Lily Neon Vagabond's Blog, page 18
November 12, 2012
How to Have Fun Writing Fiction
Be a geek. Really, it's the only way.
I've seen many aspiring writers complain about the more technical side of creative writing. I freely admit I also feel worn out by being so conscience about grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting. It's all very tiring and downright overwhelming.
Many of the complaints I've seen and heard pertains to a rhetorical question, why do I have to bother with all this tedious work? Readers don't even care as long as it's a great book!
Well, it's a two-part answer. One, all those technical details are half the fun of creative writing. And yes, it is supposed to be hard work. If it were easy, we'd all be international best-sellers living in mansions. So of course there's hard work involved.
Two, communication. From an artistic perspective, technical details such as proper grammar are communication tools. Unless these tools are used in the right way that's appropriate for the story, the story itself with never be communicated. It will never matter how brilliant and original the story idea might be, without those communication tools the story will seem like bad writing and not worth the effort of reading.
It was Thomas Edison who said, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
For writers of fiction, the technical side is the 99%. There aren't any shortcuts, no easier way of jumping to the end and reaping the rewards. That's life.
There is such thing as taking the technical a little too far, but that depends on the type of author and also the type of fiction. I write emotionally-driven stories. If someone who saw my writing said, wrong modifier or too many filters, they might as well speak gibberish to me. Yes, I know what these technical terms mean, but because my stories are founded on emotional connections, any feedback I might receive also has to provide, at least in a small way, an emotional connection. That's my chosen language for writing.
Now back to the title of this article. How do you have fun writing? I memorize the things needed for the 99% so I can sit back and enjoy the 1%.
And that's more than enough for me.
I've seen many aspiring writers complain about the more technical side of creative writing. I freely admit I also feel worn out by being so conscience about grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting. It's all very tiring and downright overwhelming.
Many of the complaints I've seen and heard pertains to a rhetorical question, why do I have to bother with all this tedious work? Readers don't even care as long as it's a great book!
Well, it's a two-part answer. One, all those technical details are half the fun of creative writing. And yes, it is supposed to be hard work. If it were easy, we'd all be international best-sellers living in mansions. So of course there's hard work involved.
Two, communication. From an artistic perspective, technical details such as proper grammar are communication tools. Unless these tools are used in the right way that's appropriate for the story, the story itself with never be communicated. It will never matter how brilliant and original the story idea might be, without those communication tools the story will seem like bad writing and not worth the effort of reading.
It was Thomas Edison who said, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
For writers of fiction, the technical side is the 99%. There aren't any shortcuts, no easier way of jumping to the end and reaping the rewards. That's life.
There is such thing as taking the technical a little too far, but that depends on the type of author and also the type of fiction. I write emotionally-driven stories. If someone who saw my writing said, wrong modifier or too many filters, they might as well speak gibberish to me. Yes, I know what these technical terms mean, but because my stories are founded on emotional connections, any feedback I might receive also has to provide, at least in a small way, an emotional connection. That's my chosen language for writing.
Now back to the title of this article. How do you have fun writing? I memorize the things needed for the 99% so I can sit back and enjoy the 1%.
And that's more than enough for me.
November 2, 2012
Cultural Adverbs
I wrote an article about the advantages of not using adverbs and how that approach can be related to boosting word count. You can see the article here:
Adverbs and Word Count
This time around, I want to talk about Cultural Adverbs.
So many conflicts I've seen on the internet, often results from culture clash. Different cultural beliefs, religion, politics, genres of art, the list goes on. The internet can be universally accessible, but there's no such thing as an accepted universal internet format.
In British and Australian fiction, the occasional adverb is fine. Sometimes adverbs are expected, because it's on a cultural level. In North America (I'm not going to say the U.S. only because it's the same in the whole continent, and hey! Canadian, here!), adverbs are generally frowned upon because an abundance of adverbs makes for a harder sell in North American culture.
However, I've noticed adverbs in American novels, based in the U.S., and written by American authors. Jack Ketchum, for example, a very good horror writer, uses adverbs, though it's rare. From what I've read of Ketchum, maybe one or two adverbs in a whole novel. This creates an interesting effect. Because his use of adverbs is so rare within such dark and scary stories, when one is used, it creates a powerful dramatic effect.
So whenever I hear from writers who claim adverbs are oh so bad, big no-no, and you must be a terrible writer for daring to use a single adverb in a 60,000 word novel... I know that's simply not true.
This goes with my previous article about Was and Had. It comes down to grammar in fiction, which is not about using the exact right words, it's about how the words are used. Context, it's all about context.
