be interviewed about an upcoming book or one that you're trying to boost sales of, feel free to shoot me an email and we can talk. Be sure to include your name, the title of your book (with link to Amazon or other purchase location), your web URL, if you have one, and any other information you'd like me to know.
If you would like to provide a reviewer copy as well, I will be happy to review it and use the book to ask more tailored questions about the book. I have a kindle so if you have a kindle-read edition you can email, that would be awesome.
May 30, 2011
Fighting Crime with NuruSekhmet in Millenium City
I have created a version of NuruSekhmet in the game Champions Online and, I'm happy to say, she has been kicking bad-guy butt and taking names. I absolutely love this game and highly encourage folks who like superheroes and comic books to check it out. You can not only create your heroes to run around beating up baddies, but you can also create their nemesis who will have minions that show up to mess with the hero… usually at bad times like when you're in the middle of fighting someone else!
I'm inviting my readers to come fight alongside Nuru in their own superhero guises and gain some bonus experience points at the same time… (as well as some possible in-game goodies!) Just log into the game on Wednesday, June 8th and search for NuruSekhmet@NuruSekhmet in the game's system and send me a friend invite. I plan on being online between about 4pm and 9pm, Pacific time. I have a device that grants me, and up to 4 teammates, a 20% boost to normal experience points gained during that time.
You might be saying at this point: But wait, I don't have an account with Champions Online and I don't have a lot of money to spare for that sort of thing..
That's okay. CO offers a free-to-play format if you just want to try the game out or if you just don't have money for a monthly subscription fee. Also, it has a sidekick feature which can allow me to fight at a lower level or for you to fight at Nuru's higher level!
Millenium City is a big place and it needs heroes!
May 26, 2011
Akhet Review on Red Adept Reviews
B. Tackitt gave Akhet 4.5 stars! Thank you for taking the time to read my book and write such a great review!
General Updates
There's quite a lot going on in my life right now and I thought I'd bring my friends and readers up to speed.
Peret: I will assure everyone that the book is, in fact, done. My marvelous husband, Garth, has the concept for the cover art down and will be working on completing the rendering of it this weekend so I can work on getting it out for all of you. I really think that you'll like the direction that Nicole's story is going.
Shomu: Book three of the series is already outlined, and my chief editor has given it the thumbs-up so I'll be starting work on the manuscript as soon as book 2 is up for sale.
The Days Upon the Year: What the heck is this?! some people might be asking. Well, it's going to be a collection of 5 short stories/novellas that will tie in with the Sekhmet's Light world, telling some of the backstories that are hinted at in the series itself. They're going to include things like Aramair's backstory and the narrative about the raid lead by Imanekhet and Meshrew, Church's backstory, as well as part of the story of the first NuruSekhmet ever.
Short stories: I have a couple short stories that I'm working on currently before I start on Book 3 that will be made available via the Kindle store once they're completed.
Garth's Book: I've been doing some red-line editing on my husband's first novel as well and I'm really excited for all of you to get a look at that when all's said and done. He'll be introducing you to a fantastic new character and a world that will, I hope, wind up being one of your favorites.
So, that's what I'm up to these days. Being out of work sucks, but I'm still looking for a new day job. In the meantime, I'm making the best of things by keeping busy!
May 18, 2011
Thoughts on Writing
So the last few weeks, we've been watching our dvds of Deep Space 9. This show is by far my favorite of the Trek series (followed by The Next Generation, The Original Series, Enterprise, and with Voyager coming in dead last). To me, it's the most complex and the most human of the various series. The storylines tend to be dark and the characters are wonderfully developed as the series goes on. Additionally, in re-watching the series, I can clearly see where the seeds of the new Battlestar Galactica are germinating in Ron Moore's head which is a beautiful thing, indeed.
Last night, we were watching the episode titled Explorers where Commander Sisko builds a small ship based on an ancient Bajoran design. He then sets out to test whether the ship could have actually made the trip to the Cardassia system as legend says. It's a nice little episode of father-son bonding since Sisko has convinced his son, Jake, to go along for the ride.
