Heather Marie Adkins's Blog, page 15
August 15, 2011
IWU Blog Tour – Guest Post by Author Jeremy Bates
A guest post by talented author Jeremy Bates!
Okay, so there's a lot being said about the new Kindle 2. More features, an overhaul on its body design, an unlimited number of books to download (except maybe for esoteric reference books), a lightweight frame (which is great for all of you who lug War and Peace around), improved bookmarking and highlighting systems, yadda yadda. Oh, not to mention—and this is for the single guys—if a woman like the one below sees you reading a Kindle, she will almost definitely invite you to dinner. Really.
Sounds great, yes? But have you ever taken a Kindle to the beach? I don't recommend it.
First off, when I'm at the beach, or even poolside, I usually get wet at some point. Water and electronics don't mix. While hanging out on an island in the Philippines, I had a few too many beers and tried to toss a friend in the pool because…well, I can't remember the reason (those pesky beers). But I do remember him tossing me in a little later—while I was reading my Kindle. If I didn't have Spider Man-like reflexes, the vacation would have been over—permanently—for my dead-tree-book killer (actually, if I had said reflexes, I probably wouldn't have ended up in the pool!).
Secondly, when I'm at the beach, I usually get some sand on me. Sand and electronics don't mix. At best, it will scratch your screen. At worst, it will get inside the device and short circuit something so that all your amazing new Kindle will be good for is a late-night beach bonfire.
Third, beaches are ripe with thieves. Why not? Where else do people go only to take off their clothes and leave their belongings unattended?? (And if you think hiding your wallet or Kindle under a sunhat while you go frolic in the ocean is a page out of the secret agent's how-to-be-clandestine handbook, think again). On the other hand, who's going to steal a paperback novel? The closest a paperback gets to being stolen is when you "lend" it a friend…because you're never getting it back!
And finally, there's been a lot of hype about the electronic paper display technology. And, yeah, it's better than trying to navigate your smartphone outdoors, but it's still tougher to read than real paper with sunglasses on and the equatorial sun beating down on you.
So in conclusion there are a lot of things to like about the Kindle 2, but there's always going to be room in my suitcase for a couple paperback novels when I go on vacation.
A couple more strikes against the Kindle 2, in no particular order of awfulness:
No SD slot. While the Kindle can easily hold 3,500 books, what if you have 3,501 books?
Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and landing. You can't explain that it's epaper and uses no current. You just can't. It's like explaining evolution to fundamentalist creationists.
It contains a battery. Remember, the Kindle is mortal. It will die on you when you don't have your charger.
It's bottom heavy. The internal battery makes the device want to plop face down on your chest. I read it last night when I was sleepy and it kept knocking me on the forehead (pesky beers again).
Still no color. For now, commercial e-ink is still limited to gray scale. Amazon did bump up the technology from 4 to 16 shades of gray, which makes the photos a lot more detailed, but no amount of gray can turn a black and white face into flesh. Sigh.
About the Author
Jeremy Bates has spent the last ten years traveling the world, visiting more than thirty countries. He has lived in Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. Bates is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with a degree in English literature and philosophy. Where's home for Jeremy? Canada, the United States, and Australia.
His frightening debut novel, White Lies, is set in a small village in the Cascade Mountain range of eastern Washington. In the book, he succeeds in bringing world class terror to this tranquil community.
Find him online at http://jeremybatesbooks.blogspot.com/
August 10, 2011
Indie Author Spotlight – David Gaughran
Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should
by David Gaughran (Goodreads Author)
4.56 · rating details · 16 ratings · 7 reviews From Goodreads:
"You won't make any money from self-publishing."
MYTH!
The internet has revolutionized every business it has come into contact with, and publishing is no different.
For the first time, these changes are handing power back to the writer. It's up to YOU if you want to profit from them.
Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should.
This guide contains over 60,000 words of essays, articles, and how-to guides, as well as contributions from 33 bestselling indie authors including J Carson Black, Bob Mayer, Victorine Lieske, Mark Edwards, and many more.
It covers everything from how the disruptive power of the internet has changed the publishing business forever to the opportunities this has created for writers. It gives you practical advice on editing, cover design, formatting, and pricing. And it reveals marketing tips from blogging and social networking right through to competitions, discounts, reviews, and giveaways.
If you are considering self-publishing, if you need to breathe life into your flagging sales, or if you want to understand why it's a great time to be a writer, Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should will explain it all.
We all know I'm self-publishing. Hell, it's ALL I talk about anymore. There was a big flurry of excitement over John Locke's indie publishing book, but it kinda fell flat in reviews after it came out. I haven't read it, so I'm no expert, but Locke seems to have moved beyond us at this point.
David is well on his way to following in the footsteps of Locke, JA Konrath, and Barry Eisler. This compendium of information about the state of the publishing world today is an eye opener. With real facts and real numbers to support his efforts, David offers the official HOW-TO guide to going at it indie. Unlike Locke who charges 6 bucks for his guide, David has offered "Let's Get Digital" FOR FREE as a .pdf download at his blog as well as offering it through Smashwords and Amazon for 2.99. He understands the importance of a support circuit in indie publishing, and by making his guide easily accessible, he is enforcing this belief.
Not only is David a talented writer and a funny, pleasant kinda guy, he's someone to follow. Since the publication of "Let's Get Digital" he has seen an increase in sales of his published works, as well as being featured on Pixel of Ink (without having to pay for it and wait five hundred years). He has become a household name for the great indies like Konrath, who recognize a great rising in Gaughran. Even the trad pub world seems to be fearful of David, who was recently the butt of some jealous trad pubbed authors over on Twitter.
"Let's Get Digital" gave me hope that I'm on the right path. The 33 testimonials in part 3 of the book prove to me that maybe it's possible for my dreams to come true; maybe one day I'll be making a living off my writing.
