Caddy Rowland's Blog: Writer of Fiction, Painter of Life and Energy, page 26

At Long Last, Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny

I usually blog about other things instead of specifically dedicating a blog to my books.  However, today I am just so happy that I am going to promote myself.  Please forgive me while I do a celebration dance!


Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny is now available on Kindle and NOOK!  I will be formatting for paperback and that should come out in January.  This picks up where Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream leaves off.  It is the romance my fans have been waiting for.

This is NOT a typical female romance.  It is definitely still a story for men as well as women!  This book shows that "being in love is wonderful, but true love refuses to be confined by any boundaries."  Gastien is a true nonconformist, yet he finds himself loved in spire of his terms.

Don't forget Gastien's fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp

Now, off to formatting the paperback.  :)  Then I need to get this to reviewers/bloggers and do some other updating of profiles.  After that, I am going to take a couple weeks around the holidays to "make love to the color" as Gastien and I refer to painting.  My hand is itching to hold a brush again.


The second week of January I will start writing more of book 3 in The Gastien Series.  Of course, I will still be blogging during my painting time.  Did you think you could shut me up that long?

Sometimes Nice Things Happen For No Reason

We had something really nice happen to us this last weekend.  Isn't it fun when something cool happens to you for no reason other than serendipity?

All day Saturday my husband was busy "mouse proofing" our house.  (If you remember, I blogged about finding evidence of a visitor about a week ago).  I spent the day cleaning the house.  Not one of my favorite chores, but it sure is nice to have a clean house once it is done.

We decided to go to Famous Dave's for dinner.  We love Famous Dave's.  We usually go about once a week and get the ribs on the Early Bird Special.  It is just the right amount of food at a very reasonable price.


Famous Dave's has been running a promotion where you get a scratch off ticket with your bill.  You bring in the ticket the next time and scratch it off to see what you won.  Most prizes are free appetizers or desserts.  We seldom order either. My husband is not a dessert fan, I am too much of one.  Appetizers are great...if you want to ruin your appetite for your entree!

About a week ago we scratched ours off and to our surprise, we won a free entree!  That was very nice.  On Saturday I almost forgot that we had a scratch off.  Remembering, I dug it out and scratched while the server watched.  It was kind of dark in there (yeah, ok...I need reading glasses...get over it!) so I could not quite make out.  "Something about 2nd and All American" I said.

The waitress grabbed it and lit up.  "Oh!  You just won the All American!  That is only the 2nd time that has happened here.  It is a very nice prize...our $58 All American Feast!"  Huh???? Wow!  It came and we could not stop laughing at all of the food.  It is really for four.  Honestly, it should be for six. It is so large it comes on a garbage can lid!

We got 12 ribs, brisket, a WHOLE chicken, 4 corn muffins, enough fries for 8 people, a ton of coleslaw (they have the BEST), Wilber beans, and their chips instead of corn on the cob!  Needless to say, we could not eat even half of it.

This was perfect because we had not found time to get groceries that day. We now had 2 more meals to take home.  Last night we had the chicken, etc.  Tonight the ribs and brisket that was left over.  These "leftovers" are full meals.

We made sure to thank the manager and we also made sure to tip the servers as if we had paid for it.  (For those of you who use 2 for 1 coupons, you are supposed to tip on the full amount, not on one entree.  The server should not be punished for your savings.).

Walking out, I commented to Dave that we needed to remember that even though bad or irritating things happen all of the time (remember the mice?), good things happen for no reason, too. And what a nice surprise it is whenever that happens!


Thank you Famous Dave's.  That was very cool!

Fa la la lala la la Formatting gets easier!

As an indie publisher, I do my own formatting for e-book and for paperback. I started the formatting for paperback yesterday afternoon for Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny.  I have to say that it is going much smoother for the second book!  The first book (which was the first time I had tried to do any of this type of thing) was tough.  Some days I wanted to open a bottle of cab by 10am.  Other days, I wanted to throw a bottle of cab against my computer screen.

I am sure I will run into a few little glitches, but it is nice to see (at least so far) that this formatting gets easier once you have a little experience under the belt.

