P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 279
October 27, 2015
4 Ways to Survive a Monstrous Halloween Encounter
Halloween can be a tough time of year with all the monsters, ghouls and goblins out. How do you survive an encounter with one of these creatures of the night? Here are a few tips to handle yourself so you can survive the night and live to tell about it. Let’s tackle one of the common denizens of the night – Vampires.
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1. This is admittedly gross, but save some blood from chicken or other meat and carry it in a well-sealed sandwich bag. Why? Well, vampires are out for blood – literally – and since they’ve been taking a dirt-nap for who knows how long they can be rather “hangry”. Offer them a little “harmless” snack and you may get to the next tip…
2. Since vampires are not mindless, once you get past that “hangry” edge you can start talking. Many of these vampires have been around the block so a little polite negotiation might be better than a confrontation you likely can’t win. Start by letting them know that it’s just wrong to look at people as food. Offer some high SPF sun block so they can get out a little more. And while your at it, offer them regular rides to the blood bank
3. Negotiations may not go well so stay prepared. Invest in a spear-gun with which you can use – you guessed it – a wooden spear to end the threat. This is a one-shot deal so try negotiations first and remember to make that shot count if all else fails. Think close – I mean very close – range if you must use it. If you go with this or any other weapon, make sure you know what your doing. This guy is well-prepared to fight 0ff most anything due to all this amazing practice:
Come to think of it, you may want him along!
4. However, if the negotiations go well, you might consider further steps to help your new-found “friend”. Work as an advocate for this class of the undead by helping them start a support group in your community. Write your member of Congress, urging them to fund more research into curing vampirism. I could see some break-through on this that leads to treatments like Suboxone. Hmmm, come to think of it, Congress may not be the right step since they already suck the life-blood out of us with taxes.
So there you go with some outside the box thinking on dealing with a menacing Halloween creature. What are your best tactics? How would you stop a hungry vampire – or member of Congress? Here’s to a happy – and vampire-free – Halloween!
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll receive my a SPECIAL coupon for The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Barnes & Noble, iBooks Amazon – Kindle & Smashwords. Additionally, September’s FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Filed under: Amazon, Blogging, Creativity, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, Halloween, Holidays, iBooks, Indie Publishing, iTunes, Kobo, Mailing List, Pinterest, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Trading Knives, Twitter, Vampires, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, blogging, Coverart, creativity, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy Fiction, Halloween, Indie Publishing, Kobo, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Rave Reviews Book Club, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Vampires, What is Needed, writing
October 26, 2015
The Latest Reviews from My Goodreads Shelf
I’m a huge fan on fantasy and have been for many years. Here are a few more reviews of books I’ve read over the years. If you’ve never read them, some of these set the pace for much of the fantasy that has come since but these are still high on the list of excellent fantasy.
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Midnight Falcon by David Gemmell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up to Sword in the Storm where Connavar’s bastard son, Bane, travels to distant lands in hopes of winning fame with his sword. The twists and adventure are quite good. It was a highly enjoyable read from David Gemmell that I recommend to fantasy readers.
The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series carried the characters on further journeys while the Dark One sought to either entrap or lure Rand. It the continuation of a wondrous adventure begun in The Eye of the World. The Great Hunt is called to find a mythic horn as part of the oft obscure prophecies of the next incarnation of the Dragon and either the end of the world or its salvation. No spoilers here – it’s an incredible read that doesn’t disappoint!
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The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ged’s adventures continue across Earthsea, seeking a hidden talisman. Told from the point of view of Tenar, a young high-priestess of a land of dangerous foes to Ged. It’s another skillfully woven tale by Ursula K. Le Guin that I’ve enjoyed numerous times over the years. If you’ve never read it, you will find the tale of dark powers, resourcefulness and courage an excellent read. Le Guin’s writing voice won’t disappoint you.
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Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read the Pern series many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the whole series. Before Eragon, there was Pern and McCaffrey staked out quite a bit of fantasy territory with this first book of the series. I find that I want to read these again after many years. It’s well-written and very creative in setting as well as plot. That fantasy is well-developed – a story I highly recommend.