EVERY new indie author needs to read this book. FIVE STARS, MUST READ!
August 7, 2011
What's Up in Heather's World?
A lot, actually.
Where do I begin?
ON THE HOME FRONT
Tonight, Andrew and I ate a completely homegrown meal and damn, was it delicious. We've already been grazing on our own salad (both the Mesclun, which is tasty, and the romaine which is to DIE FOR). His dad gave us some squash and eggplant. So, we whipped up a big salad with our own greens and carrots from the garden. Andrew grilled the eggplant in slices after basting it with an olive oil/herb combo. We chopped up the squash with some olive oil, pepper, and serrano peppers from our garden and grilled in foil. Needless to say, it was an amazing meal. There's something absolutely wonderful about knowing the origin of your food.
The garden is proving fruitful, but in it's own time. We have quite a few squash and zucchini popping up, and a surplus of banana peppers and hot peppers. While we've finished off the romaine for now, the mesclun is doing well (considering the hot temps) and we still have some surviving onions and a lot of carrots. The carrots, bless them, are larger than any carrots I've ever seen in my life.
We ended up with two roosters and we are having the hardest damn time getting rid of them. One of them is a sweetheart, very beautiful, very docile, while the other…well, suffice it to say DEMON. On the bright side, our three girls are laying and in just a week and a half, we've ended up with 15 eggs!
ON THE BOOK FRONT
Sales. I love 'em and hate 'em.
I never did post about June, because it was just a couple weeks worth of being published, but let me give a run down of the numbers from June before I go into July.
Underneath was published for free on June 10th. In the first 24 hours, it had 110 downloads and wrapped up the month at 215.
For actual SALES, I sold 7 copies of The Temple and 7 copies of the 99 cent Amazon Underneath.
June = 14 sales
Total Downloads = 233
July was a strong month, and not least because of the giveaway, I believe.
The House was released on July 15th (I think…whirlwind month!) It was downloaded free 208 times, while Underneath was downloaded 60 times. I gave away 20 copies of The Temple as a promotion, for a grand total of 288 free downloads in July.
In sales, 34 Temples, 5 Underneaths, and 4 Houses for a grand total of 43 sales.
Now, I also released three erotica titles in the month of July, and they sold like wildfire. Without breaking down the numbers between them, I had a grand total of 100 sales in July.
Total Sales = 100
Total Downloads = 388
What does this look like overall?
114 Sales
621 Downloads
In six weeks.
This, I think, is really good for a newbie (though I don't have a lot to compare it with). I've gotten many 5 star reviews, several 4 stars, and two 3 stars but none below that (yet, it's only a matter of time). I'm not seeing the free short stories translate into sales; whether this reflects the fact that people will download free stuff and never read it, or the quality of my work, I have no idea. I'm considering making them 99 cents across the board because they're incredibly long and (I think) well written.
So, I'm trucking along. I'm aiming for 5 years at making this my career; we shall see.
ALSO HAPPENING
A local author friend and I are starting a promotion. I've got high hopes. More details to come soon.
Many people download the free sample of my books on Smashwords, then don't download the book. That is fucking depressing. I'm actually HAPPY I can't see how many people download my sample at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, I'd probably quit.
Pink Snowbunnies In Hell–coming soon! Quite a funny anthology, and I'm stoked to be a part of it. Big thanks to Deborah Geary for getting it all wrapped up nicely.
Also involved in another anthology with a group of friends. Look for more information in October.
Have begun a co-authoring project. More information much later.
Planning a blog tour, Halloween themed, for late October. Will keep posted.
Considering hiring myself out to do ebook formatting. Through up a page about it in the sidebar here, will see what happens.
Working on revisions to Constant State of Disaster and aiming for a September 1st release date. Here here! 
So, as you can see, mucho going on and here I am, procrastinating. Off to write!
August 4, 2011
What You May Not Know
I do this for you.
Okay, well that may be a little bit wrong because I don't just do it for you, I do it for me too. You see, a writer is a writer not because of any aspirations of being rich and famous but because it's necessary.
Have you experienced those nights when you've lain in bed for hours, tossing and turning, because you can't stop thinking of your to-do list? You didn't feed the cat/wash the car/pay the rent/knit a sweater for Great-Aunt Mopsie? This sensation is what it is like to be a writer.
The stories take over. They pile up, gaining life and color inside my head until I might explode if I don't write them down. A couple of months later, I'm looking at a finished manuscript; a story that I slaved over, oozing blood, sweat, and tears while I alienated my family and friends to create it.
Indie publishing gives writers like me an opportunity to put those stories to you, the reader, where you can find them and either love them or hate them–because, let's be honest here…Books are subjective. While one girlie may rave about how much of a masterpiece my novel is, another may delete it from her Kindle never for-to-see again while telling everyone she knows that I'm a useless hack. This is the nature of a human being's mind; we are all individual, with individual tastes.
But, do you really know who we are, behind the scenes? I have a full time job. I work forty hours a week, 11 pm to 7 am, as a 911 dispatcher. I sleep all day, and try to make time to see my friends and family whenever it is possible. When you tack on the forty hours a week I try to spend writing, you're looking at a girl who has no life–simply because writing is my passion. My need. It's not just me, either, most writers aren't making a living off their writing; they're working full time careers outside of it.
No matter what happens, I will continue to write. How could I not? I'd be lying in bed/sitting at work/driving my car into telephone poles as I attempted to push away the stories that build inside me. I am a happier, healthier person when I'm writing (as long as I remember to shower and eat).
So, think of me as a person, not just a name on a book cover. Not just me, either, but every author out there. Did you know Jennifer Crusie has a flock of dogs? Did you know Laurell K Hamilton isn't Christian? Traditionally published or indie published, we are actual humans behind the scenes, with wants, desires, and needs. There is a person behind that name and tagline.
