C.N. Faust's Blog, page 14
August 29, 2013
The 20K Crawl.
Hello my darlings,
I enjoy how I complained about my blog being empty, and then I don’t make a post for three days.
Logic.
It hasn’t entirely been in vain. I’ve been getting a lot of writing done (and by ‘a lot’ I mean I am writing a couple thousand words every day at least… which is a hell of a lot more than I accomplished over the summer, go figure). I’ve been making some excellent plot progress. My characters are cooperating (as well as they can). And things in general are just going well. I’m almost out of the dreaded 20,000 word mire. You know how you seem to just get stuck somewhere in the 20K’s and it seems no matter how much you write, you can’t get out? You always end up deleting that chapter that keeps you from going over into 30,000 and therefore, the future?
Don’t give me that look. I swear that’s a thing.
What has it been like crawling through this wordcount? Allow me to provide you with a visual.
With that being said, I HAVE been feeling inspired enough to the point where I thought about doing an author Q&A on Youtube. You know, people send questions and I answer them in a video. I think that that would be fun. Anyone on board with me? You don’t have to ask me about my books necessarily, we can talk about any number of things! If you want to drop me a line, feel free to stop by my Facebook page, or comment below!
Or email. Or, you know, you could find out my address and sit outside my house and stare judgmentally through my living room window until I speak to you. You know the drill.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
August 27, 2013
Where the hell has Faust been?
Hello my darlings,
I feel like this has been the state of my blog, lately.
As in empty.
Because honestly, I haven’t been around to post anything. It isn’t like I don’t check my blog every day (and if I have time, I try to respond to comments as soon as possible whether or not I am posting) but I haven’t had two seconds to sit down and make a post.
It is partially because Orcs and Aliens has been kicking my ass. Turns out all that laborious revising/editing of the interior was nothing compared to the joy of getting it in a readable format for digital printing (physical copy printing was a breeze. It’s the ebooks that hate me).
BUT we met our deadline and finally got everything out. We are still working the kinks out on all the different avenues of purchase but the point is that it CAN BE BOUGHT. Submissions open up tomorrow and now I have an entire half day to regain my sanity. Maybe in the next month I can take things a bit slower and finish up The Hollow Living.
I have been writing some KILLER scenes for The Hollow Living, I must say. Everyone has just done a 180 on me and NOW they all want to work, and they want to be brilliant. I am not complaining, though Pharun and Adriel Ercole have been competing for attention a lot. I think Pharun is a little jealous about my new, pretty, clever darling.
More good news: the covers AND the illustrations for the series are underway. I am so excited to see how they turn out. Since their KDP select terms are ending, I have been yearning to take the files over to Smashwords and let them roam free on multiple distribution channels, but I have restrained myself thus far. When I re-releaase, I want everything to be perfect.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
Issue #1 PRINT!
Reblogged from Orcs and Aliens Magazine:
SOON TO BE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON! In the meantime, you can buy it at lulu.com ! We are saving up to buy our own distribution channels, so the more copies we sell, the closer we become! Click on the cover below to purchase a PRINT copy of Orcs and Aliens, issue #1!
August 26, 2013
Issue #1 has arrived!
Reblogged from Orcs and Aliens Magazine:
Issue #1 has arrived and is available for download on our demo site! Please pardon us as we continue to work out the bugs in our system (if you have any trouble with the download, please contact us!). Meanwhile, STAY TUNED for news of the printed version (which will be available shortly!)
Click on the picture below to be taken to our store!
August 25, 2013
Author Video Interviews!
Reblogged from Orcs and Aliens Magazine:
Lights, camera, action! Or is it lights, camera, walk the dog, hide from the kids, meditate, THEN action? Such is the life of an author! But whatever your life is like, we want to know all about it!
It may sound like we're joking, but we mean every word! Orcs and Aliens will be launching a new stream of author interviews, straight from the people of our pages!
August 24, 2013
Prepare Those Submissions!
Reblogged from Orcs and Aliens Magazine:
Everyone, rev up your writing muses! Why? Because Orcs and Aliens Issue #2 is coming out in JANUARY, and we want to start receiving your submissions NOW! So August 28th we are opening our doors for submissions for issue #2!
What are we looking for in this issue? We want your short stories, poetry, novel excerpts, and art! We are also accepting submissions for our new…
Yes, we are already thinking about issue #2! Even if you have submitted to us before, feel free to do so again! We would love to have you back!
August 22, 2013
It’s a great day because Pharun has a theme song.
Hello my darlings,
That. Is. Totally Pharun’s theme song. Just … just listen to it, you will see what I mean. I woke up this morning and it was one of the first things Mark said he had to show me. It is too brilliant.
It is an extremely good day. Well, yesterday was an extremely good day that makes today even better. As I made mention of earlier on my Facebook page, I made a breakthrough in The Hollow Living last night. I have been frustrated lately, because Pharun had been reluctant to work and everyone else was just setting up, setting up and not employing much action. Then yesterday, I am sitting in the library and half-heartedly typing out a chapter, when all of the sudden BAM Pharun appears with a plot twist that blows my mind and ties up a million loose ends that I was trying to figure out.
