Amanda L. Davis's Blog, page 6
August 4, 2012
Behind the Scenes From Noble Imposter
Some people like to know little tidbits about what happened in the writing process for each book, and I have to write them down before I forget.
Here is one from Noble Imposter.
If you haven't read the book yet. I suggest skipping the next paragraph. :)
Spoilers from NI!
---
In the first draft on Noble, Vinnie had no major roll at all. He just kind of chilled and held Amelia's necklace for Monica, but after some major revisions to the mid section of the novel, I needed a distraction so Monica could get Aaron's tablet. That's when Vinnie's adventure was born and he got to show his skills. Did you enjoy his five minutes of fame?
Here is one from Noble Imposter.
If you haven't read the book yet. I suggest skipping the next paragraph. :)
Spoilers from NI!
---
In the first draft on Noble, Vinnie had no major roll at all. He just kind of chilled and held Amelia's necklace for Monica, but after some major revisions to the mid section of the novel, I needed a distraction so Monica could get Aaron's tablet. That's when Vinnie's adventure was born and he got to show his skills. Did you enjoy his five minutes of fame?
July 26, 2012
Updated Count
I haven't updated my count of book signings and such in awhile, so I thought I should. I'll be updating it a lot in September when we're on tour in Canada!
Number of Speaking Events Total: 103
Number of Signings: 20
Number of Interviews : 17
Places Spoken In:
Florida
Kansas
Texas
New Mexico
California
Washington
British Columbia
Montana
Colorado
Nebraska
Missouri
Indiana
Wisconsin
Michigan
Illinois
Georgia
North Carolina
Maryland
New York
New Jersey
Virginia
Places signed in:
Georgia
Texas
New Mexico
Oregon
Washington
British Columbia
Colorado
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Michigan
Florida
Maryland
Number of Speaking Events Total: 103
Number of Signings: 20
Number of Interviews : 17
Places Spoken In:
Florida
Kansas
Texas
New Mexico
California
Washington
British Columbia
Montana
Colorado
Nebraska
Missouri
Indiana
Wisconsin
Michigan
Illinois
Georgia
North Carolina
Maryland
New York
New Jersey
Virginia
Places signed in:
Georgia
Texas
New Mexico
Oregon
Washington
British Columbia
Colorado
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Michigan
Florida
Maryland
July 25, 2012
ICRS - 2012
Some of you know I recently skipped off to Florida for a little over a week, and now I'm telling you why.
Every year since 2004 ( maybe missing one year) we have attended the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS.) It used to be called Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) but a lot more than books is brought to the convention - music, gifts, etc, so the powers in charge decided to the name to better reflect the convention's purpose.
Publishers put together this show every year by putting up booths to show off their wares, and book store owners from around the world come and talk to the publishing house reps and network with each other and purchase some of their stock for their book store for the year.
It used to be a giant convention, one could walk for 2 hours and not see the whole floor, but with more people purchasing on the web along with other factors, it is much smaller. Still, one can easily walk 2 miles in a day wandering around the floor.
Publishers bring authors in to do book signings and give away books because that attrachs book buyers to the booths and lets them know the authors, which incentives the buyers to put those books in their stores. Make sense?
And that is why my dad and I go to this show every year.
And my sisters come, as well, but mostly for the candy that the publishers have in their booths.
I like the candy, too. :)
This year my dad signed copies of Liberator (with his publisher Zondervan) and From the Mouth of Elijah (with his publisher AMG), and I signed copies of Noble Imposter (with AMG). He had 4 separate book signings. I had one. :) Less work for me. ;)
My sister and cousin were excited to get to meet Steve Green and get an autographed CD.
My nephews thought it was cool to see grandpa signing his books. :)
Signing Noble Imposter.
I think the pictures turned out okay this year, but I like last year's pictures better.
I signed copies of Precisely Terminated last year. They were pre publication copies, though, and didn't have their final cover yet.
