Verna Clay's Blog, page 7
July 24, 2011
Shapeling Trilogy: Roth: Book One: Protector (Sample Sunday #5)
Excerpt:Roth could feel Rainey's head lolling against his back. Her hands had gone slack and he held both of them in one of his against his stomach to keep her upright on the camel. He'd actually felt bad about springing their caravan travel on her. However, she'd left him no other option. If he'd told her beforehand, he would have had a spitfire on his hands. Roth smiled. For all her primness in dress, she was definitely a fiery woman. When his thoughts turned to the implications of that, he quickly suppressed them. He would not allow free reign to his imagination with her tightly tucked against his body.
They had been traveling for about two hours. Although hot, it was not dangerously so because of the spring season. Tahnoon halted his camel and their caravan began dismounting. When Roth's camel bowed to the ground, the movement jarred Rainey awake.
"Wh-what's happening?" She clutched his waist again.
"We're stopping to drink and rest." He dismounted and reached to lift her. She didn't fight him.
"Ouch," she said.
He held her arms to steady her. She glared at him and jerked away. Her action sent her unstable body pitching backward. He caught her by the waist before she landed on her rear in the hot sand. The veil covering her face slipped and one eye peeked through.
Reaching for the burqa, she jerked it off and said, "It's hot as a frying pan out here!" She pushed his hands away from her waist and reached to lift the dress over her head.
"Don't," Roth warned, and grabbed her hands to stop her. "The dress is protection. And even though you're wearing street clothes underneath, it would be vulgar to remove it in the midst of these men. I'll give you some water to drink and bathe your face. Then put the burqa back on."
July 17, 2011
Jazmine (Sample Sunday #4)
Excerpt from Chapter ThreeAs the magnitude of the moment solidified in their hearts, a hush fell over the Fairies-on-Assignment. Jazmine had never felt as proud as she did at that moment. Her dream of visiting the human realm and carrying out an assignment from Boss-at-the-Top had finally been realized. The only thing left to do was succeed. "I can do this," she whispered.
One by one, the Fairies-on-Assignment entered the raspberry portal. Jazmine was the last to enter. Turning for a last look at Teacher-Fairy, he winked at her. She nodded and flew into the unknown.
Thank you for visiting Sample Sunday! To read more about this sweet romance, go to the books page.
Shapeling Trilogy Book One (Six-Sentence Sunday #4)
Six-Sentence Sunday--Follow the fun! You can navigate to other six-sentence authors from the SSS website. Better yet, join the fun with your own six sentences!
For the time being, Perky's in cryogenics whether she likes it or not. This week, we get another peek at Roth. Ahhhh, I'm in love.
From: Shapeling Trilogy Book One: Roth: Protector
Roth glanced at the glow in the eastern sky. Soon the edge of the sun would appear. He smiled and walked the short distance to the Cave of Thirteen. At the exact moment the sun made its appearance, he stepped inside the cave lit by fire torches. Reverently, he approached the Thirteen and knelt, speaking the Prayer of Respect, "May the embers of truth always glow."
"Rise, Roth," commanded the Prominent Prince.
Thank you reading my snippet. It is VERY much appreciated!
For the time being, Perky's in cryogenics whether she likes it or not. This week, we get another peek at Roth. Ahhhh, I'm in love.
From: Shapeling Trilogy Book One: Roth: Protector
Roth glanced at the glow in the eastern sky. Soon the edge of the sun would appear. He smiled and walked the short distance to the Cave of Thirteen. At the exact moment the sun made its appearance, he stepped inside the cave lit by fire torches. Reverently, he approached the Thirteen and knelt, speaking the Prayer of Respect, "May the embers of truth always glow."
"Rise, Roth," commanded the Prominent Prince.
Thank you reading my snippet. It is VERY much appreciated!
