Reena Jacobs's Blog, page 42

A Round of Words in 80 Days #ROW80 – Update 8

I have to say, cutting back on emails has increased my productivity greatly. Let's look at the goals.

February:

Finish the first draft of Stray Cat Chasing Shadows

Write 500 words a day. I started this update at 27,436. Now I'm at 31,370 words. I did a pretty great job meeting this goal. Yesterday I realized I only had one scene left to write to finish the first draft, but my muse clammed up on me. Apparently I have a few plot issues to deal with before my hero and heroine can have their happily ever after.
Today I reoutlined the story to represent the changes I'd made during the writing stage. I also added a few scenes (unwritten) and notes to satisfy my muse. Without a doubt, I more than wrote my 500 words a minimum with the notations. However, I also managed to add some new words to the actual manuscript. I don't recall writing as much as the software program said I did, but somehow I added 651 words. I'm curious to find out where the word count will end with this. I'm thinking between 40-50k after everything's said and done. Quite a bit shorter than Shadow Cat, but a gal's entitled to a novella. Anyway, I've been posting a few excerpts of my rough draft, Chasing Shadows. You're welcome to a looksee in my Free Reads section.




Write the Sex scene for Control Freak: Regina's Story. Didn't do again this week.


Do the first round of edits on Unprotected. Didn't work on this at all this week. In fact, the motivation to finish it is waning the more time that passes. Perhaps this will be my skeleton work.


March: TBD

Might work on Trinity's Awakening
Might edit Alley Cat


Bonus Goal: Work on New Adult novel

Maintaining 100+ words a day over at Word Count Union. This is on top of any other goals I have. I'm really liking it. I figured at 100 words a day, I'll finish this novel this year. Still going strong! Last check-in I was at 26,842. As of today, I'm at 28,374. I have a feeling, I'll finish the first draft of this by the first week of March.

All in all, this has been a wonderful week. I've done little blog surfing, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to keep writing motivation high.

For those of you who are interested in keeping track of ROW80 participants, head over to the linky.

Stray Cat Excerpt Ch 1 S 4

Okay. So this completes chapter 1 of Chasing Shadows. Like I said, this is rough, but it's a scene I'm 99.9% sure is a keeper. If you didn't get an opportunity to read the first three scenes, feel free to have a looksee (Scene 1, Scene 2, and Scene 3).

Chasing Shadows
Chapter 1 Scene 4

Kecil woke with a start to the dim trickle of light filtering through the thick canopy of trees. A numbing hollowness consumed her as last night returned to her like a fading nightmare, blotting out any brightness the sun might offer.

She rose to her feet and brushed away the dirt caked to her stinging shoulder, the least of her pain, and took stock of the area.

For the first time, she noticed a peculiar smell, slightly sweet, familiar but with a hint of decay. She traced the scent to a goliath of a tree and circled it.

A binturong, dead, its back twisted abnormally lay in the dirt. She stepped closer.

"Rwarrrr."

She jumped back and stumbled in her retreat, her heart thudding in her chest as she scrambled backward, her heels finding no traction scraped the dirt. From behind the corpse, a miniature, whiskered face appeared and hissed.

She took a deep breath, calming herself as she stood and returned with cautious steps. Holding out her hand she approached the baby binturong no larger than a newborn wehr-tiger cub.

Its fur bristled as she neared and its hiss turned to a growl, it lips pulled back revealing tiny fanged teeth.

"It's okay. I'm alone too." Only inches away, she jerked back as it snapped at her fingers. She tackled it, clamping its mouth shut with one hand while holding it tight to her body.

It spit and hissed as it thrashed for freedom, scratching her stomach and arms, but in the end the small cub's size was no match for her. Defeated, its struggles slowed though its body remained tense.

"That's better," she cooed, releasing its muzzle, letting her hand slide over its head.

It turned to sneak in a bite, but missed. Eyes wide, teeth bared, it snarled as she pet it until eventually it quieted and turning its head into the caress.

"I'll take care of you now," she said.

"Find him! He couldn't have gone far." Gemuk's voice called out.

She scanned the area and found the small handful of mated males in her clan approaching, combing the area—all of the men, except her father. If he'd been here protecting his territory, her mother would be here today… waiting in her hut when Kecil returned. Her teeth ached as she clenched them. Why wasn't he here?

"What are you doing out here?" Kasut asked from behind her.

She spun around and craned her neck to look at him, a giant of a man, like her father, like all of the men in her clan.

His eyes flicked to the binturong in her hands and twitched. "Go back to the village. It's not safe here."