And I got to meet Roma Downey (sp?) the lady who plays Monica in Touched by an Angel.
And no. Monica in the Cantral Chronicles was not named after Monica in Touched by an Angel. I didn't even think about them both being named that until I met Roma!
She was very nice, btw. :)
Also, ICRS moves almost every year. It rotates between being at the convention center in Denver, CO, to St Louis, MO, to Atlanta, GA, to Orlando, FL. This year it was in Florida, last year it was in Missouri, and next year it's in Missouri again. I'm not sure what makes them decide which state to use, but that's the way it is. Two years it was in Denver twice in a row. No telling what makes them do what they do. :)
July 11, 2012
Or Wednesday--That Works, Too. Noble Imposter is Here!
Yesterday, I said Noble should arrive on Thursday, but it got here early!
I have 100 copies of Noble Imposter to do with as I please, and I will be sending out pre-orders tomorrow morning!
If you order by 8 AM tomorrow morning, I'll send out yours, too. :) www.amandaldavis.com
It looks really great. There's spot varnish on the train and train lights. Spot varnishing is the shiny parts of the cover, while the rest of the cover isn't so glossy. Precisely Terminated has some spot varnishing on it as well.
The series logo, title, and my name are also embossed (raised), and feel really cool.
Monica is not embossed or spot varnished, because she's hiding and it wouldn't due to draw attention to her, now would it? :)
I have 100 copies of Noble Imposter to do with as I please, and I will be sending out pre-orders tomorrow morning!
If you order by 8 AM tomorrow morning, I'll send out yours, too. :) www.amandaldavis.com
It looks really great. There's spot varnish on the train and train lights. Spot varnishing is the shiny parts of the cover, while the rest of the cover isn't so glossy. Precisely Terminated has some spot varnishing on it as well.
The series logo, title, and my name are also embossed (raised), and feel really cool.
Monica is not embossed or spot varnished, because she's hiding and it wouldn't due to draw attention to her, now would it? :)
July 10, 2012
Arrival on Thursday!
That's when Noble Imposter is supposed to get here!
My publisher, AMG, has informed me that NI (Or Noble, as they call it) is in their warehouse, and I should have my copies by Thursday! Huzzah!
As soon as my copies arrive, I will be sending out all my pre-orders! So get yours in as soon as you can! www.amandaldavis.com
CCB3 is now 30,000 words long and climbing! Simon, Aric, and Monica are all on an exciting adventure, along with a new character named Wheaten. Of course, Aric doesn't find it at all exciting, since he is currently indisposed, out of action, not doing too well. :)
I'm going to Florida next week to introduce and sign copies of Noble Imposter at a book seller's convention! It should be fun. I really like Noble Imposter's cover.
I've also heard rumblings that Precisely Terminated will eventually get a new cover. Not certain about that yet, but I'll be very excited if it does!
And here is a bonus picture - Our neighbor's donkey had a baby 2 weeks ago. Isn't he adorable?
He even let me pet his nose.
My publisher, AMG, has informed me that NI (Or Noble, as they call it) is in their warehouse, and I should have my copies by Thursday! Huzzah!
As soon as my copies arrive, I will be sending out all my pre-orders! So get yours in as soon as you can! www.amandaldavis.com
CCB3 is now 30,000 words long and climbing! Simon, Aric, and Monica are all on an exciting adventure, along with a new character named Wheaten. Of course, Aric doesn't find it at all exciting, since he is currently indisposed, out of action, not doing too well. :)
I'm going to Florida next week to introduce and sign copies of Noble Imposter at a book seller's convention! It should be fun. I really like Noble Imposter's cover.
I've also heard rumblings that Precisely Terminated will eventually get a new cover. Not certain about that yet, but I'll be very excited if it does!
And here is a bonus picture - Our neighbor's donkey had a baby 2 weeks ago. Isn't he adorable?