July 10, 2011
The Theory of Everything (Sample Sunday #3)
Set up: Psychic Mariel Dorian is pondering the voice she keeps hearing in her mind.After Mrs. Johnson left, I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, still pondering the vision and impression that had distracted me earlier. In less than two weeks, the same soul had contacted me five times. In my mind's eye, I envisioned the vague outline of a man. He appeared neither old nor young, nor had he transitioned to the other side. He remained in this dimension, crying out; or rather, his soul was crying out to me for help. That concerned me. Rarely, did the soul of a living person call for help separate from its body. My grandmother said she had encountered the phenomena only once. For me, this was a first. People came and asked me for help while still in their bodies. Apparently, this soul had partially detached from its physicality. I couldn't imagine where to begin looking for the owner of this confused soul, but one thing remained certain, its cry was becoming stronger.
Available at:
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Omnilit
Amazon UK
Shapeling Trilogy Book One (Six-Sentence Sunday #3)
Six-Sentence Sunday--Follow the fun! You can navigate to other six-sentence authors from the SSS website. Better yet, join the fun with your own six sentences.
Instead of continuing Perky's interrogation of Wells Ashby, here's a snippet from my just released ebook and soon to be available paperback:
Shapeling Trilogy Book One: Roth: Protector
Set up:
Roth Beowolf is about to receive an important mission from his elders.
Roth soared high again, intent on reaching the Cave of Thirteen before sunrise. He arrived in record time. Gently landing and pulling his wings closed, he lowered his head and prayed to the Source, repeating the Prayer of Secrecy he had been taught as a child by his Guide. Before the last word in the prayer had been uttered, he no longer had wings or talons; he now stood tall on two feet, his raven hair long and whipped by the wind. Pale blue eyes that observed everything looked upward in a gesture of respect for the Source. Wearing only white linen breeches, he flexed and stretched his lean muscular form, feeling the rush that always accompanied a shapeshift.
A hearty thank you for reading my contribution! I look forward to Six-Sentence Sunday every week and appreciate your comments!
Instead of continuing Perky's interrogation of Wells Ashby, here's a snippet from my just released ebook and soon to be available paperback:
Shapeling Trilogy Book One: Roth: Protector
Set up:
Roth Beowolf is about to receive an important mission from his elders.
Roth soared high again, intent on reaching the Cave of Thirteen before sunrise. He arrived in record time. Gently landing and pulling his wings closed, he lowered his head and prayed to the Source, repeating the Prayer of Secrecy he had been taught as a child by his Guide. Before the last word in the prayer had been uttered, he no longer had wings or talons; he now stood tall on two feet, his raven hair long and whipped by the wind. Pale blue eyes that observed everything looked upward in a gesture of respect for the Source. Wearing only white linen breeches, he flexed and stretched his lean muscular form, feeling the rush that always accompanied a shapeshift.
A hearty thank you for reading my contribution! I look forward to Six-Sentence Sunday every week and appreciate your comments!
July 9, 2011
Self-Publishing: My Experience #1
Although I have two publishers that I like, I have a "do-it-yourself" personality. Thus, my venture into self-publishing.
Approximately one week ago, I self-published the first book in my Shapeling Trilogy. To my pleasant surprise, I started selling ebooks immediately at Amazon and Amazon UK, and I thought I would share my experience. Keep in mind, however, I am not an expert, and it has taken months of investigation and preparation to get to the place where I could self-publish. For those of you thinking about going this route, here are some considerations.
Format of your book: Are you going to publish an ebook only, or an ebook and a print book. I chose both, so it was necessary to create two formats, one for the ebook and one for the print book (my print book will be available soon).Selecting the ebook company to convert and make your files available to different distribution channels (Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Sony, etc.). Regarding Amazon, I chose to go direct with them, rather than through a distributor. I will discuss this later.
Selecting the print-on-demand company for your paperback.
Creating your own cover vs. outsourcing.
Making your book known.
For this blog, I will share how I accomplished the paperback part of number 1. Please check back for the ebook part of number 1 and the other numbers.