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Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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October 25, 2015
The Bow of Destiny Character Interview: Spark
As I mentioned on on release day, I added an animal character to The Bow of Destiny at the suggestion of a beta reader. What I settled on was a dog based on my German Shepherds and named him Spark. If you haven’t read the part of the scavenger hunt from Monday please take a look since it shares a funny way of communicating that my male dog has – his tail. That’s correct, when you ask him simple questions he wags his tail for yes and doesn’t for no. So Spark does the same thing. However, Athson is the only one who can see him besides, you, the reader. But, Athson doesn’t quite understand that Spark is communicating with him. Now that you know, you can read the book and understand something additional happening in the book.
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With that in mind, I decided to interview Spark for a bit of unique fun:
Q: How are you today, Spark? Er, I mean, are you well today Spark? (Gotta stick to the question rules!)
Spark: wag, wag, wag.
Q: So you’ve been with Athson since he was orphaned?
Spark: wag, wag, wag.
Q: Do other people see you?
Spark: no tail wag.
Q: Are you real?
Spark: wag, wag, wag.
Q: Is there a reason you follow Athson?
Spark cocks his head and lets loose a low growl.
Uh, right, we’re not getting int that now (and that question didn’t follow the rules).
Q: Let’s find out your favorite place. Do you like Auguron Forest?
Spark: wag, wag, wag.
Q: Do you like the Troll Heaths?
Spark: no tail wag
Q: Do you like Chokkra?
Spark: one, slight tail wag.
Hmm, guess he’s got an opinion that we can’t quite understand at the moment.
Q: Do you like Athson?
Spark: pants , wag, wag, wag.
Q: Do you have a deeper propose in the series?
Spark: cocks his head and growls again.
Uh, well I guess he doesn’t want to talk about that.
So that’s Spark and now you are in on the secret that not even Athson has figured out. I hope the interview was unique and fun and you’re a little intrigued with the book.
The Bow of Destiny is currently on sale throughout the week for $2.99 (that’s $2 off the regular price). It’s gained several 5-star ratings and reviews and it’s climbing Amazon rankings in it’s genre. Have a look at the book and Spark and add it to your Goodreads shelf.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Filed under: Amazon, Author Platform, Barnes & Noble, Cover Reveal, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, iTunes, Kobo, Mailing List, Marketing, Pinterest, Rave Review Book Club, Reviews, Self-publishing, Smashwords, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Twitter, Wattpad, What is Needed Tagged: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Character Interview, Coverart, creativity, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, Kobo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Rave Reviews Book Club, Self-publishing, Smashwords, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Twitter, What is Needed, writing
October 24, 2015
Scrivener Tips Pt. 4: Project Backups
I recently received a Twitter comment from someone regarding Scrivener and help with backups using Windows. I’m not entirely sure what the issue was but I’ll go ahead and address the subject today. Here are the basics with project backups for Scrivener:
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1. Keep Scrivener up to date to minimize any issues with the software. To do this click on Help and then on Update Scrivener.
2. To manage where you backup your projects click on Tool and Choose Options:
3. Once the Options window opens click on Backup at the end of the menu on the left:
4. Once you have the backup settings displayed you can click on the Choose button to change the default location of project backups. If you are not changing it but just want to know where the backups are location it is listed there also and you can click on the Open Backup Folder to view backups immediately.
5. You can also handle an individual backup from the project you have open. Click on File and hover your cursor at Backup to see the fly-out menu. Here you can choose to backup the current project to a specific location. You can force an immediate backup instead of when you close the project. You can also choose to exclude the project from automatic backups.
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Options for Backup Locations
Here are a few thoughts about where to backup your Scrivener projects.
1. On your computer – you can choose to back them up on your computer. However, unless you are backup up the Scrivener backup folder using something else – software or external drive/cloud then you run the risk of losing data should your computer fail in some way.
2. On an external drive – you can backup directly to an external drive but this requires that you have the drive connected whenever you close Scrivener for automatic backups on close or when you manually backup your projects.
3. On the cloud – I have many of my projects located in my Dropbox folder so it is automatically synchronized on the cloud while my automatic backup runs to my computer. I also backup my Dropbox folder to and external drive.
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Project Recovery
To recover a project do the following:
1. Open your backup folder where you will notice that all the project backups are in .zip folders
2. Open the .zip folder for the project and date to which you want to recover.
3. You will see the .scriv folder for the project. Copy the folder to the appropriate work location or a restore folder of your choosing (WARNING: If you overwrite a current folder with a backup folder you may lose changes since the backup). From any location you should be able to open the project by double clicking on the .scriv folder or using Scrivener to browse to and open the project folder.
