Roxanne Bland's Blog, page 4

Cover Story

Contacted my designer for a new cover for The Underground. Actually, it'll be a lot like the old cover, except better rendered. Jeez, that old cover is horrible! I just couldn't make those people understand what I wanted. Hmm...kind of like the first cover for The Moreva of Astoreth.

So I sent the manuscript for the revised The Underground to the editor. We'll see what she thinks of it. It shouldn't require too much editing, but the key word here is shouldn't. Everyone has their own style. Meanwhile, I'm going to leave it alone. I mean, really. I've some ideas for a couple more chapters, but I'll write them separately, rather than dropping them into the existing MS. I think we really need some closure for Isadore Drummond, the morran elf. He's got two chapters, so in the third, he either dies, or finds another child needing rescue from the riots. I don't know--have to think about it. I mean, I hate killing off characters, especially since I consider them my friends. But if they have to go, then they have to go.

I also finished all my materials for the The Moreva of Astoreth blog tour. It's running from September 7th through the 26th. Wow--six guest posts! Plus a top 10, plus interviews. I looked at the blog hosts, and found something rather funny. Deal Sharing Aunt is on the tour, and she's going to do a review. She's already done one, for the last blog tour. Gave me three stars because there were "words she didn't know." I wanted to ask "what word was that--the?" But that would've been rude. Anyway, I guess she's forgotten she's already read the book.

My new author website is up and running, though it needs some tweaking. But it's up, and that's what's important

Catch ya later 'gators!

Guilty As Charged?

I read an interesting thread on Goodreads the other day. The OP asked if anyone felt guilty on days they didn't write. She said she did.

If I don't write, I certainly don't feel guilty about it. I used to, but then I realized that there are instances when I just won't have the time--or the inclination--to write. I think one of the greatest frauds perpetrated on new writers is that they have to write every day to become better. While I believe everyone who writes needs to practice to become better writers--just like musicians have to practice to become better on their instruments--I don't think skipping a day or two or even a week is going to damn you to mediocrity forever. Because of various events in my life, I've gone months without writing. While I market my books, I rarely write. To me, marketing itself is a full-time job. So is writing. And I have a full-time job, one that sometimes requires me to work on weekends and holidays. Something has to go, and it isn't my day job. That means I have to make a choice. While I'm marketing, I don't write. While I'm writing, I don't market. I would love to pay someone to do all my marketing for me--I hate marketing, anyway--but I haven't won the lottery in a while.

Is it frustrating? Yes. Sometimes I get itchy fingers, but the current situation--whatever that may be--just won't allow for it. Take now, for instance. It's 3:15 AM Eastern, and I'm writing this entry. This is usually the time I write, but after I finish this, I have to work at my day job. It's just the way it is. So for me, guilt over not writing is a useless emotion. My reality is that I have to fit my writing into my schedule whenever I can.

So hang my butt from a flagpole, because I'm guilty as charged.

Christmas in July!

Yes, I know. Just thought I'd get a jump on things. Santa's a busy man, you know.

Dear Santa:

Normally, I don’t make Christmas wish lists, but this time I have to make an exception. You see, I’m an author, and am always looking for new experiences—grist for my mill, as it were. I work according to a five-year plan, so if you’ll grant my wishes this Christmas, I won’t bother you for the next five years. Sound like a good deal? Okay—this is what I wish:

Year 1. Seeing the world with Xena, Warrior Princess. I love to travel, and though these days my idea of camping out is any place without room service, and I’m getting a little old to sleep rough, I’m not so old that I can’t do it. At least for a while. And don’t forget the big bag practically overflowing with dinars. I usually travel with a certain minimum amount of cash on my person, but back then, automatic teller machines hadn’t been invented. Besides, if I had a bagful of cash, Xena might be more amenable to having a middle-aged tag-along. She may even let me ride Argo, her horse.

Year 2. Gallivanting through time and space with Dr. Who. The TARDIS is a magnificent machine, and I’d love to get my hands on it. Well, maybe not. The good Doctor once said only he can operate it. Very well. Maybe he’ll teach me if I ask nicely enough. At any rate, exploring new worlds I’m sure will generate lots of ideas. And between the two of us, I think we can hold off the Daleks.

Year 3. Partying with Thor in Asgard. That joint is rockin’—no doubt about it. I’ll even participate in a battle or three. I used to be pretty handy with a rapier, though I’m out of practice. But knowing Thor, I’m sure I’ll get lots of that. And I’ve always wanted to meet Odin. He sounds pretty cool, what with all that wisdom he’s got and that gnarly eyepatch.

Year 4. Working with the Fringe Division of the FBI. Investigating paranormal activity is something I’ve always wanted to do. And I’d love to hang out with Walter Bishop. My kind of guy—crazy but brilliant. Peter, Olivia and Chief Broyles probably won’t have much use for me, but that’s all right. Call me an intern. I’m sure Astrid will teach me the ropes. And I’ll get to learn how to milk a cow.

Year 5. Zipping through the galaxy on the Millenium Falcon with Han Solo and Chewbacca. They’re a fun pair. Putting in at disreputable ports, learning to fix a spaceship, dodging the authorities…and think of all I could learn about smuggling! It could make for quite a story.

So that’s my list, Santa. Be a good egg and grant them to me. I’ll send you signed copies of my books.

