Robin Burks's Blog, page 20

The e-book vs. physical book debate

This post was originally sparked by a post on Google+. The original post really didn’t delve into the e-book vs. physical book debate, but many of the responses were negative towards e-books. I’ll be the first to defend e-books because I strongly believe in technology.

I’m an avid reader. And living nowhere near a decent library or a book store (yes, such places exist), it’s very difficult for me to keep reading without going broke and without having books stacked to the ceiling in my house. I already have boxes and boxes of books that never got unpacked from when I last moved three years ago, sitting around and collecting dust. I don’t read books so much as consume them. I have an addiction to being carried away to other galaxies and worlds and meeting new characters. And these boxes stand as testament to that.

I bought a Nook when it first became available. Once I started reading e-books, there was no going back. I re-read many classics, which were available free, as well as other lesser known authors who were selling e-books at lower prices than those available at larger publishing houses. I discovered new works, writers like Joe Lallo and Emlyn Chand, who inspired me while writing my own book.

And so, when it came time to decide to handle my own first book, I knew I would self-publish and go the e-book route.

For those of you who argue that nothing can compare to the smell of a book or the feel of it in your hands, I cannot help but to think of those old, moldy and stinky books that I currently have sitting in my attic. But now I can pick up my tablet (which still does smell shiny and new), and how I can have a new story ready in the blink of an eye! Isn’t that wonderful? It opens up a whole new world of possibilities!

And how many authors have I discovered because of e-books? There are so many of those who did not go the traditional publishing route because they did not want to give in to those large corporations who have a reputation of ripping off authors (seriously, it’s as bad as the music industry, if not worse). This year, most of the books I have read have been e-books by self-published authors and every single one of them has been better than many of the stories that do get published. Readers who refuse to read any e-books (and there are people still adamantly against them) are missing out on some wonderful writing.

There is also the publishing industry, which is as bad as the music industry in many respects. A lot of what now gets published is “pop” literature, things that may not be written well, but that contain themes that are currently popular. Meanwhile, like indie music, other authors are self-publishing via e-books and should be supported in their endeavors. Why let the big corporations determine what we read?

I never did understand resistance to technology. I suppose it’s the same as people not liking change. I’ve always welcomed it, especially if it means that someone like me can publish their first book without a lot of hassle. Technology has been good to me. Without it, my first book never would have been written. Without the support of online communities like NaNoWriMo, as well as other writers on social media, it would have never even occurred to me to finally sit down and write an actual novel. And e-books has given me another dream come true: having a book published and available for sale.

So please, if you swear off e-books on principle alone, I ask you to reconsider. The year is 2012 and that change is coming, whether we like it or not. If only for me, I ask that you check out some e-books (the above two authors I mentioned are great to start out with) and discover new worlds you never could have imagined otherwise.

Finally! An Android app for The Louvre

During my last trip to Paris, I attempted to visit The Louvre. It was a madhouse and I consistently got lost. By the time I was ready to leave, I got lost again and it took me over an hour to find the exit.

And yet, for some reason, I plan to attempt to tackle it again. Because I do want to see things like the Venus di Milo. Because I didn’t see much of anything during my last visit because the crowds were INSANE.

But I need some help. Because the maps they give you with you ticket? They’re pretty darn confusing. So I just discovered an app on Google Play that is the official app for the museum. It supposedly has guided tours and helps you find your way around the massive structure that is the museum. I’d looked for something similar before, so I think this is pretty new to the Android platform (I believe it’s been available for iPhone for some time – figures).

I am not joking when I say that The Louvre massive. You can’t even imagine how large the place is until you’re wandering around inside of it. It is believed that if you were to see every work of art in The Louvre and spent a few minutes at each one, it would take over 3 months. It’s just… BIG.

So here’s hoping that an app will help me immensely in re-visiting the museum. I do want to enjoy it this time.

My second rule of thumb is not to visit mid-day. Thanks to a tip on TripAdvisor (my favorite travel-related website), I’m going to go later in the afternoon on one of the days when it’s open late (Wednesday or Friday).

Only 75 days until my trip! It’s starting to sneak up on me!

With August comes Memphis…

August and September are going to be rather exciting months for me. With the novel releasing on August 1 highlighting all, I’ve also got a trip to Memphis to see Duran Duran in concert and a trip to Paris coming up after that. So much to look forward to this fall!

The trip to Memphis to see Duran Duran has a story to it. The two women I’m attending with were my besties back in high school. And what brought us together? A band called Duran Duran (there, I’ve dated myself). And we were obsessed with Duran Duran. Unfortunately, we never got to see them live as the one show we were going to buy tickets to ended up getting canceled. Our closest city is Memphis (about 100 miles away) and it seems to have been a music wasteland even then. I’ve known musicians who have sworn they’ve only played Memphis once and will never play it again. For a city so steeped in musical history, it’s a darn shame.

That being said, fast forward to 2012 and a tour announcement that Duran Duran will be playing at the Memphis Botanical Gardens. I was literally in shock as I’m pretty sure this is their first show ever in Memphis (yes, after ALL these years) and so bought tickets the day they were available for the three of us. We just all recently reunited, thanks to Facebook and by me moving back to Missouri. So going to the concert together is basically a full-circle event for us.