Every single word in any fiction writing, needs to be there for a good reason. Using adverbs to replace writing a full paragraph of description, isn't a good reason and some would call it laziness. However, using adverbs for emphasis of a specific aspect within a story, whether it's drama or a needed pause, is a good reason and many would call this good crafting.
Adverbs and Word Count
This time around, I want to talk about Cultural Adverbs.
So many conflicts I've seen on the internet, often results from culture clash. Different cultural beliefs, religion, politics, genres of art, the list goes on. The internet can be universally accessible, but there's no such thing as an accepted universal internet format.
In British and Australian fiction, the occasional adverb is fine. Sometimes adverbs are expected, because it's on a cultural level. In North America (I'm not going to say the U.S. only because it's the same in the whole continent, and hey! Canadian, here!), adverbs are generally frowned upon because an abundance of adverbs makes for a harder sell in North American culture.
However, I've noticed adverbs in American novels, based in the U.S., and written by American authors. Jack Ketchum, for example, a very good horror writer, uses adverbs, though it's rare. From what I've read of Ketchum, maybe one or two adverbs in a whole novel. This creates an interesting effect. Because his use of adverbs is so rare within such dark and scary stories, when one is used, it creates a powerful dramatic effect.
So whenever I hear from writers who claim adverbs are oh so bad, big no-no, and you must be a terrible writer for daring to use a single adverb in a 60,000 word novel... I know that's simply not true.
This goes with my previous article about Was and Had. It comes down to grammar in fiction, which is not about using the exact right words, it's about how the words are used. Context, it's all about context.
Every single word in any fiction writing, needs to be there for a good reason. Using adverbs to replace writing a full paragraph of description, isn't a good reason and some would call it laziness. However, using adverbs for emphasis of a specific aspect within a story, whether it's drama or a needed pause, is a good reason and many would call this good crafting.
November 1, 2012
Was and Had and Setting the Bar
This is probably going to be the most technical article I'll write. It's an issue that's been niggling at me for at least a few years and I'm going to take the time to clear up a few things.
Was and Had are not, never have been, and never will be, bad words to use in fiction. I know many writers will argue relentlessly about this, but I will provide the proof to back my statement.
First and foremost, grammatical rules, I'll get that out of the way. Yes, like many writers, I also get frustrated with grammatical rules when I'm just trying to be creative. Or, when encountering another writer who insists on using words like “was” out of context, I also feel frustrated when they just won't understand the other side of grammar. It's not about the words being grammatically correct, it's how you use these words that makes them grammatically correct.
English is a finicky language that way. More often than not, grammar rules are things that you just know.
The reason there's a large growing trend to tell aspiring writers why “was” and “had” are wrong when it's not, is two-fold.
For starters, there are nine types of past tense, but most writers follow only one out of three types. Simple Past Tense, Past Tense Continuous or Past Perfect. Simple Past means whatever is happening in the story is happening right now, even though it's written in the past tense. Continuous means whatever is happening in the story, is happening in the past past tense. Past Perfect means the story is happening in the past past past.
Examples:
Simple Past: He walked across the room. (Right now)
Continuous: He was walking across the room. (Five minutes ago)
Past Perfect: He had walked across the room. (Yesterday)
I'll admit, I tend to forget the names of each tense or mix them up... all the time. For my writing, I prefer Simple Past or Continuous. See, for myself, I honestly don't care what the technical terms are, I just know what works for me.
Of course, this is just a general, oversimplified explanation. In fiction, sky's the limit. In selling commercial fiction, there are limits.
So, that covers the first fold. Now onto the second.
For commercial fiction, Simple Past is favoured, mainly for editing and selling reasons. Simple Past is easier to edit, easier to sell, easier to read, but it's also much harder to write. Continuous is easier to write, but harder to sell in the 2st century. Continuous is very common in 19th century literature. Times have changed.
The internet came along.
A funny thing happened on the internet. Harlequin Romance was one of the first big publishers to catch onto ebooks and the selling potential. Harlequin has a specific writing style that's exclusive to their books. The Harlequin style became a major influence for aspiring writers seeking help on the internet. Harlequin set the bar with both ebooks and writing style.
The Harlequin style involves Deep POV (point of view) and Simple Past Tense. Sounds simple, but it's more complicated than that. With the combination of Deep POV, the writing isn't just happening right now, it's happening inside the main character's head right this very second, but still written in the past tense. That's Harlequin, for you. They're all about allowing the reader to fulfil the main characters' fantasies.
