Dorothy Tinker's Blog: Balance of Seven, page 5
June 28, 2018
Rogues and Wild Fire
Warriors and healers.
Seers and soothsayers.
Detectives and demons.
What do they all have in common?
They’re part of Balance of Seven’s debut anthology, Rogues and Wild Fire! Featuring romance stories by eight emerging women authors (four previously unpublished), this book is set to come out July 31, 2018.
Rogues and Wild Fire is a beautifully crafted collection of stories featuring world-weary outsiders with cracks in their hearts—and the smoldering rogues who reignite their passions. The scars of former hurts fade as the couples join to express their beautiful, fiery spirits through the bond of flesh and soul.
A white wolf shifter struggles against her brother’s edict in order to win a human’s freedom (author Dorothy Tinker), while a wounded Texas Ranger is sheltered by an ostracized witch (author Patrisha Harrigan). An information dealer promises life to a distraught mercenary who chases death (author Ynes Malakova), and a vengeful wastelander finds respite with a cynical prostitute (author Sarah Windsor). Soldiers from two different eras speak with their eyes (author Nyri Bakkalian, PhD).
These tales illustrate the bliss that is possible when the past is overcome and love spreads unbridled and free—like wild fire.
And would you believe it if we told you this anthology actually started as a simple exercise in storytelling?
Each of our authors is part of Creative Central, a writing group for lady fiction writers who want community and belonging. Last summer, the founder, Debbie Burns, had just finished teaching a Character Deep Dive workshop designed to help writers create characters readers remember.
The topic on the final day was “Influence on Others,” and Strider (a.k.a. Aragorn) from Lord of the Rings (the film) came up as an example. His presence is felt from the moment he enters the screen. You can tell he is impressive, feared, respected, loved, hated, all based on how others react to him throughout the trilogy. The audience loves him because the characters love him.
During this talk, some infamous words dropped from Debbie’s mouth…
“He makes dirt look good!”
From that one comment came the idea for a quick and dirty challenge we called the Dirty Ranger Romance. Could the ladies of Creative Central write a romance short story in ONE month with a “dirty ranger” as the focal point?
And that, my friends, is how Rogues and Wild Fire was born.
So grab your fire gear and some extra water because this anthology is coming! We aren’t doing preorders, but we will send you an email to nudge you when it’s released! And we’re offering something AMAZING on launch day…you’ll definitely want to be in the know!
Sign up for your reminder to download on launch day: http://bit.ly/RoguesandWildfire
March 28, 2018
Limited Time 15% Off Editing Services
The journey from first draft to published novel can be difficult, complex, and lonely. It can oftentimes feel like crossing an ocean in a sailboat. As an editor and published author, I’ve been there and know how to help. I can provide a compass and map by which to navigate your unique literary journey.
My name is Dorothy Tinker. I’m an explorer of worlds (both this one and others) and an “editor of all trades.” I can help you steer your project on course with a mind for your full story map while keeping your plot sails trimmed with a precision and attention to detail I honed in university studying mathematics.
And just like your own story and journey, my background is unique. I have a BS in Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas at Dallas, and I obtained my Editing Certificate from the University of Chicago. I have worked on fiction novels (ranging through science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, and young adult), memoirs, and short story anthologies.
Are you ready to set your journey on a quality course?
Email me today at dtinker@balanceofseven.com and ask for your free sample edit and quote.
February 16, 2018
Announcing Dirty Ranger Romance Anthology
Ladies and Gentlemen, Authors and Readers!
Hear ye, hear ye, and gather ’round: The Balance of Seven literary alliance is expanding! Today, it is our pleasure to announce that we have partnered with Creative Central (and Debbie Burns, LLC) to publish its first anthology: the Dirty Ranger Romance!
Creative Central is an all-female fiction-writing group full of kickass women ready to claim their dreams of being writers, support each other, and take their fiction to new heights! Balance of Seven’s own D. Tinker and D. Y. Freeman have been members of this wonderful community for nearly a year, and we have forged new friendships and taken huge steps forward with our writing as a result. Now, we are co-leaders of this space and are bringing our editorial and publishing experience to the table to get the amazing work we’re seeing out into the world.
The Dirty Ranger Romance (DRR) all started with a single statement on a video chat in Creative Central:
“Aragorn makes dirt look good!”
And BOOM! In this moment, Creative Central’s sizzlin’ summer writing challenge–the Dirty Ranger Romance–was born!
And phew! Did we have fun with it!
We scoured Instagram for beautiful men (and women).
We wrote stories.
We swooned.