For more details on Scrivener backups check the manual by clicking on Help and then Scrivener Manual – the subject is at Appendix B – Options, page 322, B9 – Backup.
Are you in NaNoWriMo yet? If so, what are you doing to prepare? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
Scrivener screenshots from my 2015 blog project.
Cover art commission from Christopher Rawlins
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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.
Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Indie Publishing, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Tech Tips, Templates, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Scrivener, Self-publishing, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing
Scrivener Tip: Making Document Templates
All writers face the blank screen and think about what they’re going to write. Too often we start and realize we didn’t format properly and stop, then get distracted by something else and we’ve lost our train of thought be the time we get back. Getting started can be daunting enough without spending time getting everything just right in your word processor.
Well, in Scrivener there’s a good way to beat back all that pre-writing distraction so you can sit down with your ideas and write. Who wants to lose their ideas to setting everything up? The answer is to make a template within your project.
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What did you just read? That’s right a template within the project. You’ve heard of making a project template but how do you make a template within a project? Just follow these instructions.
1. Create a folder within the project and designate it as the Template folder by clicking on Project and Set Selection as Template Folder. Some project templates come with a template folder already designated so check you binder for one. Here’s what the template folder looks like: 
Here’s how to set a folder as the project template folder:
2. Once you’ve set the Template folder then create a document container under the folder. Configure all the settings you want with formatting in this container but leave it blank.
3. After you’ve completed configuring your document template it’s ready to use. Go to one of you folders in your project and when creating a new document container (text). Choose Project from the upper menu bar and then go to New from Template to get a fly-out menu. On this menu you will see all the document templates created for the project in which you are working.
4. You can also create such a document template from the cork-board view of a folder. Right click for a context menu, go to Add for a fly-out menu. Slide your cursor to New from Template to reveal the fly-out menu or your document templates. You can also do the same from the Binder by right clicking on a folder for a context menu and using the same directions.
5. At this point, you can name the new container and start writing without a need to change settings. Create as many of these document templates as necessary for your project.
One again, here’s a simple way to use Scrivener to make writing easier than ever.
Are you in NaNoWriMo yet? If so, what are you doing to prepare? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.
Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Tech Tips, Templates, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing
October 23, 2015
On Your Mark! Get Set! Start Using Scrivener!
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page. Just as a note, I’ll be changing the schedule of my Scrivener posts to Friday in the near future to accommodate my novel’s release in September as well as several events that will occur on Mondays. Expect 2 posts next week and thereafter they will appear on Friday!
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If you’ve ever run a race you know what happens. You get to the line, wait for the signal to start and your off! You don’t think what to do you just run – you just have to be aware of your starting pace.
However, when it comes to other tasks it may not be so obvious how to begin. In fact, it’s often difficult to begin using something new like Scrivener when you don’t even know where to begin. You can easily just stare at the open screen and do nothing or even give up on using it altogether. I recently received just such a question and here’s my answer with more details.
I do suggest that anyone starting with Scrivener clear time to work through the tutorial. It’s a lot of information but it gives you some experience working with the software interface. The tutorial will give anyone starting out a sense of Scrivener’s flexible design power.
But what should you do after you’ve completed the tutorial? Well, start a project. It’s easy enough to begin – choose File and click on New Project. You’ll choose what project template to use, name your project and then browse to the location where you want to save it all.
After that, start using some of what you learned in the tutorial to organize and customize your project. Use the Binder to organize you folders and documents into an a working structure – don’t worry if you need to make changes with this later, it’s quite easy with Scrivener. Next use the editor to configure the format of your documents. This is much like using any other editor in that you need to choose the details of your font and spacing – just be aware that Scrivener doesn’t wrap pictures.
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Next week, I’ll dig a little deeper into beginning your Scrivener usage and other features you may want to use soon to take advantage of Scrivener’s development power. In the meantime, you may find some of my other posts and a few of these links from Literature and Latte helpful as well:
8 Ways Scrivener Aids My Writing (Archer’s Aim post).Why You Should Begin Using Scrivener Today & How (Archer’s Aim post).