So, the Harlequin style works very well for their own niche and selling potential. It's pretty much useless for everything else. If writers assume the Harlequin formula and their manuscript of, say, a detective fiction is rejected 100 times, the writer gives up, self-publishes and the Harlequin formula remains as the only successful fiction.
Further proof? Of all the publishers, agents, independent presses, etc, Harlequin is the onlypublisher who hasn't suffered financially in recent years.
So, back to grammar. If a specific type of past tense is chosen and “was” or “had” are used, as long as it's grammatically correct and within context of the story, it just doesn't matter. Don't want your fiction to read like a Harlequin novel? Then just don't.
I don't write Romance, commercial or otherwise. I'm not crying conspiracy here or whining about rejection, either. If I want a story to be published, then it will be published. I'm simply pointing out, and providing the proof, that if anyone, a fellow writer, publisher, or even an agent, claims your writing doesn't follow Deep POV and Simple Past Tense even though it's not a Harlequin Romance and definitely not that kind of story, show them this article, and tell them to go stuff themselves.
All authors, writers, artists, musicians or even a pottery maker, share a strong responsibility. One publisher out of thousands in the whole world wants to have the monopoly on book sales by setting their own standard and degrading the quality of overall fiction in the 21st century? Who cares! We are the creators. We set the bar.
Was and Had are not, never have been, and never will be, bad words to use in fiction. I know many writers will argue relentlessly about this, but I will provide the proof to back my statement.
First and foremost, grammatical rules, I'll get that out of the way. Yes, like many writers, I also get frustrated with grammatical rules when I'm just trying to be creative. Or, when encountering another writer who insists on using words like “was” out of context, I also feel frustrated when they just won't understand the other side of grammar. It's not about the words being grammatically correct, it's how you use these words that makes them grammatically correct.
English is a finicky language that way. More often than not, grammar rules are things that you just know.
The reason there's a large growing trend to tell aspiring writers why “was” and “had” are wrong when it's not, is two-fold.
For starters, there are nine types of past tense, but most writers follow only one out of three types. Simple Past Tense, Past Tense Continuous or Past Perfect. Simple Past means whatever is happening in the story is happening right now, even though it's written in the past tense. Continuous means whatever is happening in the story, is happening in the past past tense. Past Perfect means the story is happening in the past past past.
Examples:
Simple Past: He walked across the room. (Right now)
Continuous: He was walking across the room. (Five minutes ago)
Past Perfect: He had walked across the room. (Yesterday)
I'll admit, I tend to forget the names of each tense or mix them up... all the time. For my writing, I prefer Simple Past or Continuous. See, for myself, I honestly don't care what the technical terms are, I just know what works for me.
Of course, this is just a general, oversimplified explanation. In fiction, sky's the limit. In selling commercial fiction, there are limits.
So, that covers the first fold. Now onto the second.
For commercial fiction, Simple Past is favoured, mainly for editing and selling reasons. Simple Past is easier to edit, easier to sell, easier to read, but it's also much harder to write. Continuous is easier to write, but harder to sell in the 2st century. Continuous is very common in 19th century literature. Times have changed.
The internet came along.
A funny thing happened on the internet. Harlequin Romance was one of the first big publishers to catch onto ebooks and the selling potential. Harlequin has a specific writing style that's exclusive to their books. The Harlequin style became a major influence for aspiring writers seeking help on the internet. Harlequin set the bar with both ebooks and writing style.
The Harlequin style involves Deep POV (point of view) and Simple Past Tense. Sounds simple, but it's more complicated than that. With the combination of Deep POV, the writing isn't just happening right now, it's happening inside the main character's head right this very second, but still written in the past tense. That's Harlequin, for you. They're all about allowing the reader to fulfil the main characters' fantasies.
So, the Harlequin style works very well for their own niche and selling potential. It's pretty much useless for everything else. If writers assume the Harlequin formula and their manuscript of, say, a detective fiction is rejected 100 times, the writer gives up, self-publishes and the Harlequin formula remains as the only successful fiction.
Further proof? Of all the publishers, agents, independent presses, etc, Harlequin is the onlypublisher who hasn't suffered financially in recent years.
So, back to grammar. If a specific type of past tense is chosen and “was” or “had” are used, as long as it's grammatically correct and within context of the story, it just doesn't matter. Don't want your fiction to read like a Harlequin novel? Then just don't.
