Jenn Reese's Blog, page 20
February 1, 2011
Jade Tiger eBook
It took me a couple of weeks to figure out formatting and cover issues, but I finally got my first novel, JADE TIGER, up on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and GoodReads as an eBook. (Other formats may come later.)
As for covers, I decided on two versions and am planning to try more as I go — it's fairly easy to change them, and I'd like to see if some designs fare better than others. Thanks again for all your help, and thanks to Timothy Lantz for use of the original cover art.
Ebook available from:
Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Learn more about JADE TIGER:
Read reviews
Read an excerpt
Listen to the Prologue in MP3 format
If any of you do buy an eBook and notice formatting problems, typos, or what have you, please let me know. Thanks!
January 26, 2011
Alphabet Quartet: A, B, C
The Alphabet Quartet — written by me, Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout — continues to be published at Daily Science Fiction! You can now read the first three stories online:
A is for Arthur
B is for Banyan Tree
C is for Crate
Email subscribers got "D is for De Gustibus" last night, but everyone else will have to wait until next Wednesday to read it online. (Subscribing to the email stories is free and easy, if you feel so inclined.)
For those of you who know which stories I wrote, please no commenting! Everyone else is allowed to speculate wildly as to which of us wrote each story — but I will neither confirm nor deny your guesses.
Alphabet A-C
The Alphabet Quartet — written by me, Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout — continues to be published at Daily Science Fiction! You can now read the first three stories online:
A is for Arthur
B is for Banyan Tree
C is for Crate
Email subscribers got "D is for De Gustibus" last night, but everyone else will have to wait until next Wednesday to read it online. (Subscribing to the email stories is free and easy, if you feel so inclined.)
For those of you who know which stories I wrote, please no commenting! Everyone else is allowed to speculate wildly as to which of us wrote each story — but I will neither confirm nor deny your guesses.
January 21, 2011
Website Redesign…Again
I know, I know. I will admit that I have a problem. But I've had this website design for, like, months now. It's time for a change!*
I already have a lot of ideas about what I want to change in terms of look and usability, but I'll admit that I'm still struggling with content. I currently have:
- Information on my books (covers, synopses, reviews, etc.)
- List of other publications (short stories, essays, podcasts, etc.)
- Blog (probably not going to change — it is what it is)
- Info on me (currently three brief paragraphs)
- Contact info (and links to RSS, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
In terms of website content:
What do you look for when you visit the website of an author you don't know?
I don't know if there's interest in more personal photos or more info on my martial arts stuff. I think that's the sort of thing I look for when I visit other authors' sites — all the personal details that separate the author from everyone else — but I feel kind of dopey when I try to add that stuff to my own site.
Not looking for any in-depth analysis here, so feel free to jot off whatever thoughts occur to you.
* Why, yes, I am on deadline for my next novel. Pure coincidence, I assure you.
January 19, 2011
Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals
When I was visiting with my family over the holidays, I sat with my 4-year-old nephew and tried to show him how to draw a dragon. Suddenly, I had this strong memory of my favorite drawing book when I was a wee lass — a book that showed me how to create all sorts of animals out of basic shapes.
That book was Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals, and I loved it beyond reason.
But I didn't have that book when I was with my nephew, and the dragon that I hobbled together out of rectangles, triangles, and circles was a true abomination. Fortunately, my audience was four years old, and he happily tried to recreate it again and again. I vowed silently that I'd send him a copy of Ed Emberley's book as soon as I got home.
And… it's still sitting here next to me. Last night, I drew a birdie and a fox and an owl. I have an envelope all labeled and ready, but I can't seem to put the book inside and seal it up. (I did put the book inside once, and immediately pulled it back out again.)
It's more than just a drawing book, I think, more than just a powerful piece of nostalgia. I think the idea of making complex objects out of simple ones rocked my world. I think it still kinda does.
But mostly, I think I need to buy my nephew his own copy.
