K.M. Shea's Blog, page 75

An Enchanted Release (HAH!)

The good news is that Enchanted has been successfully uploaded and is now available on the kindle for 99 cents like it’s processor, Enthroned. It will be available for FREE for three days starting tomorrow–Thursday, October 17–and ending Saturday, so tell your kids, your relatives, your friends, that random guy on the street who is walking a dog, tell everyone! Enchanted was a lot of fun to write, and I really hope you guys enjoy reading it.

The bad news is that I painfully burned my arm this morning when I splashed myself with hot tea. When I say splash, I mean dosed. I got tea EVERYWHERE, but mostly it hit my arm first. It’s all hideously red and it buuuurrrnnnss and I fear it’s going to puff up in blisters–which would really stink because it already hurts to type.  But!! I will not let this ruin my Enchanted release day! Just think of this as a public service announcement: handle your hot mugs of tea with care.

Moving on, sometime next week I will reveal the super secret project I’ve been working on. If the burned arm thing doesn’t set me back too badly I may (keyword may) be able to have a late November release date for it. Until then, please spread the news about Enchanted’s free days, and I will see you Friday.

Enchanted Cover Art

Myrrhlynn has done it again! She created a fantastic cover for Enchanted, book two of King Arthur and Her Knights. Myrrhlynn kept what I hope will be the series trademark of a pink crown on top of the title–there’s something deliciously fabulous about it! Anyway, I’m grateful to Myrrhlynn for all her hard work and another excellent cover!

Remember, Enchanted is aimed for a  Wednesday–October 16–release date and will be offered for free this Thursday through Saturday. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it, Champions! Until then, I will see you all Wednesday.

Freebies

In a moment of indulgence I decided to offer Princess Ahira for free starting today, Friday 11, through Sunday, October 13. If you have an old copy of Princess Ahira–and by old I mean more than two months old–you may want to pick up a free copy as it has been edited again and this version includes an additional short story about Ahira’s life after the battle with the Valkyrie.

Also Red Rope of Fate will be offered for free from Saturday, October 12, to Wednesday, October 16. Think of this as a launch party for Enchanted!

Enjoy the freebies, Champions, and I’ll see you on Monday.

Ta-Da!

Wow, I’m posting really late tonight. Why is that? Because I’m a sad, sad individual with little to no social life–let’s take a moment to reflect on this sadness. Hah, joking, it’s because I busted my butt and finished the final read through of Enchanted! All that’s left is to get the hyperlinks in the table of contents up and running, and add the character list.

Enchanted‘s cover art is still going through the selection process. But if all goes well this time next week Enchanted will be available for purchase! Yaaay!

That being said, I would like to go on the record of saying how much I hate grammar rules. I haven’t second guessed myself so much since I took the ACT in high school. The Final Edit is the killjoy of writing.

That’s it for today, Champions. Just typing is making me wonder if anything I say is actually grammatically correct, which means it’s time to go. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you Friday!

Experience EVERYTHING

I’m starting the third read through of Enchanted, which naturally brings to mind the writing tips and tricks that I follow. But today I don’t want to talk about story structure and grammar, I want to talk about inspiration. Inspiration is everywhere, because of that it’s easy to drown it out and focus on every day life. If you want to be a great writer is to wake up and experience everything.

Most authors write about things they haven’t experienced, I’m no exception. I haven’t cleaned the den of a dragon, time traveled to the Dark Ages, or attended a royal ball. However, I took an archery class which helped a lot with writing Robyn Hood, I observed my college’s fencing club years ago which made my research for King Arthur and Her Knights easier, I’ve trail ridden horses through different country sides–giving me a feel for accurately describing nature, I try to cook and eat lots of different foods, one time I even walked around  blindfolded so I could accurately describe a character who has been temporarily blinded.

Try to expand your cultural horizons, go to museums, listen to music you don’t normally listen to, try new foods, go to a fabric store and touch the different fabrics. When you’re writing it’s important to engage and stimulate all of your senses, you never know when you will use it in a future story. In my opinion the weirder the experience the better!

It’s true that you can write about what you don’t know, and it can be a fantastic story. But if you include past experiences–which let you add vivid details–your stories will pop and the ideas will flow. Most importantly, new experiences are your best weapon against writers block as they are catalysts for inspiration.  They can even given inspiration to you in a future story–when I observed the fencing club King Arthur and Her Knights wasn’t even an idea in my brain, when I started writing Enthroned I was so thankful I did that!!

Book Jewelry

It’s been a while since I’ve geeked out over book goods. I thought I would amend that situation.