So, if you read a novel and you love it, why would you not leave a review? Now, I'm not saying slap four stars on it and run, I'm speaking of a simple few lines to let the author know why you loved it. Or even why you hated it! Whether you decide my book is worth 5 stars or 1, it doesn't matter.
Because we are people; we want to know.
If you've left two stars on a novel and no review, how will I or other readers know that your two star rating was simply because you were turned off by the Pagan themes in my book? That is completely understandable! You have every right to rate and review a book based on your opinion because your time and opinion matter. But, have you considered your 2 star rating (without a review) tells other readers the quality of writing in the book is terrible? It tells me you think I'm a terrible writer, when maybe that's not the case…it's just, my book wasn't right for you.
Remember…books are subjective.
But, if you leave a review, 2 stars "There are a lot of Pagan themes in this book and I'm just not into that. But, the writing's okay, someone else might enjoy it." It shows other readers that I might be worth a try; and it shows me what you don't like instead of leaving me guessing at where I went wrong.
I guess the truth I'm trying to get out there is that reviews aren't meant solely to help other readers decide whether to buy a book or not. Reviews, even just a simple line or two, help a writer understand what she needs to do better or what's she's already doing right. Because an author can grow–this is not a stagnant career where talent cannot be formed from mediocrity. Every bit of criticism or praise is a stepping stone on our journey to be the best we can be. Just leaving 3 stars and running doesn't help us; it only leaves us wondering, where did I go wrong? How can I make it better??
I would never berate a reader for leaving me a bad review.
The very fact you purchased my book and spent your time reading it means the world to me. If you felt my novel wasted an hour of your life, then it did! And that's okay to feel, because believe me, I've felt that way before too. Indie authors understand that YOU are the cornerstone upon which we stand. You are the gold, our raison d'etre. Your time matters; and so does your review, whether it's 1 star or 5. What you have to say is important to me.
I want to interact with my readers. I want to know you, the way I want you to know me. I'll share all of my likes, dislikes, my opinions, my knowledge, everything I possibly have to tell you from the color of my underwear to the names of my pet chickens, I would scream from the rooftops if only you ask.
So when you read my books, will you share with me too?
Sincerest Blessings and Hugs,
An Author
August 3, 2011
Indie Author Spotlight – Jack Wallen
It's time for another edition of Indie Author Spotlight, and today, I want to scream praises for JACK WALLEN.
You may recall, Jack guest posted here at the Cottage several weeks back on how indie publishing puts control in the hands of the author. A great post, and well worth the read.
I'm a fan. Jack is a proponent of supporting indie publishing, as well as an eloquent and talented writer who can weave a story and keep you at the edge of your seat with it. I haven't read his zombie series yet, though it is on my to-read list. Today, I'm posting my review of his thriller "A Blade Away." I just recently purchased the sequel titled "Gothica", which I'm thoroughly lookng forward to reading.
From Goodreads:
Killers and victims on the fringes of society are the focus of the 'Fringe Killer' series. "A Blade Away" kicks it off with a murderous transgendered twist.
"I am the last true artist."
Jamie Davenport is a struggling young officer on the Louisville Police Force. In her first homicide case, Jamie must track down a twisted killer who preys upon transgendered men to bring about The Change and transform them into their "true selves".
"I am da Vinci with flesh."
However, even with the help of her friend and mentor, Skip Abrahm, she finds herself fighting a war on three fronts: a victimized population reluctant to cooperate, a police force unwilling to take the crimes seriously, and a killer that is always one step ahead.
"I am a god with your gender."
Warning: Contains adult situations and material.
My Review of A Blade Away:
This is an extremely shocking book. I dig shock factor, though I know a lot of people don't. A Blade Away made my skin crawl. It is an in-depth picture of the inner workings of a serial killer's mind–a serial killer who doesn't know he IS a serial killer. It deals with the hardships of being homosexual, being a female police officer, and the identity issues transgendered folks face. It is touching, painful, and intriguing. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
5 Stars!
According to Jack's site, he will be releasing the second book in the Zombie apocalypse series, My Zombie My, TOMORROW!!
August 2, 2011
IWU Blog Tour – Athanasios Galanis, part deux
[image error]TOM IS BACK!! Be excited. I know I am. He comes to give his trademark eloquent answers to my questions, as well as to share a couple excerpts from Mad Gods. If you don't want this book by the time this interview is over, you're out yo mind.
1.) Immediately upon going to Adam's Blog, I stumbled upon the post on Egyptian mythology. I was intrigued, then further hooked by other posts on "alternate history". Tell me what these posts are and why you decided to do it.
In the course of researching Mad Gods I kept coming upon a few interesting alternate historians and I wanted to include their views into my own mythology of our world. It began with the Lomas & Knight books of the Hiram Key & Uriel's Machine. In it they try to piece together how Freemasonry began and what influences they have upon our modern world.
Then from looking into them I also came upon Malachai Martin who was the Vatican's Exorcist and wrote about his exploits in the quasi-fictional Windswept House. The research took a turn for the REALLY weird when I started looking at David Ike, Michael Tsarion, Leo Zagami, Project Camelot & David Wilcock. Their views have all been presented in book & film documentary form but I've only seen their documentaries and they're fascinating. The fascination comes from their total immersion in their beliefs.
So I've compiled their supposed alternate histories and beliefs of why things have happened in history and chose to present them on Adam's blog. It might not be interesting to many but I think it will be to those who would read Mad Gods.
2.) The blog is written from Adam's point of view, the main character in Mad Gods. This is an interesting concept–why?
When I was trying to finish Mad Gods I found myself being sidetracked by what was on TV, movies and much of the distractions we know as entertainment. So I chose for Adam to also be distracted by the same things.
Right about then, I was looking into the Cathars of Medieval France and they believed that the entire world is a distraction to keep our collective focus away from the actual reality of existence. It validated my choice of literary vehicle for Adam.