"Did you find him?" Gemuk's mouth hung open as he breathed heavily staring at Kasut. He focused on her, his eyes narrowing. "Get that runt out of here. She's nothing but trouble… like her mother."

Kecil's eyes smarted and she fought to swallow the lump welling in her throat.

"He escaped—the killer." Kasut nodded toward the village. "Get out of here."

She edged by Kasut and ran. Leaving behind the scrutiny of Gemuk, she sought the safety of the village, prize in hand.

No Review: The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

This will probably be the first week since I started reviewing books that I actually won't have one. Honestly, I just haven't been pu to reading lately. I just recently found my motivation to write after letting the bombardment of emails sink me. Not that you folks are worried, but I'm back on track again with my writing and making excellent progress. Since I've failed to give you a review today, I thought it'd be nice to share what I'm reading anyway. The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook.

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power — and fear — of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

Mina can't afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys's lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke's ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.

But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans — and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

As of this post, I'm on page 82. So far so good. My questions so far are:

Who exactly are the Horde? I understand what they did, but I don't understand why. Also, what is so different about them physically? When I think of horde, I think World of Warcraft and Everquest. Are they trolls, ogres, and goblins?

And what's the Duke's problem? He comes on a little strong, and I can't understand why he's so insistent. It might just be Brook's style since I had a hard time understanding Machen's motivation in "Here There Be Monsters" (review here) also.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the book so far.

ld like to know more about the Horde. I understand what they

did, but I don't understand why. Also, what is so different about

them physically? When I think of horde, I think WOW and EQ. Are

they trolls, ogres, and goblins?

And what's the Duke's problem? He comes on a little strong, and I

can't understand why he's so insistent.

The Pile Up

It seems like forever since I've done my last mailbox post. Like a good girl, I've slowed down on purchases. Yay me! The first two books I believe I preordered, so even that's kind of good, right? So, let's see what goodies we have.

Like I said, this was a preorder. Nalini Singh's Psi/Changeling series used to be on my instant buy list. Then came the Guild Hunter, which turned into an instant buy also. Only the third in the series, I'm hoping for a winner here. Hopefully her next Guild Hunter book will be an auto-purchase also. But we'll see.

Next up, Dreams of a Dark Warrior. Kresley Cole has NEVER let me down, and I'm hoping for greatness with this work also. I'm in the middle of Meljean Brook's Iron Duke, but this book is definitely next. Kresley Cole is one of those authors who currently has a place at the top of my to-read list no matter what's on my plate. Yes, she's that good, and I highly recommend her. I'm such a pessimist and keep expecting her to blow it, but she continues to draw me in with each story. Way to go, Ms. Cole!

This round I also received a couple of complimentary copies from authors. Woot!

Last month I read Space Junque (review here). It was my first space opera, and I rather enjoyed it. I was pretty lucky Ms. Rigel offered her next novella to me. I had quite a few questions after the first novella and knew Space Junque was only the tip of the iceberg. Beautiful artwork, don't you think?

It's been forever since I'd read a thriller. I used to be really into them, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Peter Straub… then the I started having nightmares. When I read the blurb for Reunion it really drew me, in a sick twisted, I'm asking for trouble kind of way. Reunion doesn't release until May 1, so hopefully I'll have time to build up my courage. Wish me pleasant dreams. Yikes!

Guest Post: Joleene Naylor ~ Transforming Cover Art into a Wraparound

Today I'm turning the blog over to Joleene Naylor—Artist, Author, Photographer—she's just got her hands in so many pots. Welcome her as she simplifies cover art for us do it yourselfers.

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In December Reena hosted a blog about how to find an artist to create your book cover.  But, what if you later decide to move that ebook into a paper back?

A paperback book has to have a full, wraparound cover. In other words there has to be material for the front, spine and the back of the book. This might sound daunting, but don't sweat it. Anyone can turn their ebook cover into a full-fledged wrap around

The easiest way to make your cover is to use the cover creator in your POD of choice. (Some have better directions than others, though the programs are essentially the same, so you can use the superior FAQ at LuLu- http://www.lulu.com/en/help/covers_faq.  ) Import the front cover into the cover creator and then you can create the back cover in the online program, or make a back cover as a single image (the same way you did the front cover), then place the images correctly and, voile! You're all done. However, cover creators don't allow you to import images for the spine. If you try to, it will simply place them on the front cover instead. This includes logos.

Before you jump into your back cover there are a few things to consider. For starters, it needs to match the front cover. You don't want a purple back and a primarily yellow front.  Be careful of using full sized images, as well, because it's usually hard to read words over the top of them, unless you understand opacities and layers in your art program.

But what exactly do you need to put on your back cover?