I don't write Romance, commercial or otherwise. I'm not crying conspiracy here or whining about rejection, either. If I want a story to be published, then it will be published. I'm simply pointing out, and providing the proof, that if anyone, a fellow writer, publisher, or even an agent, claims your writing doesn't follow Deep POV and Simple Past Tense even though it's not a Harlequin Romance and definitely not that kind of story, show them this article, and tell them to go stuff themselves.
All authors, writers, artists, musicians or even a pottery maker, share a strong responsibility. One publisher out of thousands in the whole world wants to have the monopoly on book sales by setting their own standard and degrading the quality of overall fiction in the 21st century? Who cares! We are the creators. We set the bar.
October 23, 2012
How to Make Money from Art
You don't.
Art itself doesn't sell. Never has, never will. All forms of art, whether it's a novel, a poem or a painting, is in the eye of the beholder, and it's impossible to put a price tag on that. Art will never sell.
Products sell. A hardcover book, an anthology of poems, a framed painting of a prairie landscape, these are all products, tangible, real, and they are things you put a price tag on.
The question isn't, How do I make money from my art? In fact, it's not a question at all. It's a matter of refining your art so it can be turned into a tangible product with a price tag.
Do I feel my writing has reached that point where it can be turned into a hardcover novel at the bookstore for 29.99? I honestly don't know. Time will tell, I guess. I do feel 100% ready to move on to the next level, go from simply sharing my art to selling products. Like any artist, I hope for the best and the day I can reap the rewards of my hard work.
Long story short, I still have things to refine in my writing, pesky little details for the most part, and it might be awhile yet before you see my face in a bookstore. But if you're willing to stick with me, hard work always pays off eventually, and we'll see the rewards together.
Art itself doesn't sell. Never has, never will. All forms of art, whether it's a novel, a poem or a painting, is in the eye of the beholder, and it's impossible to put a price tag on that. Art will never sell.
Products sell. A hardcover book, an anthology of poems, a framed painting of a prairie landscape, these are all products, tangible, real, and they are things you put a price tag on.
The question isn't, How do I make money from my art? In fact, it's not a question at all. It's a matter of refining your art so it can be turned into a tangible product with a price tag.
Do I feel my writing has reached that point where it can be turned into a hardcover novel at the bookstore for 29.99? I honestly don't know. Time will tell, I guess. I do feel 100% ready to move on to the next level, go from simply sharing my art to selling products. Like any artist, I hope for the best and the day I can reap the rewards of my hard work.
Long story short, I still have things to refine in my writing, pesky little details for the most part, and it might be awhile yet before you see my face in a bookstore. But if you're willing to stick with me, hard work always pays off eventually, and we'll see the rewards together.
October 8, 2012
Experience
There are so many books, blogs, websites and social media dedicated to teaching aspiring writers how to become authors. There's even a million and one paid workshops that you can find anywhere, especially on the internet. But here's the only thing you need to know: experience.
There just isn't any substitute for direct life experience. You can read all the articles you can find, memorize each word, and it won't make a difference. At best, reading any kind of how-to guide will teach you how to get started, but that's it. At worse, it'll teach you what not to do. You need experience. It's the only way.
Not everyone can travel the world, earn a PhD in literature or become a Buddhist monsk. So you do what you can, in the only way that you know is right for you, in order to gain experience.
Take a book out of the library that's on a subject matter that you would never read.
Go camping in your own backyard.
Try your hand at making clay sculptures, even though you don't have the talent and just know it will be a failure.
Check out that cafe you pass by each day on your way to school or work and you think to yourself, my friends would never want to be seen at a place like that. Go anyway! Gain experience, and live to tell the story.
There just isn't any substitute for direct life experience. You can read all the articles you can find, memorize each word, and it won't make a difference. At best, reading any kind of how-to guide will teach you how to get started, but that's it. At worse, it'll teach you what not to do. You need experience. It's the only way.
Not everyone can travel the world, earn a PhD in literature or become a Buddhist monsk. So you do what you can, in the only way that you know is right for you, in order to gain experience.
Take a book out of the library that's on a subject matter that you would never read.
Go camping in your own backyard.
Try your hand at making clay sculptures, even though you don't have the talent and just know it will be a failure.
Check out that cafe you pass by each day on your way to school or work and you think to yourself, my friends would never want to be seen at a place like that. Go anyway! Gain experience, and live to tell the story.
October 2, 2012
Deja Vu
Hi. After a long break, and trust me it was needed, I'm back on track. Re-energized and speeding along. I finished two chapters today. It feels great.
So there I was, trying to be a professional writer, and I ended up having a good laugh a myself.
