Ann Narcisian Videan's Blog, page 11

B’rook Tūrehu: Reveal #1

First glimpse of Delfaerune Rhapsody character B’rook Tūrehu, as envisioned by Stacy Lefevre.

B’rook Tūrehu… sister to our heroine Lark. Both girls, daughters of the Magistrates of Magic and Music in the Fae realm of Delfaerune, are the only two Noble Fae with silver white hair.

Can you tell from her boots she’s a bit of a wild child? Maybe that’s why she’s fallen for famous rocker Axyl Thorne.

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Learn more about B’rook in the Delfaerune Rhapsody series—my new-adult, fantasy-adventure trilogy-in-progress.  Her story begins in Song of the Ocarina, the first book in the series, due out soon.

Watch in the coming days for more character information about the trilogy. Also, watch Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

More key writing secrets from established authors – ALWAYS

Even if you missed our September 2014 Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) gathering, you can still benefit from several established writers’ top writing and publishing secrets.

A former ALWAYS gathering with Karen Mueller Bryson, Megan Scott, Laurie Fagen, Mallary Tytel, and Ann Videan. Our handful of established authors meets once a month to discuss topics affecting our writing.

An especially large thank you to Karen Mueller Bryson, who shared all her expertise and knowledge about publishing your own books and others’. Invaluable!

Additional gratitude, for sharing other great tips, goes to Karen, Laurie Fagen, Paul McNeese, Shelley Gillespie, Wendy Fallon, and our new friend Patricia. Read their tips and reap:

1. Keep your book cover art blurb to only a few sentences. Readers want concise summaries. Plus, remember to write your back cover for the book buyer (publisher), not the reader, when pitching.

2. Just write! The most important thing you can do to become a better, more prolific, and well-known author is to set aside time every day to write. Religiously!

3. Check out The Passive Voice blog, “A Lawyer’s Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing.”

4. Look into the Editor’s Toolkit software, providing tools for editing in Microsoft Word.

5. For an example of a indie self-publisher success story using serial fiction, look up Hugh Howey. Per Amazon, “He is the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. The WOOL OMNIBUS won Kindle Book Review’s 2012 Indie Book of the Year Award.”

5. Inform readers about your sales. Buy ads on bookseller sites—Bookbub, Book Gorilla, BookSends, etc.—to help position your book for bestseller status. It’s relatively easy, especially if you can categorize in a small niche market, and not horribly expensive.

6. See ProofOfExistence.com. This independent online service offers a copyright proof level between your own statement of copyright and that obtained from the U.S. Copyright Office.

7. From BureauOfCommunication, send fun “Mad-Libs”-type forms to friends and co-workers. Fill out a “Airing a Greivance,” “Statement of Gratitude,” “Unsolicited Feedback,” or other crazy-cool online forms.

8. You are not the best editor of your work. Let go. Fresh eyes can make your book better.

Some great ideas. What writing tip can you share with us here?

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Write on!

Ann Narcisian Videan

Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth

avidean@videanunlimited.com

Axyl Thorne: Final Reveal (#4)

Delfaerune Rhapsody series’ famous Fae rock star

Axyl Thorne ,

full character profile.

Debut of Delfaerune Rhapsody rocker Axyl Thorne, by Stacy Lefevre.

Age: 28

Stature: 6’10” tall

Race and class:

Axyl’s unique lineage affects his Fae race, but you’ll need to read the book to find out why. Though he currently prefers to hang out with Mikk Stone and the dark class of Fae—the tall, wingless, magical residents in the realm of Delfaerune—

Axyl remains neutral.

Residence:

Our rock star lives in a plane parallel to Queenstown, New Zealand, in the Fae world of Delfaerune.  There—in Queens’tyn, Zealynd—extinct and mythical creatures thrive, sentient foliage energize the Noble Fae, and speaking animals lend magical spell casting to the Dark Fae.

Job:

He’s a famous musician and leader of a band with the eponymic name “Thorne.” His raw talent and exceptional sex appeal draw women who follow him everywhere, and he makes it his job to keep them happy.

Strengths: Musical skill and the only Fae with the special power to meld stone silently with hand movements.

Flaw: His secret lineage.

Quirk: His soft-hearted love for one specific, notable, young woman of Noble lineage.

Animal familiar(s): His fangirls.

Love interest: B’rook Tūrehu, our heroine’s sister.

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Learn more about this bad-boy rock star in the Delfaerune Rhapsody series—my new-adult, fantasy-adventure trilogy-in-progress. His story begins in Song of the Ocarina, the first book in the series, due out soon.