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January 18, 2011
Group Blogs: Do you read them?
Yesterday I was involved in a lively discussion about group author blogs with two other writers. Among other things, we discussed best practices for running group blogs, existing group blogs, and their efficacy in terms of promotion and, ultimately, author awareness and sales.
Personally, I don't think group blogs are effective sales or marketing tools. When I think about the group blogs I read, only BoingBoing, Lifehacker, and GeekDad come to mind, and they aren't run by authors trying to promote their books. I am actually a member of two group blogs — SFNovelists and the Apocalypsies — but I am in both of those groups for professional support more than promotion, and rarely post.
Ultimately, I don't read any group author blogs that I'm not a member of. If friends of mine are in group blogs, I will occasionally read their posts, but not always. I generally prefer the more personal posts they are likely to make on their own blogs.
I'm wondering if other people feel the same way, or if I am just hopelessly out of touch. If you're an author participating in a group blog, do you feel the group blog has been worth the time and effort you've spent maintaining it? If you're a reader, do you read group author blogs? Do you read the posts by every author, or just the ones you already know you like? What interests you about this sort of blog?
In case it's not clear, I would love to be wrong about this. I would love to discover that group author blogs are amazingly effective and well-loved by readers everywhere, that they're a great way of gaining a wider audience for no money and very little time. Yes, I would dearly love to be wrong.
January 13, 2011
Zodiac as a Tool
When I first moved to California, I applied for a web design job and almost didn't get it because I'm a Virgo. That's right, one of the interviewers believed strongly in astrology and felt that a Virgo couldn't handle such a creative position. Luckily, the CEO felt differently and I got the job.
I don't believe in astrology, yet I know I'm a Virgo and a Metal Dog. Why? Because it's fun. Because sometimes letting someone else tell you what you are helps you see yourself in a new way. Because it's a tool of self-reflection, and in my book, self-reflection is a good thing.
In high school, I was really into tarot cards for the same reason. Not because I believed they would give me answers from beyond, but because using them sometimes helped me figure out what I truly wanted in a situation. They're a psychological tool, one that let's you forget science and logic and look for answers via a different paradigm. (Hey, when it comes to things like relationships and career choices, logic isn't always the best tool. It sometimes works at cross purposes with the heart.)
For the last few days, everyone is talking about the "new" zodiac and their new signs, and I say let them. (Here's io9 on how that story got started.)
I'm fascinated by how this re-categorization is making people feel. I'm seeing reactions of happiness, of anger, of disbelief, of total denial.
What was it about your old sign that you don't want to give up? Does the sign form that much of your basis of identity? Is there something in the new sign that appeals to you? Are you disappointed that your own sign didn't change at all? Was there a limitation imposed on you by your last sign, that you're now free of — and how does that make you feel?
Has astrology penetrated deeper into our sense of self and identity than we'd each like to admit?
As for me, I'm a Leo now — a natural-born leader and an extrovert. Watch out, world! ;-D
January 12, 2011
The Good Kind of Apocalypse
Those of you who know me, know that I've been a science fiction and fantasy writer my whole career. Well, now I'm a children's author, too, and it's as if a whole new, exciting world has suddenly appeared. A world that is, in many ways, completely different than the one I've been living in for the last 15 years.
Luckily, I've hooked up with some other writers — all with debut children's books* coming out in 2012 — to form a little support group. We call ourselves… the Apocalypsies!
Although our books aren't coming out for another year or more, we've started a blog. You'll find our bios, descriptions of our books, interviews with children's authors debuting in 2011, and other fascinating stuff. I'm mostly in the group for the support aspect, but I do plan to interview two very talented writers with amazing debut books later this year.
For my sf peeps reading this, you'll be amazed at how many new children's books have fantasy and science fiction settings and tropes. There's no sf ghetto in the children's world — at least not that I can see. Sense of wonder is welcomed, and you will be, too.