I proofed and checked the technical info of what I had written so far. I looked at the word count and thought, crap, not nearly enough for a novel and..... wait.... didn't I think that last time?
Then I remembered that, yes, this is exactly how it feels to start a new novel. Of course it's not enough. It's only two chapters! lol
It's amazing to get this point where word count just doesn't matter anymore. I'm at the point where I'm looking at page count. A wonderful feeling. Good to be here.
So there I was, trying to be a professional writer, and I ended up having a good laugh a myself.
I proofed and checked the technical info of what I had written so far. I looked at the word count and thought, crap, not nearly enough for a novel and..... wait.... didn't I think that last time?
Then I remembered that, yes, this is exactly how it feels to start a new novel. Of course it's not enough. It's only two chapters! lol
It's amazing to get this point where word count just doesn't matter anymore. I'm at the point where I'm looking at page count. A wonderful feeling. Good to be here.
July 15, 2012
How to be a Professional
In recent months, I've confronted a number of authors who, well, I'm going to be brutally honest, reeksof an unprofessional. While I've noticed that since I first started to be an active author online, I chalked it up to the same reasons everyone says. Not hearing tone of voice, bad communication, inexperience, etc, etc. There are always unprofessional people just about anywhere, whether it's online or an office. But, on the internet, it's gotten out of hand.
This lack of professionalism isn't exclusive to genre. I've met just as many romance writers who are just as bad as horror writers. It's the internet culture itself that has taken on a whole new life and rearing it's ugly head, making a very bad name for the rest of us who actually have a clue.
For awhile, I shrugged it off. It's only a small handful of people behaving like trolls, right? But the numbers have increased. A lot. People aren't behaving like trolls only. Schoolyard bullies, self-appointed authorities when they have no authority, aggressive popularity games, threats and bashing, borderline fascism. It's getting downright scary in cyberspace.
I'm 34 years old. High school was a long time ago. I have zero interest in being involved with petty high school games. I know I'm not the only one who has confronted this... attitude. And I know for a fact it's not coming from kids. Full grown adults, behaving with less maturity than a daycare, in their 40's, 50's and 60's. It's quite sad.
I've thought about writing a guide to professionalism, using my ten years of working experience in publishing, advertising and marketing. I love helping to build and maintain a community, which I feel is sorely lacking in today's world. But you know what? It doesn't matter. Real professionals already know.
Professionals know there are no shortcuts in life and the internet isn't an exception. We already know that the rank system on online book retailers isn't reflective of sale numbers, it's reflective of the number of clicks because that's how computer language works. We know the real money isn't in book sales, it comes from selling rights for movies and TV shows, and for that, an agent is needed. We all know this and more, because professionals have common sense.
So as much as it frustrates me to see writers behaving badly when I'll think, if they just knew what I know about being professional... I've realized that at the end of the day, it makes no difference. I can only be myself, take full responsibility for myself, and devote my time to my own projects. Because that's being a professional.
May 4, 2012
Confession
I've accepted. I just can't deny it any longer. See, I don't care for sequels. There's exceptions, of course, but overall I don't like sequels because I'm always left high and dry and then realize, oh just great, I'm going to have to read the next book to find out how the hell this story ends, geez. And nothing is more disappointing to me than to find the story DOESN'T end, I've just been dragged along for a series of 5 (ish) books for no good reason. Thanks for nothing :P
So I was trying to avoid that. I wouldn't want to do that to any reader. I thought I could just pick things up using the same characters as my last thriller. It doesn't work. I tried.
I'm confesing that I've accepted. The current book is a sequel to my thriller. Sigh...
So I was trying to avoid that. I wouldn't want to do that to any reader. I thought I could just pick things up using the same characters as my last thriller. It doesn't work. I tried.
I'm confesing that I've accepted. The current book is a sequel to my thriller. Sigh...
April 9, 2012
Where to Start a Story
At the beginning.
Easier said than done, of course.
This is a question that has plagued authors since the dawn of time, and will continue to plague until the end of time. Sometimes a writer will get lucky and know exactly where to start a story. Sometimes, well, not so lucky.
With my last thriller, I was lucky. With my current thriller, not lucky at all.
I've learned, with both projects, why the starting point will elude me at times. It comes down to this - back story versus main story.
Never ever start a story with the back story. Think of it this way. You want to build a house, but first you have to buy the land. Wasting 100+ pages describing that bit of land before building the house, when all readers want to know is the interior of the house, is a glorious waste of time.
Wait! Not all is lost.