And we cheered one another on and left each other some seriously encouraging notes.
Now, it’s time for us to take it to the next level and bring these stories to the world!
Believe me, if you’re looking for some serious steaminess, you won’t be disappointed!
The projected launch date of the Dirty Ranger Romance is July 2018–be on the lookout for updates and a preorder link in the coming months!
And get ready to heat up your summer!
–D. Y. Freeman, Publisher, Balance of Seven
–D. Tinker, Managing Editor, Balance of Seven
January 21, 2018
Balance of Seven: A Literary Alliance
Balance of Seven is proud to announce the opening of our doors as a literary alliance. We want to help you, as writers and authors, map out the best path for your stories and navigate your literary journeys. From the first blush of a story idea, to its final polish, to the oft-bewildering trample through the jungle of publishing and advertising, Balance of Seven can help you find the best path for you and your stories.
See below for available services and rates. For more information, please contact us here.
January 19, 2018
Snowflakes from Heaven Charity Anthology
Balance of Seven is proud to have been involved in the Christmas charity anthology, Snowflakes From Heaven. Eleven wonderfully talented authors came together to write the stories for this beautiful anthology, including two of Balance of Seven’s newest additions: our new Publisher and fiction author, D. Y. Freeman, and our new Urban Fantasy author, Logos Peregrin. In addition, Dorothy Tinker, our Managing Editor, had the pleasure of formatting the anthology. All proceeds go to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Copies can be purchased through the following links:
September 22, 2017
Finding My Place in the Literary Alliance: A Fantasy Writer and Audience Marketing Professional’s Perspective
At five years old, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I remember it clearly—sitting in Mrs. Steinmark’s first-grade class with an orange crayon in hand and a “Happy Halloween” coloring book front of me. We were each supposed to pick a page and write a description about what we saw. I wrote a story about peeking into a secret portal and meeting mummies, goblins, and vampires.
Like so many creatives, I’ve dreamt of becoming a world-famous author for most of my life. So much so that I went “off the beaten path” after high school and—against all reasonable advice—I declared myself a Literature major. (If I had a dollar for every time someone joked about how I had a very promising career ahead of me as a McDonald’s fry cook, I’d probably own the whole franchise by now!)
I got my first job while I was in university as a receptionist at a downtown law firm. I was terrible at it. So abysmally bad, in fact, that they fired me just three weeks after I started. I probably broke some kind of speed record. I do have to say, it was probably a wise move on their part. I really do make a lousy front desk rep—a fact my administrative assistants would come to poke fun at me about often.
After my failed attempt in the world of customer service, I found work as the “Arts and Entertainment” newspaper columnist for the school paper—at a whopping $6 an hour. That job lasted about a week; I got scared off when the editor-in-chief locked herself in her office and sobbed at the top of her lungs for three consecutive days.
I decided that the world of journalism just wasn’t for me.
The following week—almost on a whim—I decided to post an advertisement up in the University Center offering my services as an editor. And unbelievably, I actually got a few clients. Eventually I took my freelance editing experience to the next level and contracted with the university’s Writing Center, where I would spend the next two and a half years as a writing consultant.
It was there that I discovered I was good at helping other writers.
Really good at it.
I had a knack for working with the engineering students, and after graduating from university (with my Literature degree), I was hired on full-time as a technical editor at an engineering society. I worked with more than 300 committees on technical standards, reports, symposium papers, and guidebooks. I exceled to a point where I was hired on to become the manager of that division, working with a team of editors and administrative assistants in addition to the committees.
Together, my team and I helped more than 1,300 authors publish—many for the first time.
I eventually gravitated toward our company’s publishing unit, as an audience marketing professional. That’s where I’ve been for the past five years, and where I am today. Audience marketing for publications.
Throughout my journey, I have discovered I am both a writer AND . . . something else.
It has taken me 10+ years to figure out exactly what that “something else” is. Some days, I’m still not entirely sure what, exactly, I do, but what I can say with total confidence is this.
I am a publishing professional.
And I am your ally in this industry.
March 30, 2015
The Winding Road from Missing Heir to Lost King
I mentioned to someone once that I was planning two books for my Peace of Evon series: Missing Heir and Lost King. Their response was that I seemed to have trouble keeping track of my nobles.
Keeping track of the nobles in my worlds has never really been my problem, fortunately. Time, on the other hand, is a different story. Like many people, time has a way of slipping away from me before I can accomplish all that I hope to. Or, more accurately, things are never as simple as I plan, and they, therefore, take longer to achieve.