As far as formatting for kindle and nook, I have that ready to go.  That is now second nature to me (now watch the file get rejected when I decide to submit...).  I want to wait until further into December to submit, as I want to be a new release for a few weeks after people open their gifts and get those new kindles!


I thought those of you who are getting ready to self publish your first novel, and those of you holding back because of formatting fear, would like to know that it does indeed get easier after the first time.  Make sure you ask questions in the communities for the formatting you are working on.  More importantly, bookmark the answers!  You will need those the next time!


I copied the answers to my questions on a word.doc since there were various bookmarks from different days questions.  I now have that word.doc up and available on my laptop for referral as I work on the paperback formatting.

Formatting for paperback has different requirements than for e-books, so you need to go slow and be careful.  Always, ALWAYS keep a copy of your finished manuscript separate from the one you are formatting.  That way, if you really mess up you have not lost your work.

Time to get back at it.  I want to make sure that I have done everything possible to assure my readers a quality book!


Kindle Direct Publishing community board: http://forums.kindledirectpublishing.com/kdpforums/index.jspa

Createspace (print on demand paperback) community board: https://www.createspace.com/en/community/index.jspa

Christmas Spirit? Or Same Old Rudeness?

I have noticed something sad lately while I am out at the various stores and running errands.  For a season that is supposed to be so jolly, people sure are anything but.

Hey, I know a lot of us are unemployed.  I get that kind of stress.  But, for all of the talk people do about how they "love" Christmas and how they get the "real" meaning, they sure appear the opposite.


Too many people at the stores aren't smiling.  No, they are too busy yapping on their cellphones to even be in the present (no Christmas pun intended).  If not on their phones, they are bitching at their children or pushing others out of the way with their carts.  What happened to all of that holiday jolly?


In supermarkets, people are as rude as ever.  They barrel through the aisles, and you just better stop and let them through...even if you are already in the aisle they want into.  When did everyone decide they are the most important entity in the universe?  Is it really that hard to say "excuse me" or "I am sorry"?

Same in the parking lots.  People see that you are pulling out so they hurry to slam into gear and get out ahead of you.  Never mind if you are halfway out of your space.  You just damn well better wait for them to leave.  After all, they are far more important to you.  What happened to treating others with decency and respect?


No, I am sorry.  I just can't believe that those people "get" the meaning of Christmas.  Peace, love, and forgiveness don't jive with "get the hell out of my way, because I could care less about anyone but me".  We have become a nation of self centered, rude egotists.  No wonder other countries don't like us.  I don't like us much at times, either.

People, slow down a little.  Look into the eyes of other people out shopping and parking their cars.  If you really look, you will see another human being there.  What a surprise!  You aren't the only person in the world!

Let's all take a little inventory and start practicing what this season is supposed to teach us.  Love. Patience. Generosity. Forgiveness.


That also includes me.  I guess I need to practice that with all of the people that treat others poorly.  Hard as it may seem, they need love and forgiveness, too.

Ho Ho Ho.  Have a nice day!  And try to make it a nice day for others!

The Christmas Mouse? No, thank you!

Yesterday my husband and I planned on having a totally relaxing day of watching TV and lounging on the sofa.  He had worked hard all week and was looking forward to watching the Vikings (yeah, he must like torture) and then some movies. I had stayed up until 4:30 am Thursday morning, working on some guest blogs and interviews that were due.  I got 3 hours sleep. The life of an indie writer/publisher.

Then I opened the silverware drawer and saw them.  Little "gifts" from what could only be a visiting Christmas mouse!  Oh, no!  Yuck!  Is there anything better at making you feel sick than seeing mouse droppings in your kitchen drawers or cupboards?  I opened the drawer next to it.  More gifts!


ALL of a sudden, the afternoon of pleasant idleness had evaporated.  Now we were facing the daunting task of removing every item from every cupboard, disinfecting the items and the drawers/cupboards, and setting peanut butter traps.  Do you have any idea just how much "stuff" one has for entertaining, etc after decades of adult life???

That was not all.  Once everything was cleaned, it could not be put back.  No.  Because the mouse (mice?) would be back.  So, we needed to put those items all over the house, keeping the drawers and cupboards bare except for the traps.  Sigh.