He even let me pet his nose.
July 5, 2012
CCB3 Update and Noble Imposter
Guess what?
I'm supposed to have my copies of Noble Imposter by next week! Hurrah!
You can order your copy from my website at www.amandaldavis.com, and if you want, I can even autograph it for you. :)
People are saying Noble Imposter is even better than Precisely Terminated, and I hope you find that to be true!
I had never written a second book before I wrote NI, and it wasn't even planned when I got the contract for Precisely Terminated! I was given a contract for a trilogy when I had only the first chapter written for PT. I was a little nervous, but it's turning out okay so far!
On the CCB3 front, I've now reached almost 28,000 words with a projected final word count of 105,000 (Give or take a few thousand). Things are moving along quickly, though Aric is in peril. You don't know who Aric is yet unless you're a pre-pub reader. :) He's introduced in Noble Imposter.
On another note, I started an everyday, what's going on in my life blog, which you may or may not be interested in. It shows that us authors are pretty normal, too, and we do normal people things all the time! www.averageamanda.blogspot.com
This blog is scheduled to update every day at 8AM central time. I have more blogging material when it's about every day life and not just writing.
Enjoy!
I'm supposed to have my copies of Noble Imposter by next week! Hurrah!
You can order your copy from my website at www.amandaldavis.com, and if you want, I can even autograph it for you. :)
People are saying Noble Imposter is even better than Precisely Terminated, and I hope you find that to be true!
I had never written a second book before I wrote NI, and it wasn't even planned when I got the contract for Precisely Terminated! I was given a contract for a trilogy when I had only the first chapter written for PT. I was a little nervous, but it's turning out okay so far!
On the CCB3 front, I've now reached almost 28,000 words with a projected final word count of 105,000 (Give or take a few thousand). Things are moving along quickly, though Aric is in peril. You don't know who Aric is yet unless you're a pre-pub reader. :) He's introduced in Noble Imposter.
On another note, I started an everyday, what's going on in my life blog, which you may or may not be interested in. It shows that us authors are pretty normal, too, and we do normal people things all the time! www.averageamanda.blogspot.com
This blog is scheduled to update every day at 8AM central time. I have more blogging material when it's about every day life and not just writing.
Enjoy!
June 29, 2012
Sort of Busy Around Here
It's been rather busy around here. The summer season is always interesting because we have a large garden and are always trying to get all the food processed and stored.
We canned okra and yellow squash the other day. and we're about done now until the tomato plants start producing. Whew!
But don't think we're in a lull. My sister and nephews are now visiting from India and they'll be here for 2 weeks and then we'll all head to Florida for a week. Having a 3 and 4 year old running around makes for some exciting times!
But wait. This is a writing blog, right?
Sort of.
Anyway, not much is getting done on the writing from. I wrote 300 words on CCB3 yesterday as well as a 200 word cover letter for a job application (Which, if any of you care to pray about, I would appreciate it if you would. I would really like to get this job. If I do, I'll tell you all about it.)
And now I'm back to trying to write today. 200 more words and I'll reach 22,500 total. Pathetic, I know, but I'm trying!
We canned okra and yellow squash the other day. and we're about done now until the tomato plants start producing. Whew!
But don't think we're in a lull. My sister and nephews are now visiting from India and they'll be here for 2 weeks and then we'll all head to Florida for a week. Having a 3 and 4 year old running around makes for some exciting times!
But wait. This is a writing blog, right?
Sort of.
Anyway, not much is getting done on the writing from. I wrote 300 words on CCB3 yesterday as well as a 200 word cover letter for a job application (Which, if any of you care to pray about, I would appreciate it if you would. I would really like to get this job. If I do, I'll tell you all about it.)
And now I'm back to trying to write today. 200 more words and I'll reach 22,500 total. Pathetic, I know, but I'm trying!
June 27, 2012
And Now . . .
A review for Noble Imposter!
