Kay Iscah's Blog, page 11
June 17, 2013
Pink and Green Lions
I wound up over at author Christina Paul's blog today, and one of the things she does is present 10 minute writing challenges. Normally I have too much writing to do already to take time for challenges like this, but it was ten minutes. So I gave it a try and answered the prompt "One time my best friend and I…". This is what came out of my head:
One time my best friend and I race each other on the backs of lions. The lions were striped pink and green and wore feathered caps in the style of Robin Hood. The first lion was named Hathgar, and the second called Horace. I must admit Horace was my favorite. He had a roar that could summon every bird from five miles around.
Hathgar on the other hand had a roar that could summon every fish for ten miles, which would have been far more useful if we lived anywhere near water.
So Hathgar sometimes got a little jealous of Horace and would nip him on the tail. For this reason Horace usually let Hathgar stay a little ahead of him while we raced.
Well, one day we were racing over a bridge, and an earthquake happened. The bridge cracked, and we all fell in the water. Horace roared, but none of the birds could manage to lift us out. The lions were far too heavy you see.
We were in fear of drowning, but then Hathgar roared and all the fishes came from miles around. And while none of the could have lifted us individually, they all clustered together very tightly and created an underwater bridge, more like a conveyor belt, for fish must always be moving. And soon we were safe on shore.
After this Hathgar's jealousy was abated, for he realized his own talent was every bit as useful as Horace's.
I'm not sure if I should be glad I was able to draw the story to a resolution or worried about how the pink and green lions got their Robin Hood hats...
One time my best friend and I race each other on the backs of lions. The lions were striped pink and green and wore feathered caps in the style of Robin Hood. The first lion was named Hathgar, and the second called Horace. I must admit Horace was my favorite. He had a roar that could summon every bird from five miles around.
Hathgar on the other hand had a roar that could summon every fish for ten miles, which would have been far more useful if we lived anywhere near water.
So Hathgar sometimes got a little jealous of Horace and would nip him on the tail. For this reason Horace usually let Hathgar stay a little ahead of him while we raced.
Well, one day we were racing over a bridge, and an earthquake happened. The bridge cracked, and we all fell in the water. Horace roared, but none of the birds could manage to lift us out. The lions were far too heavy you see.
We were in fear of drowning, but then Hathgar roared and all the fishes came from miles around. And while none of the could have lifted us individually, they all clustered together very tightly and created an underwater bridge, more like a conveyor belt, for fish must always be moving. And soon we were safe on shore.
After this Hathgar's jealousy was abated, for he realized his own talent was every bit as useful as Horace's.
I'm not sure if I should be glad I was able to draw the story to a resolution or worried about how the pink and green lions got their Robin Hood hats...
Reflecting on Credit Cards
Article: Yes, Credit Cards Are Making You a Bad Person
This article explores the downside of society going cashless.
I don't think it's wise to blame the tool, but it is wise to respect the effect is may have on us and guard against bad financial behavior.
The trouble with becoming a fully credit based society is that it will make transactions more difficult for start up businesses and individuals (Could you imagine trying to a yardsale using credit cards?), and as the article points out, merchant fees may increase the cost of products for all customers.
This article explores the downside of society going cashless.
I don't think it's wise to blame the tool, but it is wise to respect the effect is may have on us and guard against bad financial behavior.
The trouble with becoming a fully credit based society is that it will make transactions more difficult for start up businesses and individuals (Could you imagine trying to a yardsale using credit cards?), and as the article points out, merchant fees may increase the cost of products for all customers.
June 14, 2013
Horse Feathers Ch.12 and A Backwards Story
It's 2a.m., and I'm wide awake. So I uploaded Horse Feathers Chapter 12. Maybe this will make up for being so late last week.
"The Girl With No Name" was featured along with some other cheap/free ebook yesterday on the blog A Backwards Story in 35 Great Ebook Deals under $2.99! .
And today is Free Download Day number 3.
I need to go bed so I can finish yardsale setup tomorrow morning and go to Hypericon in the afternoon. We had a lot of boxes, so I was worried I'd never get it all out. But most of the boxes were presorted, and that helps a lot. It also helps that I decided not to put out Christmas items...at least not unless another table magically appears.