So I carried that over to modern day to make Adam believable and he now sometimes concentrates on entertainment news and whatever he chooses to comment on. I've hijacked his blog half the time for the IWU blog tour but he doesn't' seem to mind because he's gotten into some new shows like the new Entourage, plus True Blood & Breaking Bad started again.
He's one of us and is into the same things we are. It shows that he's more interested in his entertainment than in his destiny of destroying the world. Everything in Mad Gods and the other Predatory Ethics volumes happened some time ago it's history.
3.) You're extremely learned in world religions and mythology. What prompted your interest in such things? Did you go to school with the goal in mind of studying those subjects, or is it something that you've learned in your spare time?
All I've learned was on my own. All the crackpots I mentioned earlier with their alternate histories were carnival stops in the real explorations. A real beacon for history and motives in history is Joseph Campbell. I've read most of what he's written and have all his documentaries on DVD.
In fact most of what I learn in the past few years are from documentaries readily available online through YouTube or @: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/watch-....
4.) A quote from a post on the blog, "sure there will be plenty of crap but enough of those will die withering on the vine". A lot of naysayers would argue this is why the publishing world needs gatekeepers. Do you think the public is perfectly capable of sifting through the crap? Why do you think a lot of crap in the indie world is becoming successful anyway?
I don't need somebody else to taste my food and I don't need somebody else to read my books. The public is completely capable of sifting through the crap without self appointed duffi who have given us much of the crap we've seen lauded as literature. I'm not going to go into the specific books that are successful for fear of reprisal from their rabid fans but publishing gatekeepers suck.
Don't poop on my front porch and call it chocolate.
5.) What do you think are the pros of being an indie author?
The cons I see are if you don't have a computer or internet access it'll be nigh impossible to take advantage of the indie explosion we're in the middle of. Another is the snail's pace you will acquire readers and a following, no matter how good your work is. A third is you're completely on your own so you have to do it all yourself and if you also have another job that pays the bills and the rest of your life, family, pets, house and all our modern accoutrements, it's gonna be tough going. You've got to be disciplined to keep plugging away.
The rest, in my humble opinion are ALL pros and nothing but pros. The complete freedom to put your creative desires out there.
6.) Pick 3 characters from Mad Gods and write a brief "author bio" for each.
Kostadino Paleologos grew up knowing he was special. Not because his mother told him so but because everybody in his huge extended family did. He was one of a few, all descended from the forgotten imperial Byzantine line of the Paleologos, known as the Truth. Truths were mandated to return to their lost capitol and release souls trapped there when it fell to the Turks centuries before. They still called it Kostadinoupoli but the modern world only knew Istanbul.
That was his life yet it was turned upside down when he was told to find a forbidden book in a forgotten library. Within the book he finds a new ethos and decides to take control of destiny to help someone who is fated to destroy the world. The book shows past lives of a soul who only wants peace. Kostadino wants to give that soul the choice he never had.
Adam Paleologos is the adopted son of Kostadino. He also grew up knowing he was special not because his mother told him so, but because EVERYBODY still tells him so. Through most of his early life all he knew was travel and hiding, always looking over his shoulder. Kostadino didn't so much adopt but kidnap him from a family who didn't want him and followers who wanted him TOO much. All his life he only knew Kostadino as an only parent.
It doesn't matter that Adam is the Antichrist. It didn't to Kostadino at any rate. After successfully evading everyone who wanted Adam they settle into a wonderful existence of TV, news, books, music and movies. Adam was the soul Kostadino had read about in the forbidden book. Adam would be eternally grateful for the short-lived peace his father won for him.
Father Tino Quentin is a learned Templar and part of the brotherhood thought expunged in the early 1300's. He was also the curator and chief analyst of the Vatican Secret Archives, mandated with finding and ridding the world of evil. He grudgingly took this position only after years of fieldwork that comprised removing afore mentioned evil by any means necessary.
Father Quentin was the very personification of the Templars. He lived in secrecy and was uncompromising in his beliefs and dogmatic enforcement of Catholic Rules. The centuries since their persecution they had been taken into the Catholic folds and used as the Pope's secret police, more ruthless than any KGB, CIA or MI-5 could ever hope to be.
7.) I know you are currently working on a sequel to Mad Gods. Will you be moving on from this world in the future and into other projects? Or will there be infinitely more Mad Gods?
I might, but for now Predatory Ethics is pretty universal and exactly what I want to write.
8.) What authors do you personally enjoy reading? Genres?
I occasionally go back to Joseph Campbell, i.e. religious history and theory. I've also delved back into some old fashioned horror with Stephen King's Dark Tower series, although I never considered him horror in the same vein as Clive Barker.
I also enjoyed a lot of fantasy, Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, David Eddings, JRR Tolkien. They still have their place in my head but not for a few years now.
9.) Why TOM??? (the name, not the meaning of life)
Tom began in kindergarten. Another boy in my class was named Athanasios and I thought that was the English version of my name, so I began to use it. This seems to have been a universal occurrence because every other Athanasios I've met through the years has used Tom as an anglicized version of their name. Even my family uses Tom, and they should know better, two of them named me Athanasios in the first place.
I learned years later that some people also use Arthur in lieu of Athanasios, but that's not me. I'm not an Arthur or Artie, no it don't fit.
Mad Gods Blurb
Bible Revelation is crucified when the Antichrist refuses his destiny and makes an apocalyptic escape from Satanists, Templars, Dark Nobility & the Catholic Church.
Kostadino Paleologos searches the entire world for a codex that is rumored to catalogue the Antichrist's past lives and finding it, throws prophecy into chaos.