Back story is a fundamental aspect of crafting fiction. It's the foundation to build on. So it is important to fully develop the back story even though it's not seen by the reader. (Unless you read a bad book, but let's keep this positive).
Any author knows, we all spend a lot of time and detailed work on developing the back story. It can be too easy to allow the back story to capture my focus and I start to lose sight of the main story. I often joke I need two brains. I'm not really joking.
It can be tricky, but I've learned to balance things out, so that the back story isn't overwhelming nor understated. I can't give one answer for that. I go through the whole story, bit by by, and decide what to keep and what to throw away. It can be tedius but well worth the effort. It's all a part of crafting.
Back to the title of this blog. Where to start? While working on my last thriller, I developed a rather useful skill. I start at the end.
The grand finale with be my main focuse throughout the story, but if I don't at least have a rough idea of one or two possible endings, I can't write the beginning. I need to know where I'll arrive before I can start the journey.
And sometimes, I have to change traveling routes. It just works out that way sometimes.
Easier said than done, of course.
This is a question that has plagued authors since the dawn of time, and will continue to plague until the end of time. Sometimes a writer will get lucky and know exactly where to start a story. Sometimes, well, not so lucky.
With my last thriller, I was lucky. With my current thriller, not lucky at all.
I've learned, with both projects, why the starting point will elude me at times. It comes down to this - back story versus main story.
Never ever start a story with the back story. Think of it this way. You want to build a house, but first you have to buy the land. Wasting 100+ pages describing that bit of land before building the house, when all readers want to know is the interior of the house, is a glorious waste of time.
Wait! Not all is lost.
Back story is a fundamental aspect of crafting fiction. It's the foundation to build on. So it is important to fully develop the back story even though it's not seen by the reader. (Unless you read a bad book, but let's keep this positive).
Any author knows, we all spend a lot of time and detailed work on developing the back story. It can be too easy to allow the back story to capture my focus and I start to lose sight of the main story. I often joke I need two brains. I'm not really joking.
It can be tricky, but I've learned to balance things out, so that the back story isn't overwhelming nor understated. I can't give one answer for that. I go through the whole story, bit by by, and decide what to keep and what to throw away. It can be tedius but well worth the effort. It's all a part of crafting.
Back to the title of this blog. Where to start? While working on my last thriller, I developed a rather useful skill. I start at the end.
The grand finale with be my main focuse throughout the story, but if I don't at least have a rough idea of one or two possible endings, I can't write the beginning. I need to know where I'll arrive before I can start the journey.
And sometimes, I have to change traveling routes. It just works out that way sometimes.
March 27, 2012
Website Update and other news
A few updates have been finished.
Because I kept getting spam on the Vault and Brain pages, I've disabled comments for the Vault and the Brain has been deleted. The mutant monkeys still ask for donations though, just to warn you.
File extensions have been stripped, html etc, so you no longer need to type the whole file name. You might need to refresh pages to see the change. Otherwise, everything is the same.
The Eden Fell free download has expired. Congrats to the 30+ downloaders who snagged their copy. You can still get a free copy with proof of purchase from the shop by filling out an easy form on the Bootleg page.
http://www.lilyauthor.com/bootleg/
Buy cool stuff, get free book. Can't get much cooler than that.
A lot of new designs and products have been added to the shop.
http://www.cafepress.ca/neonvagabond
In a few days, the Vagabond Shop will have its own website. Here's the temporary page, that will probably change, but the url will stay the same.
http://www.neonvagabondshop.com/
And in between all of that, I'm up to chapter three of my current thriller.
I believe spring is in the air.
Because I kept getting spam on the Vault and Brain pages, I've disabled comments for the Vault and the Brain has been deleted. The mutant monkeys still ask for donations though, just to warn you.
File extensions have been stripped, html etc, so you no longer need to type the whole file name. You might need to refresh pages to see the change. Otherwise, everything is the same.
The Eden Fell free download has expired. Congrats to the 30+ downloaders who snagged their copy. You can still get a free copy with proof of purchase from the shop by filling out an easy form on the Bootleg page.
http://www.lilyauthor.com/bootleg/
Buy cool stuff, get free book. Can't get much cooler than that.
A lot of new designs and products have been added to the shop.
http://www.cafepress.ca/neonvagabond
In a few days, the Vagabond Shop will have its own website. Here's the temporary page, that will probably change, but the url will stay the same.
http://www.neonvagabondshop.com/
And in between all of that, I'm up to chapter three of my current thriller.
I believe spring is in the air.