Today we’re looking at .

Janda Jewelry produces various book themed pieces of jewelry. (SURPRISE!) Some of them are book pendents and necklaces, but I know I covered something like that in an earlier post so today I wanted to highlight their bookcase necklaces and book bracelets. They do come in different colors–I saw some green, brown, and blue hued bracelets/bookcase necklaces too.

The above necklace is $35 and the bracelet is $40, these are  more expensive than the book pendents they have for sale, but they’re a little more classy. They also have some super cute earrings, and even some rings!

I found Janda Jewelry while skulking around on Etzy. I’m actually such a Disney/fairy tale fangirl that I’m looking to see if anyone has ever made a copy of the Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty books from the openings of the Disney movies. I haven’t found one yet, but I still see tons of awesome things on Etzy, so if you’re looking for awesome gifts for book nerds you really need to check it out.

Beyond that, I’m getting completely schooled by my Wadsworth book–it’s almost depressing to read truth be told. Next week is my last spit shine edit of Enthroned, and the week after is it’s release date. Yaaaaaaay. I’m starting to get my books loaded on smashwords as well–so far it’s only My Life at the MBRC–so if you see me on there don’t be alarmed and give me a holler!

Have a great weekend Champions, I’ll see you come Monday!

Enchanted Release Date

I’m gearing up to start my second read through/edit of Enchanted. After reading an Enthroned review that specifically asked for more character development in Enchanted I went back and added a scene that I realized was necessary to tie up loose ends and would nurture character development for Britt and one of her knights, Sir Bedivere. (See, I listen to what you guys say!) The word count keeps climbing, but I would rather tell the whole story then give you something that’s half baked.

I have decided that I will release Enchanted Wednesday, October 16. It will be offered for free Thursday (17) and Friday (18) with a possible extension of Saturday. It’s a little later than I wanted to release it, but I am determined to make Enchanted the highest quality book I have offered yet.

Although I’m launching a new, stand alone book as my next project, I have been thinking about King Arthur and Her Knights. I’ve already begun research for the next book, Embittered, but I’m trying to decide how many books I want in the series. I believe there will be a minimum of six, but that’s if I really skimp out on the information I present. I suppose it will be up to you, Champions, and how you receive Enchanted.

It’s a short post today but my next book project calls. Take care, Champions, and thanks for reading!

 

Book Banquet: Turkish Delight

For today’s Book Banquet I have selected Turkish Delight from C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Today’s recipe is modified slightly so it’s faster to make.

Turkish Delight was created by Bekir Effendi in 1776 when he opened a confectionery shop in Constantinople. It migrated to Europe in the 19th century, but it supposedly received it’s name because an wealthy, unknown British man bought it in huge quantities and shipped it back to Britain under the shipping name “Turkish Delight.”

What I didn’t understand about Turkish Delight and Narnia as a child is that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe took place when sugar consumption was limited due to war efforts. I always thought Edmund was an idiot for selling out his siblings for sweets, but historically speaking he probably hadn’t had Turkish Delight, much less any kind of sweet treat, in months if not years.

Ingredients:

Sugar

Water

Gelatin packets

Rosewater–You can use lemon juice or orange juice if you are unable to find this. (Try added lemon or orange zest if you use fruit instead of rosewater)

1/4 cup of corn starch

1 cup powered sugar

So you make the actual Turkish Delight like you would jello, BUT use twice as many gelatin packets as your instructions say to get the right texture! I don’t include measurements for these ingredients because it’s going to vary based on the gelatin packets you use. You add enough rosewater/lemon/orange to give it flavoring and, if you wish, you can add a complimentary colored food coloring. Remember to double the amount of gelatin!

After you’ve boiled the water and mixed the ingredients, pour the jello into an appropriately sized metal/glass pan that is lined with plastic wrap. The point of the plastic wrap is that it will make it easier pop the Turkish Delight out of its tin so if you want pretty/perfect squares I suggest you line it. Let it cool and put it in the fridge for about 3 hours. You REALLY want to let it set because if it’s just jello-y and not completely set the topping will get weepy.  Truthfully I would make it the night before and then dust it the next day so you can be certain it had plenty of time to set.

Once it’s set pop the Turkish Delight out of the pan (I  used a circular cake pan so I set a plate on top of it, flipped it upside down, and then tugged on the plastic wrap to make it fall out.) and remove the plastic wrap. Cut the Turkish Delight into squares and then roll it in the coating/topping. (The powdered sugar and corn starch) You may want to use a little more corn starch than the recipe calls for as that will help the weepy-ness. Don’t be too corn-starch happy though, it will give the Turkish Delight a toothpaste consistency when eating it if you use too much.