He kidnaps and raises the infant Antichrist: calls him Adam and teaches what he learned in his search for the Idammah-Gan Codex. He shows Adam that the truth to which every faith aspires cannot be seen because we who comprise these faiths: are flawed. We see, hear, smell, taste and touch with inadequate tools. Even our intellect, on that which we rely to understand is limited; unable to comprehend the totality of truth. Truth is too large -or too small- to absorb; it transcends everything.
In the end the Antichrist sees that religion i.e. faith is outside reason, but whatever solace we get is lost in the translation.
Tom has given us two teasers from Mad Gods…read on…
- Idammah-Gan Codex – Depth of Correction III -
Time: AUGUST 19TH, 33 A.d. golgotha, jerusalem, isreal
My mind is in a complete fog. People are crying. I can't tell how many and for whom. There is nothing of which I'm sure, except for the pain in my wrists and ankles. I try to look to my left and to my right, but I cannot see past my extremities. I only wish that I couldn't even see that far. Try as I might, my glance keeps returning to the nails that hold my arms and ankles to this cross. This is the only way I know they're still attached. Hours ago, they went numb. Hanging this way, I struggle to breathe. I only think about pushing my weight back up. There is no way in creation I will go through this again.
When they first hammered me to the wood, the pain nearly drove me mad. My mind threw screams out of my mouth – screams which continued well past when they turned me over to hammer the nails back, ensuring that I would stay on the cross. My mind gibbered disbelief at the fact that I was in this position. I think these words came out of my mouth, but of this I am not certain. "Oh, no. This is not possible. No, no, no, no." These three phrases repeatedly chased each other out of someone's head, through their mouth, and out past their lips, though I don't know if it was me, or one of the other two.
The crying continues and I hope to die. Now, this pain is everything to me. It has taken over both my vision and hearing. I no longer know what is happening around me. I could be the one crying, but I'm very confused.
Someone screams, startled by the thunder and lightning around the hill on which they chose to plant these trees of pain. Rain comes down like fat tears and gives me a small relief, but does not restore my grasp of sight and sound. Time crawls by and I'm still breathing, living this misery.
"King of Jews. Why don't you call upon your God and save us?" One of us says. Is it me? At such a time, could I be so cruel to another who shared my pain?
"He does not deserve to be here. We have done things in our lives to deserve this place. He has done nothing." The response is instant and I instantly feel humiliated and exulted.
It must be days that we've been up here; still, I don't know how to interpret my own senses. The rain continues and my tears join it. I'm sure that I sob with relief, because I feel my strength and life finally ebbing. Endurance is overrated. I wish I were weaker and able to endure far less.
"Father, why have you forsaken me?" The voice is filled with sobbing and comes from everywhere. It brings further darkness and depression. The sky has come closer to my face and reflects the bruises and blood that now describe my body. The tears and sobs leave me, unheard amid the rain and thunder.
"Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." Who does? Why does the voice seek this God, this treacherous Father, who allows this to be done to His son? For a few breaths, I am angry at the criminal violation, which this begged-for parent shows to all his children. Why do we look to Him for this withheld comfort and support?
My outrage continues and, in my death, it follows me to the void. In the nothing I now face, I am alone with my belief that no help shall ever be given, though it be earned a thousand times. I am on my own, to grow strong or be annihilated.
I also think that this seems oddly familiar. In my thoughts, this strange skewing of priorities is nothing new. A silent revelation envelops me and pushes all else aside. In violent death, this always happens. I remember past lives. I remember the death in the arena, as well as when I stood proud at Thermopylae. Not much else, apart from this, is important. Not my life then, nor any lives before, or since.
(TEASER 2)
- Idammah-Gan Codex – Depth of Correction VIII: Wounded Rib IV: -
Time: March 28th, 1244 AD. Montsegur, France
Sobs followed, and some of the imprisoned screamed at their confirmed doom. Simon and Ursus turned back to the window and were silent for a few moments.
"Natalie once told me that I didn't have to cause so much pain, because too much existed already. Over the past years, I have looked around and know that she was right," Ursus thought out loud. He remembered the vow they had made, to break the chain that they had followed for millennia. They would enjoy all their years, refusing to die brutally, in rage and in grief. They would live and refuse to be dictated by anyone who wished for more than they wanted to give. No matter what, they would refuse to have followers, whether they were right or wrong, because in the end, it's just a matter of opinion.
"That is why the Gnosis of God is so vital," Simon said, snapping him out of his reverie. "Without faith, life has no meaning, rather, it is a long stream of experiences that have no significance."
Ursus looked at Simon's earnestness and faith and despaired for mankind. He saw what most leaders saw at times – honest belief given freely, or empty faith given desperately. He wanted neither. The time for leadership was over and he deserved better. For him, the trappings of power held no allure. He didn't care to be Redeemer, Messiah, Savior, the embodiment and culmination of ideals. He wanted to explain all of this to Simon, but only answered with the most important point that he had learned, through lifetimes of toil, turmoil, blood, pain, torture and struggle.
"You're a fool. Trying to give meaning to something as important as life is folly. Your faith, any faith, is just a self-important excuse for your life. Don't relinquish your responsibility to a god or a devil. Instead, take it and use it to add meaning to your life; don't assign it to anybody else. You're weak and petty to put that power in the hands of a figment of your imagination."
The words hit Simon like blows and knocked him speechless. "Natalie believed like you do, and as I look at the two of you, I can agree with your desire to do good and help people in any way that you can. That also involves a surrender of control; I won't have any of it." Ursus was adamant, though he could explain no more, considering that Simon could not identify with his personal experiences. "You spend your existence in any way you wish, but I tell you this: take control of your life and your will. Don't relinquish it to anybody.
"Most people live their lives to achieve goals that either they, or others, have set for them and if they don't succeed, what then? With each little failure, do they count their lives a failure, until they tally all the little shortfalls and decide that its time to stop? When you look at how you've lived life, will you calculate all your victories and disappointments and judge whether it was better that you lived, or had never actually been around to draw breath?"