Davishas done an expert job in crafting a sequel to go beyond the reader’s expectations and to deliver on what she promised at the end of Precisely Terminated. Noble Imposter is an excellent work with a tension-filled plotline, an admirable and persuasive main character, and excellent writing to fluidly move the reader along in the story. Davis has well-earned her spot on my shelf with this work. Readers won’t be disappointed.
-
CCB 3 is coming along well. I'm about to reach 22,000 words total. I would have reached that yesterday, but I was 200 words short and had to scurry off to dance class. Dance class is only once a week so I'm not going to miss is for lack of 200 words! Unless an editor is breathing down my neck. But he's not yet. So I'm safe. For now. :)
My sister and nephews are arriving from India today. They'll be visiting us for 2 weeks before we head to Florida for another week of visiting as well as a book convention that my dad and I attend every year. Noble Imposter will be introduced at this convention and there will be much rejoicing.
Meanwhile, we're busy storing all the produce that's flooding in from our garden. Mostly yellow squash. Who likes that stuff anyway? It's canned now. Actually, it's in jars. So should we say it's jarred? Maybe not.
Have a great day!
Davishas done an expert job in crafting a sequel to go beyond the reader’s expectations and to deliver on what she promised at the end of Precisely Terminated. Noble Imposter is an excellent work with a tension-filled plotline, an admirable and persuasive main character, and excellent writing to fluidly move the reader along in the story. Davis has well-earned her spot on my shelf with this work. Readers won’t be disappointed.
-
CCB 3 is coming along well. I'm about to reach 22,000 words total. I would have reached that yesterday, but I was 200 words short and had to scurry off to dance class. Dance class is only once a week so I'm not going to miss is for lack of 200 words! Unless an editor is breathing down my neck. But he's not yet. So I'm safe. For now. :)
My sister and nephews are arriving from India today. They'll be visiting us for 2 weeks before we head to Florida for another week of visiting as well as a book convention that my dad and I attend every year. Noble Imposter will be introduced at this convention and there will be much rejoicing.
Meanwhile, we're busy storing all the produce that's flooding in from our garden. Mostly yellow squash. Who likes that stuff anyway? It's canned now. Actually, it's in jars. So should we say it's jarred? Maybe not.
Have a great day!
June 21, 2012
Cantral Chronicles Book3
I'm back into the writing seat today. The past two days I've spent working on other things.
Would you like to hear about those other things? If so, read on. If not, there's a red box with an X near the right corner of your screen. Click it.
Tuesday my mother and I headed out early to drive to Memphis. It's about a 60 mile drive, which amounts to about an hour and a half spent driving. Our first errand was to stop by a friend's house and pick up a small, waist deep pool that they were getting rid of. We were interested in it because my two nephews (who are 3 and 4 years old) will be visiting us for 2 weeks, and they love to swim. I've spent a lot of this morning setting up this pool. It's filling with water as I type (It's about 15 feet in diameter and 42 inches deep).
After the pool was safely folded into the back of our van we trundled off to Millington where we picked 1 1/2 bushels of peaches and 2 gallons of blackberries. If anyone is interested, there's a nice pick your own orchard there called 'Jones Orchard'. The peaches are very good this year. Last year was a terrible year for peaches, but with all the warm weather we've had lately, it's been perfect for them.
With the peaches packed safely in the coolers we brought along for that purpose, we headed down to our clogging class. Every Tuesday my mother and I clog (dance) with a group. It's a lot of fun. We learned a more advanced song that night and did pretty well with it. I'd show you a video . . . but I didn't take one. :) You'll just have to imagine it.
Yesterday was a 'non-writing day' (as we call them) day as well. We had to do something with all those peaches we picked the day before! Half of a bushel was carried off to my aunt and the rest had to be processed. I made about 2 gallons of blackberry jam in the morning before driving to my aunt's house and spending over half an hour cutting okra with my sister Red. We cut about 2 gallon buckets full of okra. Of which we only took a little home, because in my family, only my dad likes to eat okra!