The good news?  All of our cupboards got cleaned.  Even better, only 2 drawers and 2 cupboards had any evidence at all of the visitor(s).  Thank God!  That meant he/she had only recently invaded us.  That also meant we only had the items from those 4 places to keep out while we plant our stealth killing devices.

I feel bad for them.  I really do.  Honestly, mice are quite cute.  I understand that they are looking for warmth and food, which all living things are entitled to.  However, they carry a lot of diseases!  So, cute or not, they are never welcome in our home.  Still, I can't set the traps.  That is Dave's job.  He will carry the blood of those murders on his hands, not me.  At least that is what I tell myself. 

Poor Christmas mouse.  He picked a bad home to invade.  No piece of cheese set on a plate for him on the eve of Christmas in this home.  Instead, he will have his neck snapped for pooping on our knives and forks. 

Ho ho ho.  Merry Christmas, Mr. Mouse.  :(

Indie Sex & Violence (Sometimes Rock 'n Roll)

Some indie authors/publishers feel the need to put a "warning" in their book blurb if their book has sex or violence in it.  I find that puzzling.  To me, it makes them look like they are not taking their authorship seriously.  Or maybe too seriously? 

It sounds like they are apologizing for writing the story how they felt it was best told.  Kind of like  "Oh, gee, I try to be a good puppy, but look what I have done!  I have peed on the carpet!"


The reason I say this is that the playing field needs to be even in regard to writing freedom for both indie authors and traditionally published authors.  When you walk into a bookstore and browse the backs of book covers, do you EVER see a warning? 

Of course not.  Yet, major authors write steaming, graphic sex scenes and such graphic violence that some of it makes me ill.  People are cut up, burned, sawed apart, eaten...but no warning.

Nor should there be.  Look, if you are buying a book that is not in the children's, teen, Christian, light, or cozy category you have to assume that the story might have sex and violence.  Sometimes a lot of sex and violence.  Sometimes a lot of very graphic sex and violence.

I am not saying graphic sex and violence are good or bad.  What I AM saying is that, if you choose a murder mystery or horror story, you should be prepared that it may gross you out or scare you in parts.  If you pick a romance or literary fiction, the sex may (or may not) burn the fingerprints off your fingers.  There may be violent scenes that are graphically written to show the horror of what happened. Characters may use crude language or curse.

Some authors never write sex or violence and that is fine.  They usually put their work in the genres I mentioned. But to say sex and violence is gratuitous, or needs to come with a warning, is just plain crazy.

First of all, you can read part of the book to find out the authors style. Even online, you can read a sample.  It won't tell the full story, but it gives you a hint.  Still, if you decline a book because there is crude language or someone has hot sex, you may miss out on a truly great story.

People have sex and people are violent. When writing about the head of the mob, for instance, wouldn't it be more gratuitous to have him say "Gee whiz, you have kind of upset me.  I feel like raising my voice to you!"  Some characters have crude facets to them.  Writing them differently makes them hard to find believable.  Saying "he swore".  sixty times in a novel is redundant. 

Nor should people assume that an author is like their characters!  Some filthy mouthed people write clean stories.  Some who never cuss write characters who cuss like, well, hell!  I have to tell you that if I had sex as often as my main character in Gastien did, I would not have time to sit here and blog.  Do not confuse a character with the author.

Indies, don't feel the need to apologize or "warn" people about your work.  We ALL have the freedom of speech.  No matter how you write, some people will love you and others will not.  None of us can get every reader as a fan.  I guarantee you, though, that writing honest, real characters and not acting apologetic about it will garner more respect than not.

Like John Mellencamp said: "This is serious business; sex & violence & rock & roll."  Use it when the character or scene calls for it to make it real.  Don't look back.  Life is sexual; life is, at times, violent.  Just tell it, baby, and make no apologies. Life sure doesn't.

Taking My Own Medicine (Fixing My Blurb)

Indie authors, as we know, take care of alsmot everything in regard to their books. Yesterday, I blogged about the importance of a great blurb. I also mentioned that I was in the process of writing the blurb for my second book.

Well, after that I put my blurb up on the kindleboards for suggestions.  I got some wonderful suggestions and am now happy to say that I feel my blurb is ready!