At this point, it seemed to Simon that Ursus was delirious, but he did not stop his soliloquy.
"Do you live your life for the moments when you're happy? Do you live your life to feel good? To experience joy and to indulge the senses that give you pleasure? Good food. Good drink. Good sex. Good shit. Good piss. Rest when you're tired. Why do people live their lives?
"When you look at a cripple, begging for alms in the street, do you feel sorry for him? Does that mean that you think your life is better? This is presumptuous and arrogant. Would it be irony if they were happier in their life that you are in yours? Would you envy them then? Beloved children and pets are to be envied. They live their lives without responsibility, for their food and shelter is provided. They are shown affection and are cared for."
For some time, Simon could say nothing. "Why must you go?" he finally said, barely above a whisper.
"Don't deify me, Simon; I'm not worthy of worship. I've already told you that this world holds nothing for me. I don't want to be here, so leave me alone to my death." Ursus turned from the window and watched as Simon, with a pained expression, backed away, only to be brought up short with sharp words. "Get away from me! Allow me to have my last hour without having to answer your questions! Haven't you heard a thing I've said? You waste your life following others and searching for meaning. There is none."
Hurt by the fact that he was being driven away, Simon responded, "I don't want to worship you, Ursus. I already have my God, for whom I've sacrificed my death. I don't care who you are or fated to be. I want you to live because I don't want to be without you. We have been through a lot together; I just don't want you to go."
"I do," Ursus said, weary of the argument. "Natalie convinced me of her faith and led me away from mine. Now that this faith is shattered, I am faced with my earlier doom. I swear that I don't have the strength left to defy it. I would rather die." Ursus stated his thoughts to anyone who listened. He knew that he was addressing more than Simon, even more than the pitiful remnants of the Cathari who waited for their end the next day. He hoped he would reach someone in a more secular time.
He wished for someone who searched for the truth and was not swayed by explanations for lack of responsibility. He looked for someone who saw past the characters in myths, fables and ecclesiastical allegories.
"Please, Simon, go. Don't argue with me, for I am too weary to control myself. I want to rest. I want to die and I want to be punished for my actions and that for which I was intended, by all that is profane and damned."
Ursus watched as Simon faded into the darkness, among the rest of the convicted heretics. He wondered if what he had told Simon would ever go beyond his own ears and if it would ever reach anyone who would believe him. Would there be anyone who looked at the whimpering about burden of leadership and awful price of power and believe it? Would an inability to believe also be married to a failure to take up this power they thrust upon their leaders? In the end, was all of this terminal debate merely a question of burden of blame? Did no one want to hold the reigns of power because they didn't want to be blamed for a task, doomed to failure?
Ursus shook his head and sighed in utter relief.
Do you have your copy of Mad Gods yet, people?? Those excerpts must have peaked your interest…
Mad Gods Online
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QOA768
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TSIV0U
http://www.a mazon.com/dp/B004TSCH2I
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ULWSAK
http: //www.amazon.com/dp/B004V51D24
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W3FX76
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004V51D24
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/120639133859
Tom Online:
August 1, 2011
Summer Giveaway Hop
Hundreds of participating blogs are offering a book related giveaway and we are all linked up together so you can easily hop from one giveaway to another. The hop runs from Monday, August 1st through Sunday, August 7th.
I have 2 giveaways and there will be 6 winners.
Giveaway #1
A $20 Amazon gift card
Giveaway #2
I'm giving away 5 copies of my second novel, "Abigail."
When Abigail's supposedly immortal faery mother is found murdered, her human father sells her in to slavery. Bought by a young and wealthy landowner named William, she is whisked away to a Grecian island to play caretaker for his baby sister.
However, the island has a deadly secret connected to Abigail's past. Her budding romance with William is shattered by Abigail's intimate, unwanted connection with the island's faery prince. Meanwhile the faery king plans revenge upon the family. Abigail must join forces with the very race she's sought to deny, to save the humans she has learned to love
How to Enter:
Mandatory 1st entry: "Like" my Facebook page
Optional Entries:
2 entries: Download my free ebook short story, Underneath
Underneath
An ancient city, entombed beneath a museum that seeks to understand the brutal race that once inhabited the underground world.
A young woman with special empathic powers offered a job to create an exhibit of the city's artifacts.
Underneath, they wait for her.
Smashwords and Barnes and Noble (FREE)
(Or 99 cents at Amazon, if you'd rather have Kindle)
2 entries: Download my free ebook short story, The House
The House
Susan is appalled when she moves back home after college to find her parents are packing the family off to Florida–to her Gran's empty ancestral home.
The place is a mess, but it goes beyond the aesthetic–something is even more wrong with the house than they ever thought possible, and it's deeply intertwined in their family's past.
Some of her ancestors aren't quite gone, and they're determined to play out their anger to the bitter end, despite the home's new inhabitants.
She can only hope her family will make it out alive.
Smashwords and Barnes and Noble (FREE)
Or 99 cents at Amazon
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July 31, 2011
Revelations of the Week
I am no longer going to actively seek book reviewers.
What an awful process. I do so much else trying to promote my books. I've had several very unpleasant situations happen this week in regards to finding book bloggers to review my work. As of now, I'm not actively seeking; if a book blogger wants to review my book, they can contact me and I will more than likely gush a bundle of thanks-yous and hand over a copy promptly. Bottom line.
Revelation #2
I love formatting ebooks and doing other behind the scenes nonsense.
I bartered with another author this week: she's making me the cover for my next short story and I formatted her ebook for the three platforms. I already knew I enjoyed all the formatting nonsense, but doing someone else's work really rubbed it in. I LIKE formatting ebooks; weird, huh? It's kinda all zen-like and stuff. Along those same lines, I enjoy fiddling with photos and creating covers, as well as making book trailers. I'm currently putting together one for Abigail. My sister was supposed to make one for The Temple, so before I do my own, I need to check with her. Otherwise, I'd be doing it first!
