Tam Linsey's Blog, page 7

Paperback

I thought I’d let you know the paperback of Botanicaust is now available from Amazon. Meanwhile, I keep writing, writing, writing! You’re going to love the next book in the series.

Botanicaust Proofs Are Here!

Chapter Twenty-five

I received the paperback proof for Botanicaust. *Gulp*

I approved it for publication. *Bigger gulp*

The paperback version should be available on Amazon next week, and the Kindle version is available NOW. *Fainting spell*

I can’t believe I’m holding a copy!

Holding a physical copy of the book in my hands is amazing. And opening it up on my Kindle is pretty awesome, too. For those of you with Nook or Kobo or Sony eReaders, Smashwords has the ePub format available. The digital book should be available at Barnes and Noble etc. next week, as well. Smashwords allows me to offer digital versions of the book to libraries for free, and two libraries have already picked it up.

Section breaks

I spent a lot of time formatting the inside of the book to look as good as the outside. My chapter headings and section breaks have small graphics. The artistry of the book as a whole has been very gratifying work.

If you get a chance, please stop by Amazon or one of the other retailers and “like” Botanicaust, leave tags, buy a copy – or best yet, read it and leave a review.

What I’m harvesting and cooking:

I’ve been formatting and publishing a book. The garden is obscured by weeds, and the family tells me they are starving. Buy a copy of Botanicaust so I can order them pizza delivery – lol!

What I’m reading:

While formatting, I’m still listening to The Lies of Locke Lamorra. I love audio-books. Anyone have suggestions about self-publishing Botanicaust on audio?

Botanicaust Update

I’ve been working long hours readying the paperback of Botanicaust for printing, and finally put everything together just the way I like it. Proofs should be in the mail shortly! The rest of this week I’ll be uploading the ePub and Kindle versions to release hopefully this weekend.

I’ve developed some nice graphics for the interior of the book, which were easy to insert in the print version, but are turning out to be difficult to size correctly for the digital versions. But I’m determined to make reading on an eReader as rich an experience as reading the hard copy.

What I’m harvesting:

The garden is yielding green beans, strawberries, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots. The artichokes are developing nicely, and soon the peas will be ready to pick. Time to make jam and pickles.

What I’m cooking:

We celebrated my daughter’s birthday by making Thai fresh rolls and gluten free raspberry rainbow cupcakes.

What I’m reading:

While I harvest, I’ve been listening to an audio book, The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. I’m enjoying the world building and descriptions a lot.

Until next time!

Cover Reveal

Drum roll, please …

Thank you to everyone at RWA Nationals in Anaheim who voiced their honest opinion and helped me modify my original cover during the week of the conference. I’m excited to be so close to publication!

While I was gone, the garden went crazy. The dill is flowering, well over my head, rather like the amarantox in Botanicaust, now that I think of it. Zucchini the size of small children are lurking beneath the leaves. And robins have cannibalized my strawberries (I wish they would eat the whole berry instead of half before moving on to the next morsel!) But I now have ripe tomatoes and juicy cucumbers, and the apples are plumping up on the trees. As soon as I do my allotment of proofreading edits, I’ll give a little love to all my plants.

Botanicaust will be released at the end of the month, so watch for it. And I got some hopeful news yesterday – my favorite Indie author (big name, but I don’t want to jinx it by telling you) agreed to read and give me a cover blurb! I’m so excited, I can hardly breathe.

Until next time, keep your fingers on the keyboard!

#Writemotivation Update

What I’ve been harvesting:

Well, the Kenai dipnetting trip was a success – 32 salmon in a few hours, then home to clean, freeze, can, and smoke them. You’ll have to take my word for it – as usual, I was too busy to take photos. I did manage to snap a photo of the wonderful lake we camped at along the way.

The chickens are all butchered, the garden is watered (thank you Mother Nature!) and the broccoli has been harvested.