Through trial and error, I discovered I like having my writing displayed at the "get-go" in a 5x8 book format. My word processing program is Microsoft Office Word 2003. First, I create the book template by setting the top and bottom margins at .75, the inside and outside margins at .5, and the gutter at .35. I choose portrait orientation, mirror margins, and apply that to the whole document. Also, in set-up under the paper tab, I change the paper size to 5x8. Next, I insert page numbering beginning on the first page, but suppress the number so it doesn't show until page 2. You may prefer starting your numbering at the beginning of your first chapter. I've had problems with that, which is the reason I start with the first page. At first I worried that this was bad etiquette, but have since seen many books done this way.
You now have a document to begin typing your masterpiece into. Also, it looks like a book from the beginning, which I like. Here is how I order my pages: the first page is blank, the second page is the copyright page with necessary info (disclaimer, ISBN number, etc.). The third page is for dedication and words to your readers, the fourth page is blank, the fifth page begins chapter one.
I use normal formatting for the body with Times New Roman 12. I have experimented with the chapter headings. "Heading Two" is nice. Also, you want to keep your font characters for your chapters no larger than size 14. Whenever you come to the end of a chapter, insert a page break. Do not press the enter key multiple times to reach the next page (bad...bad).
This is the template we will use to create the paperback by converting it to a .pdf file later. Also, we will extract the words and create another template for the ebook. Ebook templates look nothing like paperback templates.
I hope this information is useful. If you're a self-publishing guru, I welcome comments and tips.
Approximately one week ago, I self-published the first book in my Shapeling Trilogy. To my pleasant surprise, I started selling ebooks immediately at Amazon and Amazon UK, and I thought I would share my experience. Keep in mind, however, I am not an expert, and it has taken months of investigation and preparation to get to the place where I could self-publish. For those of you thinking about going this route, here are some considerations.
Format of your book: Are you going to publish an ebook only, or an ebook and a print book. I chose both, so it was necessary to create two formats, one for the ebook and one for the print book (my print book will be available soon).Selecting the ebook company to convert and make your files available to different distribution channels (Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Sony, etc.). Regarding Amazon, I chose to go direct with them, rather than through a distributor. I will discuss this later.
Selecting the print-on-demand company for your paperback.
Creating your own cover vs. outsourcing.
Making your book known.
For this blog, I will share how I accomplished the paperback part of number 1. Please check back for the ebook part of number 1 and the other numbers.
Through trial and error, I discovered I like having my writing displayed at the "get-go" in a 5x8 book format. My word processing program is Microsoft Office Word 2003. First, I create the book template by setting the top and bottom margins at .75, the inside and outside margins at .5, and the gutter at .35. I choose portrait orientation, mirror margins, and apply that to the whole document. Also, in set-up under the paper tab, I change the paper size to 5x8. Next, I insert page numbering beginning on the first page, but suppress the number so it doesn't show until page 2. You may prefer starting your numbering at the beginning of your first chapter. I've had problems with that, which is the reason I start with the first page. At first I worried that this was bad etiquette, but have since seen many books done this way.
You now have a document to begin typing your masterpiece into. Also, it looks like a book from the beginning, which I like. Here is how I order my pages: the first page is blank, the second page is the copyright page with necessary info (disclaimer, ISBN number, etc.). The third page is for dedication and words to your readers, the fourth page is blank, the fifth page begins chapter one.
I use normal formatting for the body with Times New Roman 12. I have experimented with the chapter headings. "Heading Two" is nice. Also, you want to keep your font characters for your chapters no larger than size 14. Whenever you come to the end of a chapter, insert a page break. Do not press the enter key multiple times to reach the next page (bad...bad).
This is the template we will use to create the paperback by converting it to a .pdf file later. Also, we will extract the words and create another template for the ebook. Ebook templates look nothing like paperback templates.
I hope this information is useful. If you're a self-publishing guru, I welcome comments and tips.
July 3, 2011
Shapeling Trilogy Book One: Roth (Sample Sunday #2)
Set up for this scene: Spoiled heiress and scientist, Rainey Childress, is having a sleepless night.
Rainey punched her pillow yet again. She wanted to sleep, needed to sleep because of the workday ahead of her. She opened her eyes and sat up. Damn bodyguard. What was his name? Ross… Ron… Rat… Roth. Wolf… Beowolf. What the hell kind of name is that?