* When I say children's books, I mean picture books, middle grade books, and young adult books. We've got something for everyone!
January 10, 2011
Writing Crutches
I used to be able to write anywhere, given even the smallest bits of time. Doctor offices, on line at the DMV, lunch breaks, meetings when someone boring was talking, mornings, evenings, afternoons, full and partial eclipses, zombie apocalypses — you name it.
But oh, how things have changed!
Over the weekend, my laptop monitor went kaplooey. After much weeping and wailing, I took it to the shop, and the Apple folks now have it for the next 4-10 days.
(I will now skip past the twitching, beating my chest, shaking my fists at the universe, and general rocking back and forth in the fetal position portions of the story. But I assure you, it was far worse than that.)
Chris, saint that he is, is lending me his computers while mine is in the shop. A glorious 27″ iMac and a serviceable old 13″ MacBook. I am incredibly lucky that he has such computers, and that he's happy to lend them to me, and yet…
They aren't my computer.
Gone is that person who could write anywhere, on anything. I have fallen prey to routine and comfort. To familiarity. In short, I have developed more writing crutches than I ever thought possible.
Things I apparently had to load on to Chris's computers before I could start breathing normally and even consider using them:
1. Scrivener 2.0.
Word? Google docs? Are you crazy??? I am now so attached to Scrivener that I feel like a parasite. A novel doesn't even look like a novel unless I see it in the familiar Scrivener panes, unless I have all my resource files and drafts and outlines and inspiration photos happily located in the same Scrivener file, just a click away.
Using Safari or Firefox actually makes me twitch. (What do you mean I can't type my search terms directly into the address bar. Is this the STONE AGE?!?)
3. LastPass extension for Chrome.
It remembers my passwords so I don't have to. All six billion and three of them. Without it, I can only stare at my browser and remember the heady days when I could use it to pay my bills, manage my finances, and communicate with my friends.
4. Nambu Twitter client.
Can't use Tweetdeck. Or Twitter.com. Or even Tweetie that you can now get from the Mac App Store. I must have Nambu, and it must be configured the way I want it.
5. Quicksilver.
Without Quicksilver, I continue to try to launch programs with keyboard shortcuts, and just stare balefully at the screen when nothing happens.
6. And then, of course, I must have the right wallpapers on my desktop. The dock must be hidden, and there should be minimal (if any) icons marring the beauty of the desktop. I must write from a sofa, not a chair, making the beautiful 27″ iMac a pretty fallback, but not comfortable in the slightest. (Yes, you all weep for me, I'm sure.)
What am I surprised not to need? ITunes. Apparently I can work with or without music, a surprising discovery. I can also get by with music from the stereo or an iPod, or any other source. In a jam, the TV turned to a boring station can provide the requisite background hum.
I also miss Photoshop and CorelDraw, and World of Warcraft — although I find their lack frustrating, but not a huge barricade like the items listed above. Heck, maybe it's not so bad that my "must-have" list is only 6 or 7 items long.
So tell me — do you have any writing crutches, or can you do it anywhere, any time?
I kind of miss the old me… but not as much as my miss my laptop.
January 5, 2011
The Alphabet Quartet
Daily Science Fiction has begun publishing The Alphabet Quartet, the collaboration of 26 (mostly) flash stories I wrote with Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout.
If you sign up for Daily Science Fiction's free email, you'll get the stories delivered to your inbox, one every Wednesday for 26 weeks. You'll also get tons of other great short science fiction and fantasy stories. (I've been a subscriber since the start, and I love getting a daily dose of wonder.) If you don't want the emails, you'll be able to read our stories online a week after they're emailed to subscribers.
Each story has a byline that lists all four of us. In the spirit of collaboration, we didn't want to attribute the stories to their individual authors…partly because we all want to take credit it for the ones people like.
The first story up is "A is for Arthur." Don't you want to know what happened to Shakespeare's most important play?