What I’ve been writing:

Maybe some of you noticed the slight change in my website. I swapped out themes to allow me to have multiple columns. Let me know what you think. I know many of you enjoyed the aesthetics of the old theme, and I tried to maintain the look.

My list for #writemotivation in July is almost all checked off!

1. Finish edits on Botanicaust and send it for proofreading. I hit send to my editor a few minutes ago. We’re on the home stretch!

2. Complete my gluten free cookbook and format for self-publishing. Ta-da! All done! That feels good to cross off.

3. Publish GF cookbook, You Can Eat This! on Amazon. Check! Woo hoo!

4. Finalize cover for Botanicaust. I’ve decided I need a tagline on the front. Working on it.

5. Finalize book trailer for Botanicaust I will have to do this while I’m in Anaheim at the RWA National Conference, I think.
6. Create Amazon Author Page. Done! Come visit!

I also created a Tam Linsey Goodreads Author Page, on the advice of my friend, Susan Cartwright. Her book, Wolf Dawn, is free on Amazon July 23-27, 2012.

I now need to make my list to pack for RWA Nationals. Anyone else out there going? I’d love to meet up and say howdy!

What I’ve been crocheting:

While I listened to my computer read my final edit on Botanicaust (horrible computer voice, but you’d be surprised at how many issues I catch listening which my editing eyes missed,) I worked on the blouse from the cover of Austentatious Crochet. The book was a gift from my dear writer friend, Morgan O’Reilly. I’m making the blouse with blue crochet thread rather than purple, and the gauge is a little thinner, so it will be more lacy looking, but hopefully it will be as lovely as the one in the book.

Until next time!

Party Time! A Gift for You!

I did it! I published my first book. You Can Eat This! 22 Gluten Free Comfort Recipes.

You thought I write fiction? Yes, I do. This cookbook is my way of “getting my feet wet.” Hopefully the mistakes I’ve made on this book won’t be repeated when I publish Botanicaust next month.

Creating this book was so much fun. I not only came up with the recipes (years of baking experience,) but also took the photographs, formatted the book, designed the cover, and published it on Smashwords and Amazon. Not to mention all the baking I did to take the photographs. The family has gained a thousand pounds, I think.

And you, dear readers, may have the book for free! Just use the coupon code UA95Q on Smashwords before August 12th, 2012. If you feel inclined to leave a review either there on on Amazon, I wouldn’t complain.

So where does this put my July #writemotivation goals?

1. Finish edits on Botanicaust and send it for proofreading Still chugging away at this. I’m about 3/4 through the edits.

2. Complete my gluten free cookbook and format for self-publishing. Ta-da! All done! That feels good to cross off.

3. Publish GF cookbook on Amazon. Check! Woo hoo!

4. Finalize cover for Botanicaust This is nearly done – I’m playing around with color saturation. Keep watching!

5. Finalize book trailer for Botanicaust No progress

6. Create Amazon Author Page This really ought to go up next.

I won’t post an update Monday because we are headed down to the Kenai River today to dipnet for our yearly supply of salmon. I’ll post more on that next week (if I remember to take photos.)

Until then, bake something gluten free!

Living in the Real World

As a writer, it is all too easy to get lost in my own head. Especially when I’ve set myself goals like I have for this month. But on Saturday, I got out into the real world — 4-wheeling in the mountains behind Gunsight Mountain. Yep, that’s me, getting muddy. We had a blast and rode a total of 21 miles up hills and through the muck and crossing streams. The wide expanses make me appreciate Alaska, but the trails themselves were surprisingly busy. We passed or were passed by several other groups enjoying the same area.

Here it is Monday, and I’m back into the writing groove. For those of you following my Writemotivation for July, I am continuing edits on Botanicaust, which feels like it will never end. I am also almost ready to release my Gluten Free Cookbook. The title is You Can Eat This! — look for a post later this week.

For now, I’m still savoring the scent of the outdoors. I guess in that way I’m back to living in my own head. Except I have the muddy clothes to prove it was real.