1-    The bar code. Most POD places will provide that for you.

2-    Your copyright information (example: © Publication year Your Name/ All Rights Reserved). Near the left hand corner is a good place.

3-    You may also want to include a link to your website. If you capitalize keywords it makes your URL easier to remember: prettypinkponies vs PrettyPinkPonies.

4-    Most important is your "description". It can be a blurb, a small excerpt, a hook, the description you used on Amazon, whatever.  But, remember, it is the meat and potatoes of the back cover, and everything else is the gravy. You don't want any of the design elements to interfere with the readability.

If you have space left over, you may wish to include an author bio, a photo, or even "other books by".  Whichever you choose, don't turn it into a long, laundry list. Only mention a couple of books that pertain to this one (eg the same genre) or that have sold the most copies.  The reader can always look inside the book for the list of your other titles.

Whether you're adding that author photo, using a decorative image, or just making the whole thing and then uploading it, there are some things you need to remember:

1-    Make sure you have permission or a license for the image

2-    Don't use blurry webcam type photos. They don't print well.

3-    Make sure all your images are 300 DPI. Smaller images will print badly.

The most important thing to remember is this; book covers aren't scary. They're an extension of your book, and they should be as much fun to make as your book was to craft. If you find yourself frustrated, angry, or upset, then take a breather and come back to it later, or get some help.  If you hate the cover, everyone else will, too.

Have you done a paperback cover? What worked for you? What didn't work?

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Bio: Joleene Naylor is a freelance artist and author of the eBook How to Get a Cheap Book Cover and the Amaranthine vampire series. Her current projects include Ties of Blood, the third in the series, a collection of short stories titled Vampire Morsels, and The Terrible Turtle Conspiracy webcomic. In her free time she creates book covers for other authors, blogs and waits patiently to win the lottery. Learn more about her at her website: http://JoleeneNaylor.com

A Round of Words in 80 Days #ROW80 – Update 7

Okay. I'll start by saying, I've pretty much failed horribly with all but one of my goals since the last update. I have an idea of what the issue is, so let's just go over that first. Email. Oh my word, the emails are doing me in. I've become a subscription whore, and the constant updates are bombarding me. I wake up each day with anywhere between 30-50 emails, and they just keep coming throughout the day. I barely keep up with them. And keeping up with my other obligations have just fallen to the wayside.

So today is a catch up day. I have a couple of obligations I've failed to meet over the last two days. I'm such a loser and owe some apologizes. Then I'm going to start unsubscribing to pretty much EVERYTHING. I'm going to try my best not to subscribe for the rest of February. I truly want to finish Chasing Shadows this month and will have a hard time doing it if I know emails are lurking. So that's that. Now to the progress I've made over the last 7 days.

February:

Finish the first draft of Stray Cat

In order to accomplish my goal of finishing Stray Cat (working title, by the way… I'm leaning towards "Chasing Shadows"), I need to write 1k words a day. I started this update at 25,610. Now I'm at 27,436 words. I'd decreased the my obligation to 500 words/day last week. I only hit that goal once and in fact didn't write at all one day. With my unsubscribe goal for today, I hope to do better next week.


Write the Sex scene for Control Freak: Regina's Story. Didn't do again this week.


Do the first round of edits on Unprotected. I worked on this a little.


March: TBD

Might work on Trinity's Awakening
Might edit Alley Cat


Bonus Goal: Work on New Adult novel

Maintaining 100+ words a day over at Word Count Union. This is on top of any other goals I have. I'm really liking it. I figured at 100 words a day, I'll finish this novel this year. Still going strong! Last check-in I was at 25,768. As of today, I'm at 26,842. I'm really feeling great about this piece. It'll end up being a novella, so I might find myself editing it about the same time I get to my first round of edits for Chasing Shadows. Plus, it's a lot cleaner draft.

So, utter failure this week. But I have a plan to do better this week, starting with unsubscribing from pretty much everything. Gotta slow down those emails, cause I have a hard time concentrating knowing I'm backed up.

For those of you who are interested in keeping track of ROW80 participants, head over to the linky.

Stray Cat Excerpt Chapter 1 Scene 3

If you didn't get an opportunity to read the first two scenes, feel free to have a looksee (Scene 1 and Scene 2). This scene in introduces my heroine to the game. She's quite young, just 12-13 at the time. Just as a reminder, this is 6 years before the next chapter, so she has a bit of growing up to do. Again, this chapter is raw and less than edited, so don't be surprised if you find a few mistakes or funky wording. Enjoy

Chasing Shadows
Chapter 1 Scene 3

The transient male cried out, silencing the night sounds of the nocturnal creatures. Kecil shrunk back and covered her ears against his tormented sounds. Still, she couldn't turn away from his face. Distorted from beatings the males issued before they dragged him through the village and tied him to the rock, his features were unrecognizable as they contorted in pain.