She walked to her window and pulled the drapes aside. Shifting clouds played with an almost full moon. Eerie shadows waltzed across the grounds of her father's estate. Unexpectedly, the clouds cleared and the moon shone brilliant. Rainey gasped when a huge bird swooped from the sky and soared past her window, its magnificent wings agilely directing its body. She watched the creature until it disappeared in the direction of the woods.
I wish I could fly with you.
Rainey punched her pillow yet again. She wanted to sleep, needed to sleep because of the workday ahead of her. She opened her eyes and sat up. Damn bodyguard. What was his name? Ross… Ron… Rat… Roth. Wolf… Beowolf. What the hell kind of name is that?
She walked to her window and pulled the drapes aside. Shifting clouds played with an almost full moon. Eerie shadows waltzed across the grounds of her father's estate. Unexpectedly, the clouds cleared and the moon shone brilliant. Rainey gasped when a huge bird swooped from the sky and soared past her window, its magnificent wings agilely directing its body. She watched the creature until it disappeared in the direction of the woods.
I wish I could fly with you.
Perky Beach (Six-Sentence Sunday #2)
Six-Sentence Sunday--Follow the fun! You can navigate to other six-sentence authors from the SSS website. Better yet, join the fun with your own six sentences.
About Perky
Perky Beach is a P.I. Although quirky, she's one of the best. You can read her story up until now on Perky's Page.
Set up for this week: Wells Ashcroft has hired Perky to follow his girlfriend. Perky's still gathering info from Wells. Her big faux pas last week was mispronouncing the girlfriend's last name...Ass, instead of Ash. Ah, Perky...that's called foot-in-mouth disease.
Wells speaking first:
"She a New Yorker. Right now she's in L.A. for a conference."
"Does she know you're here?"
"No."
"Where's she staying in L.A.?"
"She's at the Millennium Richmore Hotel. She's here supposedly on business. She owns a health spa in New York; a very successful one.
A big thank you for reading my contribution of six sentences! I appreciate your comments!
About Perky
Perky Beach is a P.I. Although quirky, she's one of the best. You can read her story up until now on Perky's Page.
Set up for this week: Wells Ashcroft has hired Perky to follow his girlfriend. Perky's still gathering info from Wells. Her big faux pas last week was mispronouncing the girlfriend's last name...Ass, instead of Ash. Ah, Perky...that's called foot-in-mouth disease.
Wells speaking first:
"She a New Yorker. Right now she's in L.A. for a conference."
"Does she know you're here?"
"No."
"Where's she staying in L.A.?"
"She's at the Millennium Richmore Hotel. She's here supposedly on business. She owns a health spa in New York; a very successful one.
A big thank you for reading my contribution of six sentences! I appreciate your comments!
June 26, 2011
Shapeling Trilogy Book One: Roth (Sample Sunday #1)
Set up for this scene: Spoiled heiress and scientist, Rainey Childress, is in the women's tent at a Bedouin camp in the Sahara Desert. She's about to go on an adventure... not of her choosing.
Halima went to a corner of the tent and returned carrying a black dress and black face veil decorated with red cross-stitches. She said something to Rainey with gestures. Rainey gave her a look that conveyed her confusion. The two women closest to Rainey gently pulled her to her feet. They raised her hands and pulled the black dress over her head and clothing. Next, they placed the veil over her face. She peeked out the eye slits and laughed. Okay, I can play their dress-up game. Halima pointed to her own veil and said, "burqa." Rainey pointed to the veil she was wearing and repeated, "burqa." The women giggled and nodded their heads.
Again, a man called from outside the tent, and Nadia motioned for Rainey to follow her. Rainey started to disrobe, but the women quickly stopped her, pushing her toward the tent flap. Confused, she walked outside. The women led her to an open area near some tethered camels. Several men standing near the camels began loosing them. The camels knelt in the sand. About half a dozen men climbed onto the backs of the camels. Rainey thought the sight very interesting. She looked for Roth. Scanning back and forth, her gaze stopped when it reached a tall, muscular Bedouin dressed in white layered robes and a white turban. Huh?