If you want a more correct but also more work version of the recipe, click here!

 

Enchanted Editing

I am pleased to report that the first read through edit of Enchanted has gone quite well, and I should be officially done with it tonight. I’ll let it rest for a few days before I do another read through, and in the meantime I hope Myrrhlynn and I get a chance to discuss the cover art.

I’m looking at releasing it either Thursday, October 10 or Thursday, October 17. For once I am quite confident that I won’t run out of time, the delay actually has more to do with the next book I’m releasing. It’s going to be a longer book (somewhere between 65,000 and 75,000 words) which means it’s going to take me twice as long to write it. I thought delaying the release of Enchanted by a week or two might soften the blow of not releasing another book until December. Regardless, as soon as I can make an informed decision I shall post my choice on here, as well as the days Enchanted will be offered for free.

In case you were wondering, The Wadsworth Handbook has been a terrific help with editing. It is unfortunately wordy and almost snobby in the way it labels and declares things, but it has great examples and a lot of helpful hints. I suspect I will have to purchase it, it is a reference book and I cannot hope to remember–long term anyway–all the rules it presents.

Have a great day, Champions, and I will see you Friday.

 

I need help… but I’m getting it!

Hello, Champions! I know today isn’t a regular update day, but I was too busy yesterday and I’ll be too busy tomorrow so today it is! (I was considering updating tomorrow with a Bad Poetry Day post, but I decided to spare you the horror.)

My Life at the MBRC has been polished and uploaded again and will (hopefully) soon be available for purchase on Smashwords. I am about to launch into the first rewrite of Enchanted. The only reason why I haven’t started already is because I’m waiting on a book: The Wadsworth Handbook. It was actually the shortened/pocket sized Wadsworth handbook that was recommended to me, but a local library had the big copy so I decided to check that out first. Why am I checking out a style book? Because I recognize that making sure I have complete sentences and no spelling errors in my stories isn’t enough, they need to be punctually correct too. I’m hoping this book will help me iron out my difficulties with comma usage. (Yes, I can hear all of you sighing with relief.)

While I’m waiting for this book (I’m picking it up tomorrow) I thought I would mention a few other books that have helped me with my writing.

How I write: Secrets of a Best Selling Author: This book is written by Janet Evanovich, author of the best selling Stephanie Plum series. If you’ve ever read any of the Stephanie Plum books you will enjoy reading the details Janet shares about the series and how she came to write it. If you’re a budding writer this is a great book that addresses some of the lesser known details about writing–like interviewing people for book research. Some of what Janet has to share is advice you can get in just about any writing book, but the real jewel of this book is the advice Janet gives about characters. (In case you haven’t read a Stephanie Plum book, characters are what Janet is famous for.) After reading this book the first time during a rewrite of Life Reader I was inspired to cut several unnecessary background characters. It was like taking a dagger to the chest, but it also was the best move I made for that draft.

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing: Yes, I’m not stupid. This is a blog, not a book. But for anyone who is thinking of writing a book this blog is an invaluable guide that will hopefully tempt you to the path I’m on, the path of the Indie Author. Joe Konrath is technically the blogger, but he is hosting a lot of guests posts these days that have fantastic advice. Here’s the thing–everyone featured on this blog including Konrath himself are Indie Authors. Few, if any besides Konrath, have agents, and all of them make the bulk of their sales through self publishing ebooks. If you are at all interesting in publishing ebooks–which is what I do–this is place to go. (It will keep you busy for weeks.)

Writing Magic: I haven’t actually read this book yet. It’s waiting at the library for me with Wadsworth. The reason why I am including it  even though I haven’t read it is because I’ve been told this book is great for young aspiring authors. (Think middle schoolers or high schoolers.) I wrote the first draft of Princess Ahira and Life Reader when I was in high school. Both books had to go through major rewrites to get to the format they are in today, but the fact that I have published them and they are actually selling shows that I had good ideas as a teenager. The thing is my actual writing craft needed a lot of work back then. To make a long story short, if you know a young writer it’s important to not only encourage their writing, but to also encourage them to study the art of writing. Some of the style guides I’ve read are about as interesting as painting a wall. This book–I’ve been told–is more inviting and interesting and will hopefully give your young writer an extra spark.

I’ve read a lot more books about writing, but this is a pretty good start. I will let you know if Wadsworth is worth checking out, otherwise I’ll be sniffing around for another style guide. Thanks for reading, Champions, I will see you on Monday!