Read about starting with Scrivener. (Literature & Latte)
Watch a video to help start with Scrivener. (Literature and Latte – the very first one listed is a great place to start!)
Additionally, I have a number of other Scrivener posts that you can access by browsing my Scrivener blog tag or category.
Are you in NaNoWriMo yet? If so, what are you doing to prepare? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Just as a note: I now have a marketing affiliation with Scrivener. For support questions, pricing, licensing and other concerns please contact the vendor. As such a buy ad for Scrivener appears on the sidebar. I’ve started this program since I like the product so much and want to offer readers the chance to obtain this software. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. You can also find my FTC statement on this site’s sidebar.
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Splitsville: Using Scrivener to Split Content
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.
For some reason Thursdays are becoming Scrivener question days that translate into a Friday blog post. However, that’s fine with me, I can re-arrange my schedule and go with the pitch. I received a question via Twitter asking how to split one chapter into two within Scrivener. It’s a good question so I thought I’d share it today.
First of all, as with all major changes to your manuscript, I advise making a snapshot so you can rollback easily. It’s a small detail but it can really save you some stress if you make a mistake.
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Scrivener basically recognizes individual folders as a chapter and the sub-documents as scenes. So there can be several ways to organize a chapter. You may have one chapter’s content in a single document. You may also have several documents within your chapter-folder representing several scenes.
In the first scenario you can use this procedure to split the chapter. Click to the location in the content where you want to split the chapter so that the cursor is blinking – presumably at the beginning of a paragraph. Next, click Documents slide down the menu to Split and choose “at Selection” off the fly-out menu. This will give you a new document with the content split.
At this point, if you want the new document to be a folder that’s easily done. Just click Documents again, slide to Convert and choose Convert to Folder from the fly-out menu. The folder will be at the same level as the original document so make sure to move it to the left in the Binder (right-click on the folder, got to Move on the context-menu and choose Left).
In the second scenario where you have several scenes, you basically want to re-arrange your manuscript some. Create a new folder at the same level in the Binder as your other chapter folders and name it accordingly. Then just drag individual scene-documents into the new folder. If you need to split a scene-document use the same procedure as the first scenario to do so. However, don’t convert this split scene into a new folder, just drag it into the new chapter-folder you’ve created.
If you make a mistake – and assuming you’ve made your snapshot – just rollback to the original and start over. Remember, the Binder is your basic organizational tool in Scrivener and it’s what makes this software so incredible – you can make structural changes like these very easily.
Could the Split command be the answer to a major change in your manuscript? What tips do you have to re-structure in Scrivener?
Are you in NaNoWriMo yet? If so, what are you doing to prepare? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.
Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Editing, Indie Publishing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing
The Rudog Absurdity
PHS:
Yes, exactly! The reader understands that you are writing about a different culture and that it’s translation. Anything more is unnecessary to the story. What’s relevant and necessary adds to the story. Good post!
Originally posted on From Fan to Pro:
Research. Fascinating, isn’t it? History, biography, geography, language, clothing, I could go on and on. In fact, I do go on and on. Sometimes I use up so much of my time researching that I lose the sense of my story; I follow link after link to site after site and take pages of notes on the cultures of our world that are paralleled in my new one.
It’s funny, I said as much to my husband last night and he smiled and replied, “Don’t forget, you’re not a historian, you’re a story-teller.”
My newly retired husband, my left-brained, linear thinker, brilliant manager, non-writer husband practically knocked me off my feet. Or at least off of my writer high-horse.
After he watched me pick up my jaw from the floor he lifted his latest copy of Medieval History magazine. “There’s an interview in here with Bernard Cornwell, the author of
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October 22, 2015
NaNoWriMo Preparation & Scrivener Pt. 3: Don’t Overlook These 4 Features
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.
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As I wrote last week, I’m preparing for NaNoWriMo and suggested some features of Scrivener to think about using during next month’s writing scramble. I’ve also offered some tips to leverage Scrivener as you organize your outlining efforts. But what other features should you leverage as you prepare? Here are 4 more tips that seem rather small but could make a huge difference in your daily efforts:
1. Work on your layout: the Layout Manager is a way of organizing the visual layout of Scrivener to suit your writing needs. It’s meant to assist you by creating visual sets of features available based on where you are in your project. For beginning development & outlining, you could create a layout that incorporates the Binder and/or the Inspector being turned on. For strictly writing, you could create a layout that has only the editor available in the Scrivenings mode. Later you might progress to another layout for editing. You might incorporate the layouts for your development and rough draft phases to eliminate visual distractions while having just what you need available.