I published my first book, Peace of Evon: Missing Heir, in December 2013. At the time, I had only planned for the series to span two books, as I mentioned before. My plan was to finish the series within a year (which I laugh to think about now) and continue on with other stories.
Well, good intentions and all that.
The Peace of Evon series actually began as a single story, an idea for a single book. But, as most creators know, a single idea can grow much larger than anticipated. So is it really any surprise that, after a single story turned into a two-book series, the Peace of Evon series is now expected to be a quartet?
Not really. These days, it just seems obvious.
When I hit the half-way point of my story, I realized it would be too long to fit into a single book. Even then, the story was already 200,000 words long. At the time, my father asked if I could divide it into a trilogy (the number three seems to have become quite popular in literature these days). I said no; while the story covered three months, there was no good way to divide it into three.
A few months after I published Missing Heir, I spoke with a small publishing company. When they asked if I could break it up, I came to a sudden, jarring revelation: I might no be able to break the story in three, but it had the perfect subplots to divide it into four.
Which included breaking Missing Heir into two books.
By now, Missing Heir is retired, and in its place I have published the first two books of the Peace of Evon series: Peace of Evon and Gift of War.
And so the road of creativity winds.
After months of little tweaks, new covers, and seemingly endless publishing, I am proud to announce that, not only is the reconstruction debacle of Missing Heir finally complete, but the third book of the Peace of Evon series (and the promised sequel to the original Missing Heir) is finally available in both paperback and ebook.
As of March 31, 2015, Evon has found her Lost King.
Now if only I can get her to remember her Forgotten Goddess.
November 29, 2014
Gift of War brings poison to Evon.
War wants to play The Game, but Peace doesn’t remember the rules.
After a month of traveling together, Ferez and Gemi have grown close, but Ferez still thinks Gemi is just James, a peasant-born boy known to most as the Ghost. As they enter a new province, they face an otherworldly power out to destroy the peace they seek and the spreading chaotic poison of enemy nomads. Can they find peace together, or will their enemies’ poison infect them both?
The second book in my Peace of Evon series, Gift of War is now available in paperback and ebook from most online retailers. Check out the Gift of War page for more information.
October 7, 2014
Peace of Evon is out on Paperback and eBook
Two centuries after Peace disappeared into the Cycle of Incarnation, a young noblewoman takes on the persona of a peasant-born boy to seek peace for her country. By the age of 16, her male persona has become known as a rebel leader among the nobles and an icon to the people. What happens when an unexpected encounter with the country’s young king threatens the secrets she’s kept for so long?
The first of a fantasy quartet, Peace of Evon is now available in paperback and ebook. You can find it on my website or on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many others of your favorite online retailers.
I am also giving away 24 copies on Goodreads. The giveaway ends October 14, so make your way to Goodreads soon to join in the giveaway.
If you attempt to purchase the Kindle version through Amazon instead of Smashwords, you will only find Peace of Evon: Missing Heir. This is my original book, of which Peace of Evon is the first half. There is no major difference between Peace of Evon and the first half of Peace of Evon: Missing Heir. Just understand that if you buy Peace of Evon: Missing Heir, you are essentially purchasing the first two books of the quartet.
I expect to have the sequel, Gift of War, available by November 25. Subscribe to my newsletter for updates on the process.
September 30, 2014
Peace of Evon is now available!
Despite some hiccoughs with the ebook, Peace of Evon is now available in paperback. While it will take a couple of days for it to show up on Amazon, anyone who is interested can check it out through my website here.
Since it has been nearly a year since I last published book, I had forgotten how much trouble an ebook could be to publish (formatting and deciding just who to publish with). After wasting hours yesterday on a program I couldn’t even use with the company I was trying to publish with, I finally broke down and decided to go with Smashwords.
And, so far, Smashwords seems like a great company.
I’ve seen some people complain about having to read the Smashwords Style Guide, but the style guide gives step-by-step instructions and makes formatting my story into an ebook fairly easy. My only complaint is that my story uses a lot of italics, and I have had to go back through the entire story to replace them after using the nuclear method that the style guide recommends to remove all possibly funky formatting. However, searching for italics in a backup of my story now is preferable to searching for whatever messed up formatting gets flagged later.
I’m also interested in seeing how my story does in ebook formats other than Kindle’s Mobi. For reasons I still don’t understand, Lulu refused to upload my original story (never even got to the point of trying to convert it with them). Since I didn’t know about Smashwords back then, I ended up with a Kindle ebook and nothing else.
Hopefully, I’ll have better luck with Peace of Evon.
No matter what, though, I have learned that self-publishing can be like anything else: trial and error until you get it right.
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