"The Girl With No Name" was featured along with some other cheap/free ebook yesterday on the blog A Backwards Story in 35 Great Ebook Deals under $2.99! .
And today is Free Download Day number 3.
I need to go bed so I can finish yardsale setup tomorrow morning and go to Hypericon in the afternoon. We had a lot of boxes, so I was worried I'd never get it all out. But most of the boxes were presorted, and that helps a lot. It also helps that I decided not to put out Christmas items...at least not unless another table magically appears.
June 11, 2013
New T-shirt Design
I'm playing with this silhouette style for quote shirts, but I have admit there's something missing from this one:
In my original concept for this shirt, there was a broom and the quote was more prominent. But the broom seemed too cliché. If you like this variation, snag it quick, cause I'll probably revisit this design once my tablet is working again.
In other news, Seventh Night now has a Facebook fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/BeforeTheFairytale
I may rework how I do Facebook again. Be a little more selective with my friending. It'll still probably be something I use for casual acquaintances and potential contacts/friends, but I won't try to treat it as a fanpage anymore. I will probably still link my blog updates, cause this is what I love and do and Facebook is a fairly efficient way to let people know what I'm up to.
In my original concept for this shirt, there was a broom and the quote was more prominent. But the broom seemed too cliché. If you like this variation, snag it quick, cause I'll probably revisit this design once my tablet is working again.In other news, Seventh Night now has a Facebook fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/BeforeTheFairytale
I may rework how I do Facebook again. Be a little more selective with my friending. It'll still probably be something I use for casual acquaintances and potential contacts/friends, but I won't try to treat it as a fanpage anymore. I will probably still link my blog updates, cause this is what I love and do and Facebook is a fairly efficient way to let people know what I'm up to.
June 7, 2013
Another Free Friday and Horse Feathers Chapter 11
It's up a bit later in the day than usual, but I did get Horse Feather's Chapter 11 posted.
It's the second free download Friday for "Before the Fairytale: A Girl With No Name" on Kindle.
It was #12,000 and something this morning on Amazon's Free in Kindle Store and now it's jumped up to #3,022. So that's pretty cool. I'd love for it to make the top 100, but I'm in this for the long haul, so just glad to know people are getting introduced to the story.
I'm hoping to go to Hypericon next weekend. I found out about it too late to host any panels, but who knows. Will be fun to check out something so book focused.
Edit: Got into the #2,000s before the night was over.
It's the second free download Friday for "Before the Fairytale: A Girl With No Name" on Kindle.
It was #12,000 and something this morning on Amazon's Free in Kindle Store and now it's jumped up to #3,022. So that's pretty cool. I'd love for it to make the top 100, but I'm in this for the long haul, so just glad to know people are getting introduced to the story.
I'm hoping to go to Hypericon next weekend. I found out about it too late to host any panels, but who knows. Will be fun to check out something so book focused.
Edit: Got into the #2,000s before the night was over.
Another Free Friday and Horse Feather Chapter 11
It's up a bit later in the day than usual, but I did get Horse Feather's Chapter 11 posted.
It's the second free download Friday for "Before the Fairytale: A Girl With No Name" on Kindle.
It was #12,000 and something this morning on Amazon's Free in Kindle Store and now it's jumped up to #3,022. So that's pretty cool. I'd love for it to make the top 100, but I'm in this for the long haul, so just glad to know people are getting introduced to the story.
I'm hoping to go to Hypericon next weekend. I found out about it too late to host any panels, but who knows. Will be fun to check out something so book focused.
It's the second free download Friday for "Before the Fairytale: A Girl With No Name" on Kindle.
It was #12,000 and something this morning on Amazon's Free in Kindle Store and now it's jumped up to #3,022. So that's pretty cool. I'd love for it to make the top 100, but I'm in this for the long haul, so just glad to know people are getting introduced to the story.
I'm hoping to go to Hypericon next weekend. I found out about it too late to host any panels, but who knows. Will be fun to check out something so book focused.
Free Kindle Downloads
This is self-promotion but also a thrift tip. My fantasy novella "The Girl With No Name" is out for free download on Kindle today and every Friday in June.