The Story Behind the Story

I've sometimes been asked where I came up with the idea for The Moreva of Astoreth.

The book has its genesis in a game a friend and I played in college. We collaborated on a story, taking turns. I don’t recall the details—it was more years ago than I care to remember—but it went something like this. A woman, the daughter of a king, is exiled from her homeland in the desert because she refused to marry a man the king had picked out for her. She travels north. After many adventures, she arrives at a village willing to take her in. The village chieftain is enamored of her, but does not want his people to know since she’s a stranger. The woman genuinely dislikes him. After being at each other’s throats for a period of time, the woman falls in love with him. The chieftain confesses his feelings. They marry.

Meanwhile, the woman’s father, feeling remorseful for exiling his daughter, gathers his army to go look for her. They wander from village to village, searching, but they do not find her. Concluding that his daughter must have headed north, turns in that direction. Still, they do not find her. Frustrated now, the king begins laying waste to every village he and his army come across. Finally, they arrive at the village where the woman is living. The king demands his daughter return with him. She refuses, telling him she is now married and happy. Her father threatens war. The chieftain accepts his challenge, and the war begins. The story concludes with both the woman and the chieftain being killed in the fighting.

Not a very happy ending, is it?

Years later, I read Zecharia Sitchin’s Earth Chronicles series. He posits that ancient astronauts—the Anunnaki—from the planet Nibiru in our solar system came to Earth looking for gold. While here, they created humans to use as workers, and founded the Sumerian civilization. Sitchin has his loyal adherents, and his scholarly detractors. But whether one believes it or not, it’s quite a tale. I’m not a believer, but I was fascinated by the story.

More years pass. One day, I was sitting in my office, stuck in a novel I was writing. I couldn’t figure out what to do next. Trying to get going again, I started playing the “what if” game. “What if he does this? What if she does that?” The sort of game authors—at least this author—plays. It wasn’t working. Annoyed, I leaned back in my chair and let my mind wander. It wasn’t long before I started reminiscing about my college days, specifically my friend, and the story we’d written. My mind wandered some more. I started thinking about Sitchin’s works. While ruminating over it, an idea came to me. What if I melded the two stories in some way? What if, what if, what if…?

And then, like Athena from Zeus’s head, the story’s outline came to me, fully formed. Which is an interesting development, since I’m a pantser—I write by the “seat of my pants,” that is, the plot takes form while I write—and not a plotter. Filing the outline away for future use, I took up my work-in-progress again. But I couldn’t get on with it. The outline I’d created kept knocking at my brain, until it was interfering with my work-in-progress. So I put it aside and started writing The Moreva of Astoreth.

Now here’s the funny part. I’d planned the story to take place in the spring of the planetary year. But the characters took over (they do that sometimes). And then I was a pantser again. I was working the way I usually work—I saw the “movie” in my head, and I just wrote down the events. So I ended up with a story that takes place over the course of a year, which made for a pretty big book. Still, the tale is a good one—I like to think so, anyway—and I had a lot of fun writing it.

And that, dear reader, is how the Moreva of Astoreth came to be.

Houston, We Have a Launch

Hey, everyone!

The Moreva of Astoreth is now live! It's available on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and many other nifty places. You can check out a sample right here on Goodreads. Just look it up. Let me know if you like it!

Almost There!

Just waiting for the print proof of THE MOREVA OF ASTORETH. Once that's done, we'll upload it on Ingram. Then we'll work on uploading the e-books. My plan is for the the book to be available just about everywhere, instead of just Amazon, like THE UNDERGROUND. Thinking about commissioning an audio version of TMOA, too. What I'd really be interested in doing is having Graphic Audio (I think that's still their name) do that audio version. Their tagline is "The Theater In Your Mind." I've listened to some samples, and they're great. Different actors to play the different voices, music in the background...well, the theater in your mind.

Give you another update next week!

Onward!

Did I tell you I found an editor who's fluent in Swedish? Rather, it's fairer to say he's a Swede who's fluent in English. Anyway, I did, and the editing of the Moreva of Astoreth continues apace. So at this rate, it just might be out by the end of 2015...

Not much today, have lots of things to do. See ya later!

A Comeback?

Thinking about a new strategy for marketing THE UNDERGROUND. Not on Goodreads, of course. Too many people hated it for various reasons, and my ratings are dismal. Personally, I don't see why it's so hard to follow four points of view, but that's just me--after all, I wrote it.

Anyway, there were some things I didn't do, like a virtual book tour. I also didn't do press releases (not that I think anyone reads those, anyway). The book tour seems to be my best bet. I could hire a publicist, but that's an awful lot of money. Besides, my research indicates they tend to focus on nonfiction--memoirs, for example.

So, I'll let y'all know what I decide to do...

The Convention Season Has Begun

Well, now's the time all us authors go to one or more conventions (writer's and otherwise) to get together with old friends and make new ones. Networking, it's called. Next week I'm headed off to Arisia in Boston. Gives me a chance to sell some books, and hopefully get rid of more of the promotional stuff I bought last year. Gotta make room for the new, you know? Hope some of you can make it--if so, I'll see you there!

More Reviews Are Coming In

In THE UNDERGROUND, the alien doesn't speak English very well, and her favorite word is "fook." So my favorite line from one of THE UNDERGROUND's reviewers is: "It's a fookin' good book." Bookreview.com.

Gotta love it.