Revelation #3
I really am invisible.
This is a tough world. I have a select group of friends who are super supportive and wonderful, but other than that…well, I'm just a ping pong ball drifting around in a vacuum. But, still I reach out; I think I'm kind and friendly, and I hope that that impression of myself isn't a dream. Sometimes I feel like I'm screaming into a crowded room without any response, both in my everyday life and in the publishing biz. My books just hang out, waiting to be discovered. Will they? I don't know.
Revelation #4
Marathon, not a sprint–but my first month as a published author hasn't been too damn shabby.
I had a leg up with the giveaway, that's no lie, but even without the giveaway I think I'm doing better than most newbies usually do. I don't know what I'm doing right, but something good is happening. As we always preach, however, this is a marathon and not a sprint. Yes, my ultimate dream is to leave behind my day (night) job and write full time. It's probably going to be a couple years before that's a possibility.
Revelation #5
I'm not writing enough and I'm taking a break.
No more hanging out on the internet. No more doing stuff other than writing. I have several novels to finish revising and editing so they can be released this year, and I have several others to finish writing. The marketing, the promo, the internet procrastination–none of that is important. The writing is what is important and I'm going to take the next month off all the extras just to focus on writing.
Wish me luck. I'll still be hanging around the cottage
July 29, 2011
Excerpt from "The Temple"
An excerpt from my novel "The Temple"–FIVE 5 star ratings at Amazon!
I woke to darkness and cat fur weighing heavily on my head. Addie purred lovingly in my ear, her claws kneading my scalp in ecstasy. Mumbling incoherent curses at her, I pushed myself up on my elbows, cackling evilly as she slid from me with an angry growl.
The sun was gone outside, but it was only twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off at nine. I slid to a sitting position, gathering my comforter up around my shoulders while I waited for something resembling life to return to my body.
I padded downstairs rubbing sleep from my eyes with Addie on my heels. The little red light was blinking on my answering machine. The phone must have died after I talked to my sister. I hit the play button and started pulling out things to make coffee.
"Vale, it's Mom. You got some mail here, I just wanted to double check your address before I posted it."
"Yeah, right, you just wanted a reason to call," I muttered, leaning over my four-cup coffee maker and inhaling the heady aroma of caffeine.
"Hello, my dear, it's Edward. I was calling to see how your first night passed. Give me a ring."
The first sip is always painful yet orgasmic, as it burns my tongue and brings my body to attention. I dumped a cup of kitty crunchies into Addie's bowl and received her patented Look of Death. "You had wet stuff this morning," I complained at her, which earned me a plaintive yowl and claws in my arm. If she weren't the cutest little ball of fluff, I might one day launch her through a window.
My thoughts were on the Wild Hunt theory as I shampooed my hair. I wasn't buying a supernatural explanation for something that was surely not. I made a mental note to call and set up an appointment with the Detective in charge of the case.
Ashamed, I chose my outfit with care, knowing in a few short hours I'd be seeing Brett again. Black bootleg jeans that looked great on my butt and a maroon fitted tee, topped off with a knee length button-up sweater and high heeled ankle boots. Items that passed for "nice" in my sadly non-girly wardrobe.
With about fifteen minutes to spare, I sat down on the edge of my bed and hit the remote, my TV blasting to life. I scanned through a few channels, finding nothing but bad British comedy and cooking shows. I missed the clockwork comfort of the ten o'clock news, especially knowing a girl had died and nobody was making a fuss.
Addie followed me to the door, her puffy tail swishing in exasperation. Her big yellow eyes accused me of neglect. "I'll be back before the sun comes up," I told her, bending down to pet her. She turned on her heel, giving me a picturesque view of her behind and no doubt as to how she felt about me leaving.
I was right on time to the Temple. Jordan met me at the door with a sneer, passing the key ring to me. "I see you survived your first night," he said in his hoity-toity voice. "What with your ignorance of our nightly terrors, I imagined you wouldn't take me seriously."
"Imagined or hoped?" I retorted, brushing past him into the cool air of the great room. Maybe a little too hard, I thought evilly, watching him rub his shoulder gingerly after I hit him. There is much to be said for super strength.
"The torches have been acting up again. Don't bother lighting them, they'll just go out." Stepping out the door, he held out his hand, palm up, and cleared his throat. "It's already eleven. Next time, consider coming in a few minutes early."
Dropping my keys into his hand, I smiled sweetly. "The shift starts at eleven. Eat shit and die." I slammed the door and pulled the locks, snickering to myself, already planning ways to annoy him in the future. One of my biggest pet peeves has always been chauvinistic men. It runs in my family.
The Temple seemed darker than usual, the only lights being the three spotlighted goddesses. I clicked across the floor in my high heels and stopped at Cerridwen, staring up into her knowing eyes. "Goddess. Good to see you." I nodded at her, and was startled when it looked like she winked back. Looking around, I found one lone torch flickering as the culprit.
"If that one is still lit, what the hell is he talking about?" Using the long handled grill lighter, I lit a couple of the back wall torches, making a stop in the corner to light another stick of jasmine incense. The fire light brought about another dimension to the Temple, making it feel more sacred and homier.
I checked my email in the computer room, watching a couple funny videos Macy sent via YouTube. They were the very popular roommates playing tricks on one another type things. Good for a laugh. At ten 'til twelve, I hit the cameras and made my way to the outer door to check the locks and close the tower. I noticed that three of the five torches I'd lit were extinguished and pushing thin wisps of smoke through the air, despite that there was no noticeable breeze inside.
I posted up on Cerridwen as I'd done the night before, tucking my legs beneath me and wrapping my sweater around closer to my body. As the wind picked up and howled outside, it grew colder around me, and I noticed with confusion that I could see my breath in the air. I help up a hand, blowing on it, and shivered.