Offering free days has become a fairly common way for new authors to promote their work. Kindle has several classic books no longer up for copyright that you can download for free. And you don't necessarily need a Kindle to take advantage of these free books, since the Kindle shop also has a free app for PCs and other devices.
New authors do this to let the public sample their work, so if you like a new book that you download for free, it's nice to let other people know that you liked the book. Not required, but most authors (even those with traditional publishers) rely heavily on word of mouth for promotion.
I don't think ebooks are going to entirely replace print, but I think we're going to see an ebooks first trend increase. This gives publishers an environmentally friendly and cost effective way to see if books get a strong enough public reaction to support a print run.
Offering free days has become a fairly common way for new authors to promote their work. Kindle has several classic books no longer up for copyright that you can download for free. And you don't necessarily need a Kindle to take advantage of these free books, since the Kindle shop also has a free app for PCs and other devices.
New authors do this to let the public sample their work, so if you like a new book that you download for free, it's nice to let other people know that you liked the book. Not required, but most authors (even those with traditional publishers) rely heavily on word of mouth for promotion.
I don't think ebooks are going to entirely replace print, but I think we're going to see an ebooks first trend increase. This gives publishers an environmentally friendly and cost effective way to see if books get a strong enough public reaction to support a print run.
June 6, 2013
Fantasy Barn Review Read "The Girl With No Name"!
And it was good. Here are some highlights:
"This short book is a delight from start to finish. It’s written in traditional fairytale style, beginning with ‘Once upon a time...’, with a charming simplicity which hides a great deal under the surface...
". . . a refreshing change of pace from grittier adult fantasy . . . "
- Pauline M Ross "Fantasy Review Barn"
"This short book is a delight from start to finish. It’s written in traditional fairytale style, beginning with ‘Once upon a time...’, with a charming simplicity which hides a great deal under the surface...
". . . a refreshing change of pace from grittier adult fantasy . . . "
- Pauline M Ross "Fantasy Review Barn"
June 5, 2013
Embarassing Mistake #3
I knew despite all the proofreading there was a chance that something had slipped through. I thought I at least had the front cover down. Not the best cover on earth, but a nice little serviceable cover for Kindle, with the title, etc. And then yesterday someone asked me if I had intended to spell it "Fairytail:"...
face/palm
I held onto some grain of hope that this would be like before and I'd just sent her an outdated thumbnail, but nope, it's on every version of the image.
So despite my computer's suicidal inclinations, I rushed to reinstall Photoshop and fix the file, uploaded it to Kindle, and sent updated versions to every review blog I had submitted a book cover thumbnail. I then had to wait up to 12 hours until Kindle updated.
In the interest of staying sane, I called it a night and spent a couple hours play Zelda on Game Cube.
I'm happy to report it's fixed now. I need to hunt about the web and update the image on a couple other places, but ugh. Not the professional impression I was going for...
face/palm
I held onto some grain of hope that this would be like before and I'd just sent her an outdated thumbnail, but nope, it's on every version of the image.
So despite my computer's suicidal inclinations, I rushed to reinstall Photoshop and fix the file, uploaded it to Kindle, and sent updated versions to every review blog I had submitted a book cover thumbnail. I then had to wait up to 12 hours until Kindle updated.
In the interest of staying sane, I called it a night and spent a couple hours play Zelda on Game Cube.
I'm happy to report it's fixed now. I need to hunt about the web and update the image on a couple other places, but ugh. Not the professional impression I was going for...
June 4, 2013
Embarassing mistake #2
So after I announced to the internet that I had mistyped my typo reporting address, I went to fix it this morning, and it was fine. I had mistyped in an earlier draft, but the uploaded version is okay. Meh.
Off to buy a flash drive or portable hard drive this morning. My computer is have BIOS issues, so I need to back everything up. None of my design programs are working right now, which makes updating the cafepress shop tricky. Hopefully I can get things straightened out in a simple way. Pray for me / wish me luck.
Off to buy a flash drive or portable hard drive this morning. My computer is have BIOS issues, so I need to back everything up. None of my design programs are working right now, which makes updating the cafepress shop tricky. Hopefully I can get things straightened out in a simple way. Pray for me / wish me luck.
