Lea Carter's Blog, page 2
April 1, 2014
Good customer service or bad form?
I'm on my second Goodreads giveaway and with a only few days left before decision-making time, I'd like to "poll the audience."
Goodreads provides the host of a giveaway with the names and addresses of the persons who win. The host then ships off the books as promised. However, Goodreads strongly discourages said host from directly contacting said winners. Through Goodreads, I mean. Last time, I did anyway. Here's why.
I had tracking numbers for the packages! The tracking numbers were of only mild interest to me; I got them for the express purpose of providing them to the winners so that they could see what was going on. I could've put them in the packages themselves, but although they would've been delivered to the winners without my contacting them through Goodreads, I think we can all agree that it would've been worse than useless.
Neither winner complained (to me) that I contacted them directly. Neither winner responded (to me) at all, in fact. So I'm left wondering - is contacting a giveaway winner once, with a tracking number (something pertinent and useful) good customer service? or bad form?
Thanks for your input!
Goodreads provides the host of a giveaway with the names and addresses of the persons who win. The host then ships off the books as promised. However, Goodreads strongly discourages said host from directly contacting said winners. Through Goodreads, I mean. Last time, I did anyway. Here's why.
I had tracking numbers for the packages! The tracking numbers were of only mild interest to me; I got them for the express purpose of providing them to the winners so that they could see what was going on. I could've put them in the packages themselves, but although they would've been delivered to the winners without my contacting them through Goodreads, I think we can all agree that it would've been worse than useless.
Neither winner complained (to me) that I contacted them directly. Neither winner responded (to me) at all, in fact. So I'm left wondering - is contacting a giveaway winner once, with a tracking number (something pertinent and useful) good customer service? or bad form?
Thanks for your input!
February 24, 2014
Plot twists
As a reader, I rarely critique basic storylines, saying, "Well, I would have done this if I had been writing the story." I take it for granted that the characters have minds of their own and that the author is just telling their story.
The funny thing is, as an author, I find that to be just as true. Oh, I can change things, of course - especially when the story's stalled or feels off somehow. But usually all I do is change the circumstances, the situation. Then the character "reacts" and ZOOOOOOM! The story is telling itself again.
I just finished the rewrites on Troubled Skies, for example. I had originally written it so that a particular character is very mysterious, appearing almost out of nowhere. But it didn't feel right. It felt too...melodramatic, I guess. chuckle - To my surprise, as I reworked the prison break, I found myself inserting a hint of the character here and there. Poof! He was part of the story, equally mysterious, just not appearing, so to speak, out of a blinding flash and a veil of smoke (think Las Vegas magician).
And I've dumped a whole new problem in my lap, because that's more or less where that story trails off. Now I've got to write the next story to figure out his background, his interaction with the rest of Fairydom, etc. Believe me, plot twists can be just as surprising to the author!
The funny thing is, as an author, I find that to be just as true. Oh, I can change things, of course - especially when the story's stalled or feels off somehow. But usually all I do is change the circumstances, the situation. Then the character "reacts" and ZOOOOOOM! The story is telling itself again.
I just finished the rewrites on Troubled Skies, for example. I had originally written it so that a particular character is very mysterious, appearing almost out of nowhere. But it didn't feel right. It felt too...melodramatic, I guess. chuckle - To my surprise, as I reworked the prison break, I found myself inserting a hint of the character here and there. Poof! He was part of the story, equally mysterious, just not appearing, so to speak, out of a blinding flash and a veil of smoke (think Las Vegas magician).
And I've dumped a whole new problem in my lap, because that's more or less where that story trails off. Now I've got to write the next story to figure out his background, his interaction with the rest of Fairydom, etc. Believe me, plot twists can be just as surprising to the author!
December 23, 2013
News about Silver Princess!
We're now out in print! It's available through Barnes and Noble, just order it online or have the clerk order it to be delivered to the store for you! The Silver Princess
I've found it at one or two other stores, but Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the best price. :-) Loving it!
I've found it at one or two other stores, but Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the best price. :-) Loving it!
December 15, 2013
Writing vs. Free Writing
I can see this both ways, really. Wait, let me start back at the beginning. I'm thinking about the difference between writing a story that's brand new and continuing a story that's already begun to be told.
Take Silver Sagas for example. Unlike many series with which I am familiar (the Sacketts, Anne of Green Gables, etc.) the fairy tribes have some very fixed attributes that are easy to mix up. It can throw me right out of a creative spurt, for example, if I realize that I've been describing a Plant Fairy with blue eyes. Far worse is what happened when I suddenly understood that I was about to attribute a basic Sky Fairy function to another tribe in Troubled Skies. That threw the whole book off! (I'm still determined to finish it, but it's a perfect example of it being far easier to do something correctly the first time.)