However, what specifically prompted this blog post was an off-hand comment that was made by Sisko. Jake, it turns out, is a burgeoning writer and finally works up the courage to share one of his stories with his father. The story is from the perspective of a Maquis fighter (for those who know Trek, the Maquis are a resistance group that were formed to fight the Cardassians when they were ordered to leave their colonies in the wake of treaty negotiations with the Cardassians that put the Federation colonists in Cardassian territory). Sisko tells Jake that one cannot write about things that one has not actually experienced and it's that statement that stuck with me all night.
With profound respect to the writers of DS9, I think that Sisko's argument should've been more along the lines of one cannot write what one does not know. That is to say, you should take the time to research your subject and become familiar with it. If a writer were only to write what they have actually experienced first-hand, we wouldn't have things like Star Trek at all since interstellar space travel and alien species are not part of our reality at this point in our existence.
I seriously doubt that Thomas Harris or Jeff Lindsay embarked upon careers as serial killers to bring us characters like Hannibal Lector or Dexter. Furthermore, we would lack significant works of fantasy and science-fiction if we only wrote what we know. Certainly Captain Tolkien never infiltrated a dragon's lair as Bilbo did with Smaug, but that doesn't mean he didn't write it well.
My point here is that if you have experience with what you're writing, that's fabulous and I think that you should definitely bring that to the page. However, if you don't, that shouldn't hold you back from writing what it is that you want to write.
April 26, 2011
The Sekhmet's Light Kickstarter Project
You may or may not know that I've been without a day job since the beginning of February. Although I'm receiving unemployment benefits and looking for a new job, there's a gap between what I was making and what I have coming in now. As a result, the opportunities to promote the Sekhmet's Light Series are less because I don't have any extra income to pay for things like ad spaces.
The purpose of my Kickstarter project is to finance those promotional opportunities and to be able to purchase copies to have on-hand for signings.
Any support you can give would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be as little as $1 and for those that can give more, I do have benchmarks set up with awards for your generosity.
Thank you in advance!
April 8, 2011
Sad News for Star Wars Fans
Yesterday, I got some news that made me incredibly sad: Michael Stackpole's X-Wing novels have been relegated to out-of-print status. For those of you who have not read the series, you've been missing out on a real treat. The X-Wing novels, and I, Jedi are among the best 'Extended Universe', or EU Star Wars novels you'll ever find.
I've gone onto Amazon and requested the books in kindle format and I highly encourage others to do the same. The X-Wing novels gave us, in Corran Horn, one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe and added new depth to the universe. Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, I'm certain that if you read the novels, you'd find something you love becaue the writing is just THAT good!
April 7, 2011
Five Years, and Many More to Come
Today is my wedding anniversary, and marks 5 years of marriage to the most wonderful man I have ever know. I am keenly aware of how fortunate I am to have such an amazing and supportive husband.
Seriously, Garth and I haven't always had simple times, but I know that as long as he's in my life, he has my back. He's always been incredibly supportive of my writing and all of my efforts, and I'm grateful for his presence in my life.
There are times that it seems like we've been together for a lot longer, but not in a bad way. We blended so seemlessly into eachother's lives that it seems strange that we haven't always been together. There are even strange parallels in our backgrounds that people close to us will have heard about by this time.
A lot of people want to ask "what's the secret to a good marriage?". The fact of the matter is that there IS no secret. You've got to listen to one another and support one another. You've also got to be willing to listen if they disagree with your actions and to accept that maybe there are better ways to do what you want to accomplish.
I have no doubt that the five years we've had together is just the start and what we've done is just the start of what we'll accomplish as long as we're together.
April 6, 2011
Interview with Ranga for Freado!
I did a brief interview with Ranga from Freado! If you're an author and you haven't heard of Freado, I highly recommend checking it out. It has great publicity tools and is really reasonably priced for an upgrated membership!
March 17, 2011
Book Review: The Name of the Wind
My review of the fantastic novel The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss!