The women guided her toward him. "Why are we dressed like Bedouins, Roth?"
He ignored her and grabbed the reins of a camel. The other camels began to rise with Bedouins on their backs. Roth motioned her forward. She got that uneasy feeling again.
"Rainey, we're going on a little adventure."
Rainey's jaw dropped and her mouth hung open. But of course, no one could see her mouth because of her veil. She watched the camel kneel. She looked at the split saddle, apparently for two riders on the same camel. "No way," she whispered, feeling her breath bounce off the veil. Louder, she said, "There is absolutely no way I'm getting on that beast. I don't know what kind of weird joke this is, but I am not, not, NOT, riding a camel to God knows where with you!" Her voice rose in volume until she was shouting.
The camel nonchalantly watched her while chewing something.
Halima went to a corner of the tent and returned carrying a black dress and black face veil decorated with red cross-stitches. She said something to Rainey with gestures. Rainey gave her a look that conveyed her confusion. The two women closest to Rainey gently pulled her to her feet. They raised her hands and pulled the black dress over her head and clothing. Next, they placed the veil over her face. She peeked out the eye slits and laughed. Okay, I can play their dress-up game. Halima pointed to her own veil and said, "burqa." Rainey pointed to the veil she was wearing and repeated, "burqa." The women giggled and nodded their heads.
Again, a man called from outside the tent, and Nadia motioned for Rainey to follow her. Rainey started to disrobe, but the women quickly stopped her, pushing her toward the tent flap. Confused, she walked outside. The women led her to an open area near some tethered camels. Several men standing near the camels began loosing them. The camels knelt in the sand. About half a dozen men climbed onto the backs of the camels. Rainey thought the sight very interesting. She looked for Roth. Scanning back and forth, her gaze stopped when it reached a tall, muscular Bedouin dressed in white layered robes and a white turban. Huh?
The women guided her toward him. "Why are we dressed like Bedouins, Roth?"
He ignored her and grabbed the reins of a camel. The other camels began to rise with Bedouins on their backs. Roth motioned her forward. She got that uneasy feeling again.
"Rainey, we're going on a little adventure."
Rainey's jaw dropped and her mouth hung open. But of course, no one could see her mouth because of her veil. She watched the camel kneel. She looked at the split saddle, apparently for two riders on the same camel. "No way," she whispered, feeling her breath bounce off the veil. Louder, she said, "There is absolutely no way I'm getting on that beast. I don't know what kind of weird joke this is, but I am not, not, NOT, riding a camel to God knows where with you!" Her voice rose in volume until she was shouting.
The camel nonchalantly watched her while chewing something.
Perky Beach (Six-Sentence Sunday #1)
Six-Sentence Sunday--It's a hoot! You can navigate to other six-sentence authors from the SSS website. Better yet, join the fun with your own six sentences.
About Perky
Perky Beach is a P.I. Although quirky, she's one of the best. You can read her story up until now on Perky's Page.
Set up for this week: Perky's gathering info from Wells Ashcroft about the girlfriend he wants her to follow.
Perky tapped her chipped pink polish index finger on the edge of her desk. "Mr. Ashcroft, an investigation of this sort can be very expensive."
"Money's not a problem."
With a name like Wells Ashcroft, I didn't think so, she thought.
"I see your girlfriend's name is Sasha Ass...er Ash. Is she also from Florida? Is she in the L.A. area now?"
As always, thank you for reading my contribution of six sentences! I appreciate your comments!
About Perky
Perky Beach is a P.I. Although quirky, she's one of the best. You can read her story up until now on Perky's Page.
Set up for this week: Perky's gathering info from Wells Ashcroft about the girlfriend he wants her to follow.
Perky tapped her chipped pink polish index finger on the edge of her desk. "Mr. Ashcroft, an investigation of this sort can be very expensive."
"Money's not a problem."
With a name like Wells Ashcroft, I didn't think so, she thought.
"I see your girlfriend's name is Sasha Ass...er Ash. Is she also from Florida? Is she in the L.A. area now?"
As always, thank you for reading my contribution of six sentences! I appreciate your comments!