When we returned home we finished up the blackberry jam and started the peach jam. We didn't finish the peach jam until 8:30PM (I started making blackberry jam at 7AM), and we still had a bunch of peaches left over. So we made peach cobbler and went to bed. In the end we canned about 6 - 7 gallons of peach jam.
And now today is back to writing on CCB3! Have to get a character out of some mortal peril with quick thinking on other character's parts. We'll see if they're good enough to do it!
Would you like to hear about those other things? If so, read on. If not, there's a red box with an X near the right corner of your screen. Click it.
Tuesday my mother and I headed out early to drive to Memphis. It's about a 60 mile drive, which amounts to about an hour and a half spent driving. Our first errand was to stop by a friend's house and pick up a small, waist deep pool that they were getting rid of. We were interested in it because my two nephews (who are 3 and 4 years old) will be visiting us for 2 weeks, and they love to swim. I've spent a lot of this morning setting up this pool. It's filling with water as I type (It's about 15 feet in diameter and 42 inches deep).
After the pool was safely folded into the back of our van we trundled off to Millington where we picked 1 1/2 bushels of peaches and 2 gallons of blackberries. If anyone is interested, there's a nice pick your own orchard there called 'Jones Orchard'. The peaches are very good this year. Last year was a terrible year for peaches, but with all the warm weather we've had lately, it's been perfect for them.
With the peaches packed safely in the coolers we brought along for that purpose, we headed down to our clogging class. Every Tuesday my mother and I clog (dance) with a group. It's a lot of fun. We learned a more advanced song that night and did pretty well with it. I'd show you a video . . . but I didn't take one. :) You'll just have to imagine it.
Yesterday was a 'non-writing day' (as we call them) day as well. We had to do something with all those peaches we picked the day before! Half of a bushel was carried off to my aunt and the rest had to be processed. I made about 2 gallons of blackberry jam in the morning before driving to my aunt's house and spending over half an hour cutting okra with my sister Red. We cut about 2 gallon buckets full of okra. Of which we only took a little home, because in my family, only my dad likes to eat okra!
When we returned home we finished up the blackberry jam and started the peach jam. We didn't finish the peach jam until 8:30PM (I started making blackberry jam at 7AM), and we still had a bunch of peaches left over. So we made peach cobbler and went to bed. In the end we canned about 6 - 7 gallons of peach jam.
And now today is back to writing on CCB3! Have to get a character out of some mortal peril with quick thinking on other character's parts. We'll see if they're good enough to do it!
June 19, 2012
Review of Noble Imposter
I'm sure y'all are curious as to how other people like Noble Imposter. I had a few pre-publication readers, and here is the opinion of one of them.
"Amazing! Noble Imposter grabs your attention from the very first page and pulls you right into the story, making you feel like you're actually there! Monica is the kind of character with whom you can relate, and the book is exciting enough to keep you eagerly turning the pages. Overall, I had only one problem with this book: I didn't want it to end!"Sarah, Age 14
---
I'm so glad you liked it, Sarah! And I hope anyone else who gets a chance to read 'NI' enjoys it just as much.
Noble Imposter went to press a few days ago and will be in the warehouse next month (July). I plan on having ice cream once it's released. You guys should, too.
"Amazing! Noble Imposter grabs your attention from the very first page and pulls you right into the story, making you feel like you're actually there! Monica is the kind of character with whom you can relate, and the book is exciting enough to keep you eagerly turning the pages. Overall, I had only one problem with this book: I didn't want it to end!"Sarah, Age 14
---
I'm so glad you liked it, Sarah! And I hope anyone else who gets a chance to read 'NI' enjoys it just as much.
Noble Imposter went to press a few days ago and will be in the warehouse next month (July). I plan on having ice cream once it's released. You guys should, too.