Now, if I'm writing a brand new story, certain aspects of it are much simpler. Had Troubled Skies not been set in Fairydom, I could have finished it by now. Cambrian, our understated hero, would have made huge strides in his personal life, and the mystery of the missing windship The Talon would have been solved about two months ago.
And now to make my argument the other way 'round. If it's a brand new story, there are no points of reference. (I write fantasy, primarily.) So and so is youngish (which boils down to what number, pray tell?), with clear gray eyes and an anti-gravity belt. I don't know where s/he's from, or going, why, when...whew. That can be fun, but it can also be as exhausting as trying to keep all the details of an already constructed world straight.
And there we have it. In some ways one is easier than the other. And vice versa. ;-)
Take Silver Sagas for example. Unlike many series with which I am familiar (the Sacketts, Anne of Green Gables, etc.) the fairy tribes have some very fixed attributes that are easy to mix up. It can throw me right out of a creative spurt, for example, if I realize that I've been describing a Plant Fairy with blue eyes. Far worse is what happened when I suddenly understood that I was about to attribute a basic Sky Fairy function to another tribe in Troubled Skies. That threw the whole book off! (I'm still determined to finish it, but it's a perfect example of it being far easier to do something correctly the first time.)
Now, if I'm writing a brand new story, certain aspects of it are much simpler. Had Troubled Skies not been set in Fairydom, I could have finished it by now. Cambrian, our understated hero, would have made huge strides in his personal life, and the mystery of the missing windship The Talon would have been solved about two months ago.
And now to make my argument the other way 'round. If it's a brand new story, there are no points of reference. (I write fantasy, primarily.) So and so is youngish (which boils down to what number, pray tell?), with clear gray eyes and an anti-gravity belt. I don't know where s/he's from, or going, why, when...whew. That can be fun, but it can also be as exhausting as trying to keep all the details of an already constructed world straight.
And there we have it. In some ways one is easier than the other. And vice versa. ;-)
November 7, 2013
Authors that have influenced me...
Emilie Baker Loring was one of my absolute favorite authors when I was growing up. My sisters and I found this basement bookstore where an older woman was selling her terrific collection of paperbacks. (This was also my source for Grace Livingston Hill books, but that's another post. ;-)
Mrs. Loring's main characters were always very genteel, usually raised in the lap of luxury at a time when that meant, "Tennis, anyone?" They were accustomed to genuine fur coats, incredible jewels, and loyal servants. They were also fiercely loyal themselves, to their friends, their ideals, and their country. Clean cut sons and daughters of the soil, I guess you'd say.
I'd recommend her books to anyone that I didn't believe would scoff at them. There's almost always a happy ending, and the woman marries the right man, even if they're both incredibly stubborn about it. lol...I found that Mrs. Loring didn't have her own group on Goodreads, so I went ahead and started one. It's not swank or anything, but if you have the time, come on over and tell me what you think.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Mrs. Loring's main characters were always very genteel, usually raised in the lap of luxury at a time when that meant, "Tennis, anyone?" They were accustomed to genuine fur coats, incredible jewels, and loyal servants. They were also fiercely loyal themselves, to their friends, their ideals, and their country. Clean cut sons and daughters of the soil, I guess you'd say.
I'd recommend her books to anyone that I didn't believe would scoff at them. There's almost always a happy ending, and the woman marries the right man, even if they're both incredibly stubborn about it. lol...I found that Mrs. Loring didn't have her own group on Goodreads, so I went ahead and started one. It's not swank or anything, but if you have the time, come on over and tell me what you think.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
November 1, 2013
Exciting news about Silver Sagas!!
I am now in a position to put my books out in print through a Print on Demand company called Lightning Source. I thought that signing the contracts would be the hard part, but now I'm not so sure.
For those of you who have read Sherwood Smith's book(s) Crown Duel, you know that she combined the first two books of that series in a single book printing. Now I'm wondering if that would work for Silver Princess and Silver Majesty. Silver Princess is the shortest, but comes out at over 150 pages when adjusted to a 5"x8" format, which is what will happen when it gets printed.
I haven't adjusted Silver Majesty yet, but I'm worried that putting them together like that will result in a monster of a thick book that really won't fit in an ordinary pocket/purse, etc.
Now I'm polling the audience. Put them together? Or print them separately? And why?
For those of you who have read Sherwood Smith's book(s) Crown Duel, you know that she combined the first two books of that series in a single book printing. Now I'm wondering if that would work for Silver Princess and Silver Majesty. Silver Princess is the shortest, but comes out at over 150 pages when adjusted to a 5"x8" format, which is what will happen when it gets printed.