Write Motivation in July

This month I joined an awesome group of writers to help me complete my writing goals in July. You can view all of them at the K.T. Hanna’s site, if you’re interested in meeting them. Or if you’d like to help cheer us on, we’ll be on Twitter using the hashtag #Writemotivation.

I hope everyone out there will help hold me accountable as I attempt to accomplish the following:

1. Finish edits on Botanicaust and send it for proofreading

2. Complete my gluten free cookbook and format for self-publishing.

3. Publish GF cookbook on Amazon.

4. Finalize cover for Botanicaust

5. Finalize book trailer for Botanicaust

6. Create Amazon Author Page

The edits on Botanicaust will take by far the longest out of all these items. Editing is grueling. I never knew that until I hired a freelance editor. If I have time, I will also continue writing my latest work in progress, which is another novel set in the Botanicaust world.

In addition to my writing goals, I must also butcher the remaining 30 chickens; dipnet for our yearly salmon and can, freeze, and smoke it; continue to care for, harvest, and process the vegetable garden; and attend the RWA National Conference in Anaheim at the end of the month.

I’ll keep you posted on all of the above – wish me the Write Motivation!

Salmon Dip Recipes

I realized it has been a while since I posted something. Summer in Alaska doesn’t leave much time to slow down. Next week we begin butchering chickens. In three weeks we hit the river for dipnetting salmon. In between it all is weeding and watering the garden.

On busy days like this, when the sun is out and stays up forever, dinner is not much more than a bowl of salmon dip in the refrigerator to which people can help themselves. I’ve been asked no less than three times in the last few weeks for my recipes, so I thought I’d share (since I’m writing them down to email them, anyway!)

Mexican Style Salmon Dip

1 pint jar canned salmon, drained
2-3 T. sour cream
2-3 T. mayonnaise
1 T. Penzey’s Adobo Seasoning (I don’t get kickback from them. They are just my favorite spice company.)
1 t. onion powder
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
cayenne pepper to taste

Mix it all together and enjoy with tortilla chips or other crackers. Also great with thinly sliced jicama or kohlrabi.

Horseradish Salmon Dip

1 pint jar smoked, canned salmon, drained
2-3 T. sour cream
2-3 T. mayonnaise
2 T. chopped sweet onion
1-2 t. ground horseradish (or to taste)

Mix together and enjoy with crackers, veggies, or as a sandwich filling. Delicious with a selection of cheeses as an hors d’oeuvres plate.

Time to hit the garden again! Enjoy!

The Versatile Blogger Award

My friend, fellow writer, and Triberr mate, Casey Wyatt, nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award, and I am honored. I don’t know how versatile I am, but I’m happy to think someone out there appreciates my posts.

First off, in order to be versatile, I thought I’d list 7 new things about myself by way of pictures. Here are seven photos of things I’ve been up to lately.

1. I’ve been working on a design for my book cover so I can self-publish later this summer. What do you think so far? I’d love design suggestions.2. Growing tomatoes in the greenhouse.

3. Baby chicks arrived early this week and are settling in.

4. My husband’s gluten free black magik birthday cake. Yes, I made this. And photographed it. I’m kind of proud of myself

5. Wall-o-Water protects zucchini plants from frost. We’ve been known to have snow the first week of June here at my house.

6. Repairing garden boxes and replacing wood with stone.

7. In case you hadn’t noticed, there have been a lot of garden photos. It is May, after all. So, here is my garden from Google Earth. It is a maze of raised beds.

So, I get to pass on the nomination to 15 other bloggers. If you are on my list, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award. Here are the rules:

Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy.
Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy — if you can figure out how to do it.
Next, nominate 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
Finally, list 7 new things about yourself.

And my nominations are:

B.A. Binns — Laura Baumbach — Terri Molina — Linda Lovely — Donna Hatch — SamMarie Ashe — Paty Jager — Judith Ashley — Mae Pen — Sarah Raplee — Bronwen Evans — Tiny Oklahoma Garden — K.T. Hanna — Rebecca Loper — Oh Cake