He arched his back as Kasut struck him, though the rattan cords held him spread eagle, preventing him from transforming into a tiger, lest he break his limbs in the process. A pattern formed on his chest, first angry red stripes, crisscrossing, then as the flesh weakened ragged nicks appeared. The cane bit deeper and deeper, cutting into his skin until the soft tissue was raw and bloody, leaving deep grooves which puckered around the gashes.

His struggles grew less frantic until finally he stilled.

Kasut brought the cane down a last time then wiped his brow, his chest heaving.

"What are you doing?" Gemuk strode into the clearing, the weight of his body making his steps audible.

"He passed out."

"Then wake him again. I'm not finished." He grabbed the cane and pushed Kasut away. Gemuk weighed the stick in his hands then dipped the rattan in a basket of brine, increasing its flexibility, intensifying the torture.

Kasut worked on rousing the male, slapping his bloated face.

He groaned, his eyes flickering.

A smile formed on Gemuk's face as he turned to the barely conscious male.

Kecil had seen enough. She walked through the village and passed her mother's hut, refusing to look inside, the dwelling as lifeless and vacant as… She couldn't sleep here, not tonight. Increasing her pace, she left the village behind, running from the slap of wood against flesh, from the screams, and from him—her mother's killer.

She ran deeper into the rainforest, a stitch in her side forming, echoing the pain steadily growing in her heart. Her vision blurred, but the wind dried the tear as fast as they fell, leaving the skin on her cheeks tight and pasting the hairs of her lashes into a fuzzy mass.

She raced. Bounding over a decaying stump, her toe snagged and she fell. Her shoulder scraped along the forest floor as she skidded to a stop. Too exhausted to move, she lay curled on her side and cried… broken and alone.

Novel Review: Double Cross by Carolyn Crane

Despite absolutely loving Mind Games (see review here), it took me awhile to get around to ordering Double Cross by Carolyn Crane. I think part of the reason was the lapse in time between the time I read Mind Games and the release of Double Cross. Some of the excitement faded as other new releases hit the shelves. I don't know why I'm rambling about this. To the blurb!

SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT.

OTHERS COME TO KILL…

Justine Jones has lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she's lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard. He gifts her with extraordinary mental powers-dooming her to fight Midcity's shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.

But now, serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard – and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity's new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will.

As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men . . . one on a journey of redemption, and the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

So the saga continues with Justine, my favorite hypochondriac. After reading Double Cross, I have to say, Mind Games is still my favorite in the series. Double Cross wasn't bad, I think it just lacked the newness I experienced with Mind Games.

Justine was pretty much the same gal from the prior book. It wasn't until the she was backed into a corner that she put her foot down. I don't know if I'd call it character growth, but more on the lines that everyone has limits.

She spent a lot of time getting to understand the inner workings of Packard and Otto. In many ways, Double Cross seemed to be more about those two guys than Justine. This time around I learned so much more about the men in her life. The actions they were willing to take in order to come out on top amazed me. I loved them; I hated them. Packard really showed some character growth, while Otto made quite a showing for himself also. Well, I want to go into more detail, but everything which pops into my head is a spolier, so I'll just leave it at that.

(Sub)plots: The early parts of the novel reintroduced me to the secondary characters. Definitely something I needed considering how long it'd been since I'd read Mind Games, even if it did make for a slow start. I'd say the subplots were mostly setups for the grand finale which ended in a cliffhanger. And what cliffhanger it was. When Justine was saying, "Oh my God" so was I. I'm more than curious to know how this trilogy will end.

A couple of my favorite lines:

"If you ignore me and nobody's there to see it, are you really ignoring me?"
"Sometimes you have to be a bad person to save yourself, and it takes a little chunk out of your soul, but you do it anyway."

So like I said, I didn't like it as much as Mind Games, but it was still pretty decent.

Guest Post: Anthony Izzo Examines Indie V. Traditional

Traditional or Indie?
By
Anthony Izzo

With the increasing popularity of Amazon Kindle and similar e book readers, it's easier than ever to become a published author. But is it better to get into print first? Or should you go independent and publish your own work? There are advantages and disadvantages to both routes.

I sold three horror novels to Kensington's Pinnacle imprint. Kensington treated me fairly, and validated my writing. Once I sold to Kensington, I knew I could sell to a professional market.  Writing for them also taught me a great deal about editing my own work, an invaluable skill.