I haven't adjusted Silver Majesty yet, but I'm worried that putting them together like that will result in a monster of a thick book that really won't fit in an ordinary pocket/purse, etc.
Now I'm polling the audience. Put them together? Or print them separately? And why?
October 28, 2013
How Silver Sagas began
I started writing Silver Princess as a means to capture a memory. About sixteen years ago I was in an accident and was knocked unconscious. Up to that point, I had no idea that I could be knocked unconscious! I'd been clotheslined once before, while playing Red Rover at a Church Young Adult activity, and landed flat on a college football field. No helmet. After I recovered my breath, I walked away. But when I came off a young horse and landed on a gravel path not far from my friend's house, well...Mother Nature had to throw some water in my face to wake me up.
When I came to, blinking against the raindrops, I had no idea that single experience would spark a series of books. Books about fairies, no less. :-) Someday maybe I'll try again to record the actual experience, who knows. For now, I just wanted to state that I have never fainted, blacked out, or swooned. So I'm not sure why Princess Rebecca fainted at the sight of Hugh's blood, at the end of the book, except that shock is a valid medical situation. She survived the assassination, or I guess murder is more accurate, attempt, only to find that she'd been lucky. And maybe she was just soft-headed by then, after getting knocked out twice before that in the storyline. lol...
Don't worry, I don't always play that roughly with my characters. And they do tend to fight back, so it can get kind of interesting. That's usually when I start floundering, because I know next to nothing about self-defense. But Silver Sagas began as an accident, including the fact that it ever became a full-blown story instead of just a snapshot of something that happened to me when I was a kid. Lea Carter
When I came to, blinking against the raindrops, I had no idea that single experience would spark a series of books. Books about fairies, no less. :-) Someday maybe I'll try again to record the actual experience, who knows. For now, I just wanted to state that I have never fainted, blacked out, or swooned. So I'm not sure why Princess Rebecca fainted at the sight of Hugh's blood, at the end of the book, except that shock is a valid medical situation. She survived the assassination, or I guess murder is more accurate, attempt, only to find that she'd been lucky. And maybe she was just soft-headed by then, after getting knocked out twice before that in the storyline. lol...
Don't worry, I don't always play that roughly with my characters. And they do tend to fight back, so it can get kind of interesting. That's usually when I start floundering, because I know next to nothing about self-defense. But Silver Sagas began as an accident, including the fact that it ever became a full-blown story instead of just a snapshot of something that happened to me when I was a kid. Lea Carter
October 5, 2013
Homemade Books
I recently made some hardbound copies of Silver Majesty (eBook 2) and Silver Verity (eBook 3) for my mother for Christmas. While I was making the books, I had an idea. I'm going to try to put together a tutorial of sorts that will help other people who want to make their own books. Granted, there are shelves of books about making books at my local library. :-)
But, for those of us who have accepted "Google" as a verb, I thought this might be interesting. I enjoy a good challenge, also, so I shall find it fun as well.
First I'll post the template, which is necessary for preparing and printing your manuscript. The rest will come as it is finished and ready to be posted. I hope folks enjoy it! :-)
But, for those of us who have accepted "Google" as a verb, I thought this might be interesting. I enjoy a good challenge, also, so I shall find it fun as well.
First I'll post the template, which is necessary for preparing and printing your manuscript. The rest will come as it is finished and ready to be posted. I hope folks enjoy it! :-)
October 1, 2013
2013 KBR Book Award Winners Announced!
For the YA section, the judges selected Jump/Drive by Rich Griffith. I skimmed through the "Look Inside" portion on Amazon.com, and Jump/Drive is a much more modern book than Silver Majesty, complete with swearing, references to sexual preferences, and an "It's not really stealing" situation. Remove that, and I think it would be a fascinating book, with parkour, friendships that are (slowly) maturing, and a veiled reference to a government conspiracy. lol, conspiracy theories can be overdone, but this is a teen book so probably watered down with lots of glossing over on the complicated parts. I could be wrong, as I said I only read through the "Look Inside" portion available free online.
Naturally, I'm disappointed that a book with such glaring moral deficiencies was selected as winner. However, like so many songs say, "The winner takes it all."
Naturally, I'm disappointed that a book with such glaring moral deficiencies was selected as winner. However, like so many songs say, "The winner takes it all."
September 15, 2013
Guest Blog!
Friends and folks, see my dream interview and dream review for Silver Majesty in the Venture Galleries! This is something they do each year for the finalists in the KBR Best Indie Book Award competitions, so please browse through their page! All of the finalists are invited to participate.
http://venturegalleries.com/?p=38146
http://venturegalleries.com/?p=38146