It must have dropped several degrees in a matter of minutes, and I had a sneaky suspicion I knew what was happening. Bracing myself for the shock that would come, no matter how prepared I was, I waited.
She formed from the shadows, mist pulling together into a semi-transparent form. It wasn't my first ghost, I'd seen too many in my lifetime to find it in anyway strange that an almost two thousand year old temple had spirits. It wasn't two years ago I'd run into an old lady haunting Wal-Mart.
Her hair reached her hips in amber colored waves, a fringe of bangs framing a sweet, heart shaped face with big blue eyes and a bow shaped mouth. She'd died in a holey pair of light washed jeans and a long sleeved shirt the color of her eyes, one crescent of flat tummy peeking beneath. When I smiled at her, she stared back in confusion.
"You can see me?" Her voice came across strong, causing her legs to waver out of existence for a split second. It takes a lot of energy to pull a spirit together, or so I've been told. They put too much effort into exerting some part of their "body" and it causes discrepancies in others.
"I'm Vale. I can see you."
When she ventured forward after a moment, I could almost see her legs move, but she floated well above the floor.
We stared silently for a minute, her eyes studying my face. "You must be new. Why can you see me and the others can not?"
Her voice had a vaguely Northern European accent. I wanted to know who she was, but I figured the nice thing to do would be answer her questions first, lest she disappear. "Yeah, I'm new. I started yesterday." I paused, listening to a mournful howl from the outside. It had to be really loud for me to hear it so easily through the thick, stone walls of the temple. As it faded, I went on, "I can see you because it's kind of my thing."
"Oh, it is one of your powers! I worked here once." She lowered into a sitting position beside me, the bottom half of her body vanishing from sight. "I could lift ten times my body weight and run a mile in ten seconds. What else can you do, besides see dead people? You feel special, like you have a purpose here."
I put her age around my own, with an unusual childlike enthusiasm. I wondered what the hell she meant by saying I was special. "Quite a few things actually. I'm sort of an all purpose gal. What's your name?"
"Anya."
"When did you die?" Confusion passed across her face, and she wavered unsteadily. "Focus on me," I told her, catching her eye and willing her to hold her form.
"I do not remember. It was 1999 last I can remember."
"Ten years ago," I told her thoughtfully. "What happened?"
She shrugged, her hair waving around as if it were corporeal. "I do not know. When I try to remember, it is too fuzzy. I was here, in the Temple, when it happened. I know that is truth."
Interesting. I opened my mouth to question her further, but she began to fade. "Come back as soon as you can," I told her quickly, and she nodded somberly at me before disappearing. Slowly, the atmosphere around me went back to normal and the goose bumps faded.
July 27, 2011
Smashwords Formatting for the Lazy, Pt. 5
***Part 1***Part 2***Part 3***Part 4***Part 5***
You ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT use tabs in your Smashwords document. Can't do it. Meatgrinder will puree your document and your readers will be wrinkling their noses at your epub saying, "This guy has NO idea how to format an ebook…"
Also, do you really want your paragraphs to have a space between them rather than an indent? In my humble opinion, that's not really professional looking. When I'm devouring a traditionally published, paperback novel there aren't spaces between the paragraphs. Just sayin'.
Here is exactly how I format my paragraphs. It is time consuming, particularly if you're working a 180,000 word novel, but the more practice you get at doing it, the faster you'll become. Grab a shot of whiskey or eight, you'll need them.
You will have to do this one scene at a time so as not to add the indent to your chapter headings or section (****) breaks. The alternative is adding the paragraph style to the entire document and having to go back and take out the first line indent on every chapter heading or section break. I know what I prefer.
Highlight the first scene. Right click inside your highlighting and go to "Paragraph".
You'll have your little paragraph box up. You want it to look like this:
Make sure there is never anything in the AT: box. Ever. I always do .25 for my first line indent because I think it looks best, but Mark says you can go up to .5. Consider the size of your average ereader screen. You don't want the indent taking up half the line, so .25 is a good compromise.
Continue in this vein through your entire document, adding your paragraph specifications. Again, you could do it all at once, yeah—if you want to go back and have to take that first line indent out of every chapter heading and section (***) break and copyright parts, etc. etc. Look at it this way, this is a great time to scan for errors.
At this time, you also want to have your epub or original word processor document open so you can return your italics to your document (remember, the nuclear method ate them). Just highlight what should be italicized and push your SWitalics style button. Don't use the italics button from up in the tool bar of Word, they'll get lost in the Meatgrinder.
Finally, you'll also center your section breaks as you come across them by highlighting the asterisks and choosing your SWcentered style.
finished paragraphs
That's it, people. You have officially created a Smashwords-worthy document. I don't claim to be an expert, but I can claim to have a good track record with my own uploads. Take these posts for what they're worth; an easy outline for someone who wants a professional looking ebook in the ether. Enjoy, and good luck in the wonderful world of indie publishing
(FINAL NOTE, courtesy of my friend author Larry D. Marshall–if you turn off your autocorrect for good and use the styles as you're writing the document, you can bypass the nuclear method and just tweak it. I'm OCD and start a completely new document for my Smashwords ebook because my original document ends up being a mess, no matter what. If you have the mind to use the styles as you're writing the book, then you're set )
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them and I will attempt to respond promptly with either an answer or perfectly crafted bullsh**. I'm not an expert!
If you're looking for ebook formatting tips for files OTHER than those used at Smashwords, let me refer you to ebook god Guido Henkel and his nine part series on crafting the perfect ebook.
***Part 1***Part 2***Part 3***Part 4***Part 5***
I did these blog posts out of the goodness of my own heart.
(And because everyone I know bitches about Smashwords formatting.)
If they were helpful to you, please consider purchasing one of my novels.
Supporting other indies is crucial to all of our success
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