Watch in the coming days for more character information about the trilogy. Also, watch Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Back to Reveal #3             To Mikk Stone Reveal             To Noel Stone Final Reveal

To Lark Tūrehu Final Reveal

Axyl Thorne: Reveal #3

Axyl’s known for his long, thick, blond locks.
Image by Stacy Lefevre

Reveal #3: Axyl Thorne… oh, he of the luscious blond mane

A few things you should know about Axyl Thorne, the famous Fae rock star character in my pending Song of the Ocarina novel:

He’s kind of gorgeous and among the most talented musicians ever.
He picked the Bush Lawyer—a very thorny plant—as part of his marketing for his band “Thorne,” for a good reason.
Most Dark Fae pick an animal familiar to help befriend and protect them, but Axyl‘s only ever-present companion is his posse of fan girls. Hey, a posse provides the same basic support—with benefits—right?
His wandering eye is paused for the moment on our heroine Lark’s younger sister B’rook, who’s just coming of age.
He carries a secret about his lineage, which not even B’rook knows. As an opportunist, he likes to hang out with the Dark Fae, but is that where he really belongs?

To find out more, you’ll just have to read about it in Song of the Ocarina, the first book in my pending new-adult fantasy adventures — the Delfaerune Rhapsody series.

Watch for a full character image reveal of Axyl here in my blog, and also in my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds.

See Axyl reveal #2.

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Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

Axyl Thorne: Reveal #2

Axyl Thorne image by Stacy Lefevre

Reveal #2: Axyl Thorne, famous Fae rock star

Another peek at Axyl Thorne, famous Fae rock star. He’s 28 years old, at 6’10” his height matches his ego, but he does have a soft spot for rock ballads, and a certain Noble Fae chick, who just might be the daughter of a kidnapped Delfaerune magister. Oh, and did I mention his best buddy, our antagonist, is Mikk Stone?

Axyl’s artful hands hold a secret, and silent, skill beyond guitar riffs and picking… but I’m not telling you what. I guess you’ll just have to read about it in Song of the Ocarina, the first book in my pending new-adult fantasy adventures — the Delfaerune Rhapsody series.

Watch for more character image reveals of Axyl here in my blog, and also in my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds.

See Axyl reveal #1.

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Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

Prepare for perfect publishing — ALWAYS

Join us for the September 2014 gathering of the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS).

Our discussion will center around everything you want to know about self-publishing your books and others’. Karen Mueller Bryson, multi-published author and publisher of Short On Time Books, will share her best practices at our gathering. She’ll  have back-up from other self-published authors and literary consultants in the group as well.

Buy your own lunch, share a tip, and reap the rewards of our informal get-together with other established authors.

Next gathering:
Thursday Sept. 11, 2014
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Romeo’s Euro Café
(downtown GIlbert, AZ)
207 N. Gilbert Rd. #105
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
(480) 962-4224

Back-up location:
Joe’s BBQ
301 N. Gilbert Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-3805

Cost:
A writing tip, and the price of your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan, avidean@videanunlimited.com

If you’ve RSVP’d, please SHOW UP. If you run into a conflict, please let me know BEFORE the event so Ann can make the necessary adjustments for the group meeting. Cheers!
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ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

If so, our tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. We’re an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area, to talk about our craft and businesses.

Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting. We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

27 publishing secrets shared, to help you create your book

This is my new cover spread. Can you picture yourself revealing yours soon?

At this moment, I am forty pages from finishing the final edit of my second novel, Song of the Ocarina: the first book in a new-adult fantasy adventure series. Once I format it and upload it to Amazon’s CreateSpace I will have a self-published print-on-demand book. Woo hoo!

Would you like to know how to get to this point with your book?

My first foray into self-publishing happened in in 2011 with the self-publishing of my first women’s fiction novel Rhythms & Muse. Since then, I’ve helped dozens of other authors write, edit, self-publish and market their books. During all the years in this work, I’ve interviewed and worked with a wide array of literary experts who shared their secrets when it comes to book creation. Now, I’m sharing all those secrets with you in a series of three workshops at the Tempe Public Library.

The topics we’ll cover include: book creation steps, editing, and marketing.

* Sept. 6: “27 Steps from Idea to Published”

People new to the idea of writing a book, or who aren’t sure how to get a written book published will learn how to navigate the process.

* Sept. 13: “11 Editing Tips to Wow a Publisher”

Learn the key editing techniques to polish your book to impress publishers.

* Sept. 20: “Market Outside the Books: Outrageous Ideas to Entice Readers to Talk You Up”

Have you already written your book? I will share unique book marketing ideas to spark buzz by leveraging your book’s compelling content.

Each Saturday workshop runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. I hope to see you there!

Learn more at the Tempe Public Library site.

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Write on!

Ann Narcisian Videan

Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth

avidean@videanunlimited.com

Mash-up: Book giveaway, Back to The Future, and bad-boy rock-star Fae in New Zealand

What do movies, involvement of future readers, and bad-boy rock stars in New Zealand have to do with my stories? Find out in my guest blog today at L.H. Nicole’s Legendary  Web site. I talk about:

The world I’ve created, including how my Dark Fae characters are patterned after burned-out rock legends.
Why New Zealand is the perfect setting for this story.
Why Back To The Future inspired my writing, including one of it’s famous stars who was my movie buddy at Arizona State University.