2. Choose your writing backgrounds: you can turning on backgrounds in full-screen mode while you are writing each day. This allows you to see a background of your choice while you write that might offer some inspiration. You may want to change these up regularly so you might gather pictures into one folder so you can set the background as necessary and write with different scenes each day or even change it several times a day. While the Layout Manager does not include this feature, just having a layout set and then going full-screen with a background might be just what you need to keep your productivity at its peak.
3. Set your project goals: I know I’ve hit on this one a few times but setting these goals can really help you know how things are going. Make sure you know what your daily goal is as part of your overall goal for the month using the Project Targets. Set your word target for the project and then daily targets. If you close the project each day then the daily goal will reset. If you close it during the day you need to record your word count from it to track what you’ve done. If you don’t close the project daily you’ll need to use the Reset button at the beginning of each day to get an accurate word-count. Make sure to record you daily totals somewhere – a spreadsheet, a table in your project or in your NaNoWriMo account.
4. Pre-load your Auto-Complete List: this little tool can save you lots of time each day. As a fantasy writer, I have numerous unique character and place names. This varies from writer to writer but for me, having these names – and even terms – set in the Auto-Complete List is a real time-saver and can even help later when editing since all the names and terms will be consistent. I’m loading these in my list each day as I think about what I need. I’ll even keep adding to it after the writing starts. It could really cut your time writing each day as well as reduce your stress. While you shouldn’t be editing during the month, many of us are tempted to correct spelling so this tool can even reduce that temptation which can save you even more time.
Are you in NaNoWriMo yet? If so, what are you doing to prepare? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed, available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, NaNoWriMo, Planning, Rave Review Book Club, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Tech Tips, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Twitter, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, NaNoWriMo, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Rave Reviews Book Club, Scrivener, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Twitter, What is Needed, writing
October 21, 2015
Book Reviews from My Goodreads Shelf: Old Favorites
Here are reviews of some old favorites I’ve read repeatedly over the years.
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Armor by John Steakley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Armor is a well-written space opera by John Steakley and one that I’ve read numerous times over the years. It’s a well-plotted book following the grinding war experiences of main character, Felix, who serves the military as a scout on a distant planet. It’s an often gut-wrenching tale that engrosses the reader. This is a can’t miss read for science fiction readers.
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sword in the Storm follows the exploits of the young warrior, Connavar of the Rigante people. Vowing to defend his people from an implacable foe that will threaten them in the years to come, Connavar sets out on a journey to learn how he can accomplish his task. The Rigante is perhaps the best series David Gemmell wrote and this first book is hard-hitting fantasy mixed with magic, mythology and adventure. Join Connavar on his epic adventure and you’ll enjoy the journey.
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The first book of the Wheel of Time, written by Robert Jordan, draws the reader into a broken world full of magic, mystery, adventure and mythology. It’s a complex tale carrying Rand and his friends away from their seemingly peaceful home on journey of secrets as well as adventure. I enjoyed this book cover to cover and have read it several times. The fantasy world construction is complex as is the plot and characterization. If you’ve never read the Wheel of Time series you’ve missed out on a magnificent tale – and this is a rousing start.
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Orson Scott Card wove a complex tale where Ender must discover secrets of a dead scientist to correctly eulogize him. An unusual approach to a story, Card wrote an amazing book that truly engrosses and surprises the reader with an astounding end. Tightly written, with solid characterization, readers won’t be disappointed with this continuation of Ender’s dramatic journey. If you’ve never read it, pick up a copy and enjoy a fascinating read.
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Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.
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Filed under: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Mailing List, Marketing, Pinterest, Science Fiction, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Twitter, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Armor, Coverart, David Gemmell, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, John Steakley, Orson Scott Card, P. H. Solomon, Reviews, Robert Jordan, Science Fiction, Social Media, Speaker for the Dead, Sword in the Storm, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, The Eye of the World, Twitter, What is Needed, writing