A traditional publishing contract gives you credibility. Your writing is deemed to be of professional quality. With a traditional publisher, the writer gets a fair amount of exposure and distribution to the big chains. However, unless the publisher is giving you a big push, most of the marketing and publicity falls on the writer.  Being under contract with a publisher also means giving up a good portion of your rights to the book, possibly for years.

Control of your work is also an issue. The publisher has the right to change your title and request revisions as they see fit. The writer may also be bound to writing a certain type of book. Once a writer is labeled with a certain genre, that's what the publisher is going to want.

Publishers also don't like parting with their money very often. Contracts are structured so the writer gets paid every six months. This is assuming your book has earned out its advance at all.

Enter e-books. The biggest drawback to publishing independently is lack of editing, but this can be learned. There are hundreds of how-to books on writing fiction, but it's tough to replace a professional editor.

The freedom of independent publishing is the biggest draw for most writers. Want to write that epic fantasy you've had in your head and follow it up with a historical romance? You can do it. It's all on the table.  The writer can have control over cover art (something you have no say in with a traditional publisher), distribution, and marketing of the work.

E-books are also flexible. Cover art can be changed, errors can be fixed, and the book can be re-published.  With traditional publishing, once the book is in galley form (the way it will look when published), it's pretty much carved in stone.  And unlike print books, e-books have no shelf life and never go out of print.

If you want creative control of your work and are willing to handle editing, formatting, cover art, and marketing, e-books are for you. Make sure your work is polished and ready to go. Learn the craft and the basics, such as spelling and grammar. No one will buy a shoddy book, no matter how good your premise sounds.

Electronic publishing has changed the game. Publishers and agents will always have a role, but the balance of power has shifted to the writer.  Writers are in control of their own work, and the royalty structure of e-book platforms allows the author to claim a larger percentage of the profits than ever before.  If you're willing to learn the craft and present a professional-looking product, there's no reason not to give it a shot.

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Anthony Izzo's latest book is NO ESCAPE, a supernatural thriller. It's available through Amazon.com and Smashwords.com. Find him horrifying people on the web at www.anthonyizzo.com.  You can also follow Tony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AIzzo

A Round of Words in 80 Days #ROW80 – Update 6

So here we are, the second update in February. Before I get into the update (I did a lousy job with my goals, by the way), I'll boast about what I have accomplished. Shadow Cat will soon be in print. Yay! I worked my butt off getting the formatting right. It's certainly not as simple as uploading a piece to Smashwords, Pubit, or DTP. That's for sure. I had to relearn how to suppress headers on the chapter pages. That was a pain. I'm sure there's an easier method than what I did. Next time I'll be formatting for print first time around rather than going back later. Then again, I guess digital doesn't really work well with page numbers. Oh well. blah blah blah. Moving on to #ROW80 goals.

February:

Finish the first draft of Stray Cat

In order to accomplish my goal of finishing Stray Cat (working title, by the way… I'm leaning towards "Chasing Shadows"), I need to write 1k words a day. I started this update at 24,106. Now I'm at 25,610 words. Complete failure on this one. I think there was a day or two I didn't even write. Most days I only wrote 300-400 words. Anyway, I'm modifying this goal. The 1k words is not working for me. Yeah laziness is getting in the way. These days I'm just not feeling it. I swear it's like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for words to fill the novel. So anyway, I'm cutting the goal back to 500 words/day. I'd originally planned this to be novel length. However, I only have about 10 scenes left. Unless something really hits me, I only see this work squeezing another 10-15k words from me with the first draft. Who knows how it'll flesh out during the editing and revising stage. I tend to add, but this time around I see myself cutting. Wow! I've rambled longer than I intended.


Write the Sex scene for Control Freak: Regina's Story. Didn't do again this week. Yeah I suck.


Do the first round of edits on Unprotected. Another fail.


March: TBD

Might work on Trinity's Awakening
Might edit Alley Cat


Bonus Goal: Work on New Adult novel

Maintaining 100+ words a day over at Word Count Union. This is on top of any other goals I have. I'm really liking it. I figured at 100 words a day, I'll finish this novel this year. Still going strong! Last check-in I was at 24,561. As of today, I'm at 25,768. I'm still loving this novel though I did have a few slow days.

Really this whole week has lagged. I've been so unmotivated and overwhelmed with responsibilities. Or imaginary responsibilities that is. I hate my email, which has been piling up. I've oversubscribed. I think it's time to do some weeding. One thing I need to realize is I can't keep up with all the writer blogs out there. Not if I'm going to accomplish anything productive. So that's that.

For those of you who are interested in keeping track of ROW80 participants, head over to the linky.