Not only that, but I realized that the blurb I had for my first book was just too darn long!  Talk about saying one thing and doing another! So, I changed it.  Yup.  That blurb I worked so hard on for the first book got ditched.

I realized it would not make me buy the book.  It gave too much information and I was probably losing some people.  That is what is cool about blogging.  The whole process makes you think.  Thinking makes you realize that you might need to make some changes yourself!


Now I have what I consider to be a concise blurb for my first book that should intrique people; make them want to know more.  Here it is.  Tell me what you think!

One Man: Stunningly handsome; with desires that burn relentlessly inside of him.

Two Dreams: Become a great artist; an even greater lover.

The scene: For an artist, Paris is a hotbed of new ideas. For a lover, nineteenth century women can only dream of a man who cares if he actually satisfies them.

The problem: No training, no money, no connections. In nineteenth century France naïve young men, hoping to achieve impossible dreams, die in the gutters of Paris every day. And, he is a virgin…so far.
The tools: Raw, natural talent. Willingness to learn. Incredibly irresistible. The vow to stop at absolutely nothing in order to achieve his goals.
Gastien Beauchamp, Paris is yours for the taking.
Sometimes, the "impossible" is possible. But the cost can be extremely high.Do you like it? Do you think it sucks? I would love to hear your opinions. Give me a shout!

The All Important Book Blurb (It Makes "Em Buy Your Book)

As I head into the final stages of preparing my next novel for print, I begin thinking about my book blurb.  The blurb is the product description (Amazon) or Overview (B&N), and the words that are on the back cover of an actual book.

Make no mistake, an indie author cannot take the blurb lightly.  It is the thing that will make readers decide if they will purchase your book or not.  The story itself must be great, or people won't buy another book from you.  The cover must be great, because that compels readers to look at the blurb. But the blurb?  That baby had better sing, and sing well.  It can't be too long, but it has to grab their attention. 


Think of it as advertising.  That is really what it is.  After over 20 years in adverstising sales, I can tell you that a good ad gets a customer (reader) to take action.  That is ALL it does.  It does not tell them the story. It does not give them all of the facts.  It simply gets them excited.  Like a carnival barker.

Readers don't want you to take up much of their time with the blurb.  If you don't capture them quickly, you lose them.  If you capture them, but then start blabbing on and on about the story (which they can get if they read the free sample), they will grow impatient.

Why should they buy it?  What is mesmerizing about it?  Hook them.  Pull them in.  They will then either buy (if it sounds like something they would enjoy) or read the free sample (if they are online and not quite sure yet).  The free sample is where your great novel steps in.  If the novel sucks in the first couple of chapters, they walk away.

The blurb is the romance.  It is the candy and flowers; the violins and promises.  The blurb damn well better get them to take positive action, or you will get caught holding the ring in your hand.


I write the first draft of the blurb several days before I need it.  The first draft will suck.  That gotten out of the way, I can now hone it off and on other the next few days.  My gut tells me when it is ready. 

I have the "suck" draft on my computer right now.  It is being worked on constantly in the back of my mind, even though I have no idea what my mind is deciding.  I will attack it again today at least once. 

The words will come together and it will sing.  I will once again be ready to make romance to the readers.  I will hope that they like my choice of flowers; my box of candy. I don't want to have to keep this "ring" for myself.  My book is like a precious gem to me. I want others to "wear" it.

Indie Publishing Means Play It Again, Sam!

If you are considering publishing your first book as an indie author, or if you have just published your first indie book, you are probably hoping that you will be an exception to the rule and your book will sell like green beer on St. Patricks Day.  We all have that dream.  It is good to believe that your book is great.

However, in reality, that seldom happens.  Many books don't sell at all.  Certain genres are more popular than others. Some people just don't have many friends that buy their books and help get the word out. But, most importantly, your book just does not get seen by many people.  It gets buried very quickly after coming out as a new release.

I have already blogged about how important book reviews are.  The more reviews you get, the better chances you have that your book will be recommended on Amazon and B&N as a "customers who bought this item also bought" book.  You don't need all 4 and 5 stars, either.  It is great to get 5 star reviews, but when a book has 20 5 stars and no others, it appears that the reviews were "fixed" somehow.  So, don't worry if you get a few 3 star reviews.  3 is a bit better than average anyhow!  Even one or two 2 and 1 stars won't hurt, as long as they are fair.  Sometimes, what one person hates in a book is what another person is looking for. Lower reviews can also show you if you are weak in certain writing areas.  Then, you can improve.