Today, I indulged in the beauty that is William Shatner’s Priceline and got us a very discounted room at The Peabody Hotel. Now, Memphis isn’t known for swanky hotels, obviously. In fact, there are no 5-star hotels in Memphis and only two 4-star ones. The Peabody, however, has this local reputation as being rather swanky and judging from the lobby, it probably is. I’m sure it’s not the Four Seasons, but it is the most expensive hotel in the area. And they have ducks. Ducks that march through the lobby every morning and every night to/from the fountain there. DUCKS!  I have always wanted to stay there, though, and in my youth, when there were concerts in Memphis, this is where the rock stars stayed. So this is also a  sort of dream for us.

Finally, in September, there’s that little trip to Paris I’ve blogged about. This will be my third trip into the city and I’m excited to finally be able to visit and just relax. I’ve seen all the major sites, so I’m checking out some lesser known ones, though I do plan on returning to the Louvre (I hope I don’t regret it) and the Centre Pompidou (my favorite museum in the world).

Of course, this week, I’m still wrapped up with the play I’m doing with The Bootheel Community Theatre. If you’re local, please come out and see us!

Welcome to my new website

If you’ve read any of the posts here on my website, you’ll be like wait, what? This isn’t new! I’ve read some of this before. That’s probably because I integrated my travel journal into this site, as well, because I wanted all of my journal/blog to be in one place. It just makes more sense, right?

But the domain is new, as is the website itself. If there’s anything you’d like to see, just ask. Also, I will be cross-posting to my LiveJournal and Good Reads, so you can choose how to read my blog. I’m all about the choices!

Also, if you have not yet seen these Bootheel Community Theatre hilarious photos over at Facebook, have a peek. These are from rehearsals and promo for our upcoming show “And Then There Were Nun.” It’s been a blast and I can’t believe it will be over next weekend.

Next up? Paris in September. And boy, am I ready for that vacation! There are pastries and chocolates calling out my name…

Zeus, Inc. coming August 1, 2012

It’s official! I have decided on a date for the release of my first novel: Zeus, Inc. I’m terribly excited about this, obviously! So without further ado, I give you my release date: August 1, 2012.

The book will be available in digital form on Smashwords in a variety of formats (PDF, Kindle, Nook, Sony e-reader, etc.) and should also be available on the websites for Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

50 years ago, Zeus, Inc., and its CEO, the mysterious Joseph Brentwood, saved the world from a major energy crisis by discovering a new unlimited energy resource. Now, in 2065, Mr. Brentwood has gone missing and private eye Alex Grosjean has been hired to find him by his daughter (and Alex’s best friend), Aleisha.

Black-outs begin to occur all over the world and somehow Alex believes it’s tied to Mr. Brentwood’s disappearance. Her search leads her through her own murky past and into the depths of Hell itself, where she discovers that Mr. Brentwood is not who or what he seems to be.

With the help of an otherworldly man named Pip, Alex must save both Mr. Brentwood and the world. But will she be able to face her own guilty past in order to do it?

Paris Preparation begins…

Today, I started looking through my Paris “To Do” list and decided to get a few things knocked off. Although it wasn’t on the list, I knew that a new carry-on bag had to be in order. I have one I really like, but it has to be actually carried (it doesn’t have wheels) and being that my back is very touchy these days, I thought the last thing I needed was to be in Paris and be in pain because I had this heavy bag on my shoulder all day.

So I found the exact carry-on that I already have with wheels on eBags. And even better, it should fit on my bigger bag when I’m carrying both. Fortunately, my apartment in Paris is very easy to get to via the RER and Metro and the one change I have is literally getting off of one train, walking across the platform and catching the next train to Gare de Lyon (which actually has working escalators – a rarity in many Paris metro stations). I’m sure my back and body will thank me:

I also went ahead and ordered an extra battery for my phone. I love my phone, but it sucks up juice quickly. And if I take photos? It sucks it up even faster. Being that my phone is now my primary camera, too (although I will take my good camera to Paris and use it some), I knew I needed an extra battery so that I won’t have to worry about the thing going dead on me mid-day (like it tended to do at Gallifrey One this past year). I considered an extended battery, but those things add bulk and weight to the phone.

Next up? I need a new neck pillow for the flight (it’s on my Amazon wishlist if someone wants to buy me an early birthday present… hint, hint) and a new pair of black stretchy pants (maybe yoga pants) for the flight itself. Yes, I like to dress fashionable in Paris, but on the plane? I found out last year that jeggings are NOT comfortable enough to get any sleep in-flight. I can pair the stretchy pants with a comfy stretchy shirt, a sweater and a scarf and ballet flats, though, and pull it off, right?

Only 83 days to go!

Some stories haunt you…

The outline for The Book of Revelations series is already underway. I was awake all last night because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This will be my Game of Thrones (and yes, there will be dying characters) because it does look like it will span at least 2-3 books and have a lot more characters than my first novel and a lot of things like war and metal dragons and evil Presidents and 18-year-old girls with robotic cats.