I will give you a hint as to which one I was. It isn’t Jafar.
I haven’t felt this enthusiastic since The Dragon’s Disciples. I feel brilliant again, and I feel inspired to say the least. Of course, the more inspired I feel the more jealous I am with my snippets. So I will probably be reluctant to post more than a few paragraphs at a time until the release.
The other great thing that happened yesterday was I was finally able to make the deposit on the new book covers. The artist sent me some preliminary sketches and they were so beautiful. Pharun was drawn perfectly. I absolutely cannot wait to see how they come out.
So, there is that! I have a lot of homework to do today, but I am also hoping to catch up on Desperate Housewives (we’re way behind) and get some more writing done. At this moment, I am about to head out for lunch with one of my editors so we can talk some about Orcs and Aliens.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
August 20, 2013
The Great Goodreads Scandal
Hello my darlings,
So, I was writing not too long ago (getting nowhere, really. I need some serious inspiration). So I decided to check Facebook to see if anything new had happened in the five second entirety of my absence. Then I stumbled across the scandal of the moment. I became interested in it solely because so many of my author friends were making mention of it, one way or another.
As always, here is the original blog post for reference.
Now, I don’t know much more than what I have read from the past 3 of her blog posts, but from what I understand what happened was this: she put up her book on Goodreads before it was published. Someone gave it a preliminary low rating, even though they did not have an ARC. She asked why someone would do that, or how it could happen, and she gets the reply that some people will rate the book based on interest as opposed to content (an interesting bit of information, to be sure).
Cue onslaught of attacks. Her book is being added to lists entitled “author should be raped in prison” and the like. Clearly, this is inappropriate and immature behavior. I never knew Goodreads would allow that sort of abuse, but apparently it is protected beneath the “freedom of speech” section of their rules. It is something I can understand, even if the entire situation is in extremely poor taste.
However, due to this situation escalating so quickly, and underneath the pressure of contempt and abuse, the author has decided to cancel the release of her book altogether and has no plans to release in the future.
I feel no need to voice my opinion in depth, as many people already expressed similar sentiments. I don’t think she should cancel the release of her book, I feel like that is just letting the bullies win.
But of course, I am more interested in hearing about what YOU think about this. How would you handle this situation, if it were your book under fire? I have dealt with poor reviews before but never anything of this magnitude. I wasn’t even aware that this sort of thing happened. I would like to think that I could practice what I preach and not let it bog me down. But please, comments and opinions are welcome. I have such mixed feelings about this situation!
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
My books are real.
Hello my darlings,
I made a post earlier today on my Facebook page about how some readers are responding to the rise of the ebook industry. This was all spurred forth by a series of comments following an article Anne Rice posted about how Barnes and Noble suffered a profit loss (albeit a marginal one. They are still making billions in profits). Here is the article for reference.
My problem isn’t with Barnes and Noble (I love visiting whenever I can, just as I enjoy any other bookstore or second hand book shop). And I do recognize that they are going through a hard time (especially since Amazon is doing such a nice job of making itself an eReader titan). My problem is with the people who are bashing eBooks.
To paraphrase some comments: “I would never pick up an eBook. There is nothing like the smell of a new, REAL book”. “I love my REAL books too much”. “This is pathetic, they are suffering profit losses because no one reads anymore”.
I used to be one such literature elitist until I bought my first Nook. That was when I learned a few things. Namely…
eReaders are insanely convenient. They make my book hoarding so much tidier. I can carry 300 books in my purse and, for a voracious reader like me, that is a typical wet dream.
eReaders give me access to hundreds, even thousands more books than I would ever be exposed to in a single bookstore. Besides that, it is the easiest way to discover new authors (since if I feel particularly industrious, I can research them in another tab). I also feel more comfortable with buying a book from a new author on an ereader.
As I started getting serious about publishing my books, I came to yet another conclusion.
eBooks have allowed me and many other budding authors to reach more potential readers than ever before. It really is changing the business. The competition might be stiffer, but that just makes things more exciting, doesn’t it?
With all of that said, I find it extremely insulting for someone to refer to an eBook as “not a real book”. With all of the work I as an author put into formatting and publishing an ebook to optimize the reader’s enjoyment, it better damn well be treated as “real”.
Your thoughts in the comments, as always, are appreciated.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
August 19, 2013
Purify
Hello my darlings,
I thought I would steal a screenshot of Purify, the Dragoloth-based RPG that I am working on. I don’t want to leak too much information about it yet, but as you can see I am getting the hang of mapping. I’m using RPG Maker VX Ace. I thought I would dabble with the trial version to see if it is worth it. So if I can get a demo game together in the remaining 28 days, I will considering buying the full package in order to develop the game to its full potential.
Aside from classes beginning, a leaking ceiling, and all sorts of other little things, that is how I have been spending my time. I have spent so much time doing this, however, that I have been neglecting The Hollow Living. I did manage to get an hour an a half to myself in the library today, during which I finished off a chapter that had been giving me trouble. As soon as I finish with this blog post, actually, I am going to go see if I can get any more written. Like I’ve said countless times now, I really want to make a dent in this project.
Pretty much my reaction to life.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