Here’s a sneak peek at the cover of book one in my Delfaerune Rhapsody new-adult fantasy series!

I’m also giving away the second printed book of Song of the Ocarina. When I open my first shipment box (hopefully within a month), I claim the first book I pick up. The second one, though, could be yours. The lucky winner will be someone who comments on:

This post
My Facebook page
The Legendary guest blog link above
L.H. Nicole’s Facebook page

L.H. Nicole is a member of my young-adult fiction critique group and a great storyteller, so be sure to check out her books when you visit her site.

What do you think?

 

 

Eight top writing and vocabulary secrets from established authors – ALWAYS

At our Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) gathering this week, five established writers shared their top writing secrets and vocabulary words for this month. Now you can benefit from them, too!

Find font symbols
Write every day
Find speaking opportunities
Create an em-dash
Association for mystery writer
Product placement in books
Vocabulary suggestions
A.Word.A.Day link

Visualize Your Vocabulary, Shayne Gardner

1. Shayne Gardner — who just published Visualize Your Vocabulary: Turn Any SAT Word into a Picture and Remember It Forever (Volume 1) with illustrations by Kris Hagen — provided a tip about finding special font symbols on a computer.

According to Microsoft Word’s help function, “You can use the Symbol dialog box to insert symbols, such as ¼ and ©, or special characters, such as an em dash (—) or ellipsis (…) that are not on your keyboard, as well as Unicode characters.” Here’s how.

Emma Dilemma series, Patricia Hermes

2. Patricia Hemes, a multi-published author of the Emma Dilemma series among others, suggested simply that if you want to be a writer, you need to set time to write every day.

3. She also asked about speaking opportunities in the Phoenix area, and we suggested she contact the National Speakers Association headquartered in Tempe, Ariz.

4. Laurie Fagen, co-author in SoWest: Crime Time, a  Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter Anthology (Volume 5), led us to a discussion about dashes. We differentiated these, and shared how to create them in Microsoft Word:

Hyphen (-), used to connect words
 En-dash (–), for connection ranges or dates
Em-dash (—), what most people call simply a “dash,” signifying a break in a thought or longer pause or interruption in dialogue

SoWest: Crime Time anthology, Laurie Fagen

5. By the way, Laurie is the current president of the Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths. This association for mystery writers meets the third Wednesday of the month at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in downtown Scottsdale, Ariz.

6. Ann Videan (that’s me), author of Rhythms & Music women’s novel and soundtrack, and The Delfaerune Rhapsody series, suggested authors look into product placement in your books to develop additional revenue streams. She explained that this simply involves mentioning brand names in your story and approaching the company about supporting the book for its publicity value to them. She recommended this HowStuffWorks article to learn more.

Song of the Ocarina, Ann Videan (book 1 of the Delfaerune Rhapsody series)

7. Our topic, vocabulary, helped unveiled several new fun words or phrases we can can all incorporate into our writing.

brilliant: popular in the United Kingdom, meaning cool, great, or an outstanding performance, concept, or product
mind the gap: a  phrase to warn passengers to be careful while crossing the gap between the train door and the station platform.
go to the loo: an informal, more polite way of saying you’re headed to the bathroom, or going to the toilet

(From these first three, can you tell Laurie just returned from a trip to Europe?)

kerfuffle: disturbance or fuss
ostentatious: fancy, showing off wealth of knowledge to gain attention
ambitious: desiring to be successful, famous, or powerful; not easily done or achieved
grawlixes: typographical symbols standing for profanities, appearing in dialogue balloons in place of actual dialogue
ar·sy–var·sy: backside forward, head over heels, topsy-turvy
interrobang: a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection
histrionic: over-the-top melodramatic or theatrical
opprobrious: expressing scorn or criticism
disconcert: unsettle, disturb the composure of

(These last three are Shayne’s favorites from his new vocab book. Weren’t we lucky to have him attend today and share such cool words?)

8. For an introduction to a new word every day, complete with pronunciations, Laurie suggested subscribing to Wordsmith.org’s A.Word.A.Day.

Care to add your own tips or favorite words?

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Hear 38 songs future readers contributed to my novel

The cover! Illustration John Taylor, production layout Michael Feather

I just created a Spotify playlist so you can hear 38 of the nearly 50 songs my future readers contributed to my pending novel Song of the Ocarina. Each of these songs will appear in the book as a tune my heroine Lark plays on her iPod, a melody one of the characters hums, or as background music at events throughout the plot line.

The story is filled with musicians, and my heroine is a musical prodigy, so expect a wide range of genres, with quite a few geared toward the 18–25-aged crowd.

Every future reader who suggested a song will see their name printed in my novel when it’s published (soon!). Check out my other blog entry for a sneak peak of that list.

Tell me what you think!

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Write on!

Ann Narcisian Videan

Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth

avidean@videanunlimited.com