At least that’s what I have so far. There will be much more.

I love it when a story grips you so hard that you can’t let it go. It’s even better when that story happens to be your own. I blame Ridley Scott. After having watched Prometheus, I was inspired. And last night, I watched Blade Runner (the director’s cut) and was inspired x 100. And now these characters are yelling inside of my head for me to write their things down NOW before I forget.

So in what was supposed to be a day off from the computer has been a day of scribbling on little notepads and then setting out notes in Google Drive. And then those notes became an outline and I saw it and I was pleased.

I also think Matt Smith’s Doctor has inspired a character in the second book in the series, too. I can envision him perfectly, bow tie and all.

Zeus, Inc. advance reader copies are out

Thanks to everyone who is reading my book (or has it on the way via email). I expect some good constructive criticism within the next month or so! I’m mostly looking to fix typos, spelling, grammar, etc. I did go through and edit it myself, but I’m sure I missed some things.

As my cousin so greatly pointed out, this will probably not be the best thing I’ve ever written. That actually makes me feel a lot better. This is my first attempt, so I’m expecting it to be the worse thing I’ve ever written. It can only get better from here. I just hope the story is enough that people want to continue reading about Alex and her adventures.

And now, for the summary (again, with the help of my cousin, who is now writing his own book):

50 years ago, Zeus, Inc., and its CEO, the mysterious Joseph Brentwood, saved the world from a major energy crisis by discovering a new unlimited energy resource. Now, in 2059, Mr. Brentwood has gone missing and private eye Alex Grosjean has been hired to find him by his daughter (and Alex’s best friend), Aleisha.

Black-outs begin to occur all over the world and somehow Alex believes it’s tied to Mr. Brentwood’s disappearance. Her search leads her through her own murky past and into the depths of Hell itself, where she discovers that Mr. Brentwood is not who or what he seems to be.

With the help of an otherworldly man named Pip, Alex must save both Mr. Brentwood and the world. But will she be able to face her own guilty past in order to do it?

And even better, I made a cover! It took me forever to find a good stock photo that I felt represented Alex fairly enough and this girl was close. I found one on iStock I liked better, but it was $10 vs. $20, so I went with this one from Dreamstime. I like how it came out. The city in the background is Memphis, where the story takes place (well, sort of, it’s a future version of Memphis).

Next up? I’m researching the KDP program from Amazon. The only issue is that I have to give Amazon exclusivity on the novel for 90 days and I’m not sure if I want to do that or not. I’m going to ask around and see if it’s worth it. Maybe it’s a better option for a second novel? Anyway, I will be publishing to Smashwords, which will distribute to B&N, Apple, etc. And then I’ll have to submit to Amazon separately. But I guess this thing is really a go! I’m so freakin’ excited. I look at the cover and think “OMG, THAT’S MINE!”

Then, of course, I’m trying to decide marketing. I sort of want to just use my one website FanGirlConfessions.com to market the book and all things Robin. Because I do not need yet another site to keep up with. Do you think that’s feasible? And that way, I can use the blog to promote it (and the existing reader base I already have built with the blog).

Still a little bit to figure out, but the formatting is done (until I upload it to Smashwords and see how well I did) and I now have a PDF version of the novel.

So now I’m going to wait a few months for reader feedback and go from there. Be on the look-out!

Lions and tigers and bare, oh my!

That’s a line from the play we’re doing “And Then There Was Nun.” Rehearsals are coming along nicely. We’ve upped them to three times a week, so my free time has gone completely bye-bye. And when I have free time, I have to run errands or get groceries and when I have free time from that, I’m playing Kingdoms of Amalur in an attempt to unwind.

Things are insane, but for some reason, I love it like this. It means that September will be here sooner and I’ll be in Paris walking around and speaking my passable French and eating pastries and wining and dining like the gods.

It also means, though, that everything novel-related is on hold. I need to work on the cover, but I don’t have the time or energy. However, I’ll be bored out of my skull after the play (although The Secret World MMO will be out the following week – yay!), so I’ll get back to it.

First thing’s first, though. I’m going to go through the Smashwords style guide and get it formatted so I can get some preview copies out there to those of you who want one. I need some reader feedback, although I’m not entirely sure how to go about things after I get feedback. I will obviously not completely re-write the novel, but if there are some things that everyone has issues with or little things people think I need to fix, I suppose I can do that and still get this thing online and for sale by August (that’s my self-imposed deadline).

I’m trying to figure out my next NaNoWriMo novel. I don’t know if I want to write the sequel (which I have a TON of ideas for) or start something new (I have a post-apocalyptic thing bumping around inside my head). I’ll probably start making notes for both and whichever seems the most doable at the time will be my pick.

Anyway, I need to keep this short and sweet as I have a mountain of work awaiting me today. And I would like to spend at least an hour on LiveMocha working on my French pronunciation. Wish me luck! No rehearsal tonight, so I might actually get caught up on my t.v. viewing, too – Game of Thrones, Lost Girl and Eureka all await me.