However, even when you get lots of reviews and use social media to the best of your ability, chances are you are not going to make livable income (or part time livable income) from your first book.  You are a new author and people are skeptical. Are you going to write one book and fade away, never to be seen again?  Why should they invest emotionally in you only to be left in the dust?  This is especially true for a series.  On one hand, readers LOVE a series.  On the other hand, that first book in the series by a new author may sit there without selling.  People are afraid to read the first in a series because, again, what if you don't continue to write?  They will be left with an incomplete story.

The most important thing you as an indie need to do is: do it again. Write and release the second book.  Then, the third.  Get the picture?  I received a comment from another author yesterday who said the same thing.  Just keep going.  Always look forward.  You must keep putting quality books out, doing your marketing and showing people that you are here to stay.

The odd thing is that, from what I have been told, your first book starts selling more with each book that comes out.  That is if you are writing interesting books, of course.  This is true even if your books are not a series.  People who buy each new book are not necessarily that same ones who bought book 1.  If they like what they read, they will look for other books by you.

To recap, put out your best possible work, get a compelling cover, write a dynamic blurb (book description), do your marketing and get reviews...and then you simply have to play it again, Sam.  Play it over and over, creating new, exciting stories and showing the reading world that you are here to stay.

Happy writing!  I need to get busy. Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny is  almost ready.  Book 3 wants me to hurry up, stretch my fingers, and play it again.  The melody has been started and it is dying to become a full out symphony.

Giving Birth To A New Book (Indlie Publishing)

When I released my first novel as an indie author , it was extremely exciting!  It was also very stressful.  I had never formatted a novel for Kindle or NOOK before.  I wasn't even considering paperback...just getting the darn thing ready for e-readers seemed an impossible climb.

I was surprised when it went smoothly.  Sure, I had questions.  However, the community boards with KDP really helped me.  Before I knew it, I had Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream released to Amazon.com for Kindle and Barnes&Noble.com for NOOK.

Dare I think about a print on demand paperback?  Since I had several friends who did not have e-readers, I decided to give it a try.  Plus, I wanted to hold my own book in my hands.  I used Createspace.  I am not going to lie and say it was easy.  It wasn't.  I am not at all left brained.  Several times I almost gave up. But, again, the community board with Createspace was always there, helping me with answers to my problems and the resulting questions. 
Before I knew it, I was holding a proof paperback in my hand.  No, it was not easy.  But it was not as hard as you might fear.


Now it is time to release my second book, Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny.  I am 5/6 of the way through the out loud reading.  I am half done with the final tweaks.  There will be one read through after that.  I am on schedule for a release by December 15th or so.  I really want to make sure it is out there getting exposure as a new release for travelers over the holidays and people unwrapping new e-readers over the holidays.

The cover has been decided on, Robin Ludwig Design has finished it, and I have the files on my computer.  The cover is beautiful! It is starting to go into labor.  I still have to write the synopsis, or the blurb.  Then, it will be time to fomat.

Stress is building.  But, this time, the excitement far outweighs the stress.  This time, I know I can do it.  I have done it before.  Plus, truth be told, I kept the answers from those questions I submitted on the different community boards.  If I run into those problems again, I have solutions at my fingertips.

The labor will last a couple of weeks yet (thank God humans are not in labor that long!) before the book is "birthed".  All that is left are the final preparations so that the book can come into the publishing world knowing it is loved by me and that all of it's needs have been taken care of so far.

Once it is born, there will be more work.  All of the marketing starts once again.  Social networking.  Asking bloggers and reviewers to read and review it.  Hoping friends and previous buyers purchase this one.  But, this too will be easier.  I know what to do now.  I have contacts for reviews from my first book. This baby will be well taken care of. 


Finally, what I have to hope for is that others will love it as much as I do.  I would really hate to see it sit on the sidelines, an outcast.  I love it too much for that to not hurt.  It will be nurtured and guided to the best of my ability.  The rest will be up to the public.