A Writer's Week #89: New Paths

Things were jumping all over this week. At work I found out my department is switching locations to a nearby town. This will entail re-configuring offices ad training space to fit the new location. This is both a daunting task and a wonderful opportunity. My hope is that we can design a space that will better serve our department's role and personnel. Our bank is now bigger and having some extra training space all in one location will be ideal. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

On the writing front, the rewriting and editing of The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang is complete. I will now send it over to layout designer Ana Vogel. Artwork will take a few months, but illustrator Daniel Vogel will work it in between his schoolwork. At this point, we're still on schedule for a February release.

I have begun mapping out the story line for The Deliverers 4. There is one thing that is disturbing me about

the plot for this book. I pretty much know how it will go--at least the basics of the story. The problem is with the villain--I don't know who he is. I introduced him, or the idea of him, at the end of book 3, but I really don't know who he--or she--is. I know what they're supposed to do and why, but that's it. I have a feeling that I amm going to find out the particulars along with the characters. This always winds up leading to the best results, but it's nerve-wracking.

Finally, I have formatted an ebook version of Sharky and the Jewel that has been published on Smashwords. I had fiddled around with Smashwords last summer, but became a little frustrated with the process. This month, however, I dropped my exclusivity agreement with Amazon and decided to tackle it again. I now have versions that are compatible with Kindle, Nook, and other Epub formats such as iBooks, and Kobo. I'm not totally satisfied with the layout on the Epub version, so I'll probably tinker with it a little more. Once I get it set, I'll tackle the formatting of Order of the Crystal Lion. 

Appearance Alert:  I will be appearing at St. Mary's Harvest Craft and Tag Sale in Stamford, CT on Saturday, October 19th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please stop by and visit is you are in the area. I would love to see you!

What's Elizabeth Reading? Princess of the Midnight Ball

The Reading Crew continues to read at a furious pace. This week Elizabeth has been reading Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George.  Let's see what she had to say about it.

Here's what Elizabeth says the book is about.

Have you ever heard of the twelve dancing princesses? Well, that is what this story is, just with a twist. This is a story whose main character/knight in shining armor is a soldier-turned-gardener. He tries to find out the mystery of the twelve princesses' worn-out dancing slippers. You see, the princesses have supposedly been cursed by some evil doings of a guy their late mother, Queen Maude, knew. And Galen, knight in shining armor, has been assigned the task of saving them (without his knowing) by an old lady onn the side of the road.

There's just one problem-part of the curse makes the princesses unable to speak of their curse--or King Under Stone, the evil guy their mother bargained with--to any human being. So...this is where Galen has to single-handedly trick the princesses , find out their secret, and save them--all with in a very limited amount of time.

I loved this story and was unable to put it down. It may have been slightly cheesy at points, but it was worth it!

I give it five out of five blue dragons.

Between the Lines: Merlin

This is the last of the early character interviews for the moment. Next week, we'll have another new interviewee. This interview is a rebuttal to last week's interview with King Arthur. Here's his wizard friend, Merlin:

Well, things have certainly been exciting here at The Deliverers Publishing Headquarters. First of all, I am offering the Kindle version of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel for free for the next three days (5/8, 9 & 10), and they've been going like hotcakes. At one point today, I was giving away a book a minute! Heady stuff. Now I know how J.K. Rowling must feel (numb). Would that folks were paying for them! Oh well, hopefully this will generate some word of mouth and some reviews!

The other thing that's been occupying my time has been the controversy generated by yesterday's interview with King Arthur. In case you missed it, he had some rather unpleasant things to say about his onetime friend and mentor, Merlin. I have to admit that I was shocked.

So, I suppose it wasn't a surprise when I received a phone call from the venerable wizard. He was upset that Arthur painted him in such an unflattering light, and that I had acted in his words, "like a most hard hearted and shameful accomplice." Well, what could I say? I offered him equal time to tell his side of the story, if he was willing.

He jumped at the chance. So, straight from Merlin's Cave, here is Merlin's rebuttal.

Greg:  Well, Merlin, it certainly is nice to meet you, although I wish the circumstances might be a little more cheery.

Merlin:  Thank you for the opportunity my boy. It really is good of you to allow me some time to defend myself.

Greg:  Not at all. We don't usually do two interviews in one week, but I thought the situation warranted it. Now, why don't you tell us where Arthur went astray in his recollection of events.

Merlin:  Gladly. Unfortunately, most everything he said was sheer fabrication. I was the guiding force behind the throne. I've known Arthur since he was a mere boy. I was his teacher, and schooled him in the ways of the natural world, government, morals and ethics. I suppose I did not do a very good job on that last item.

But to address your question, Arthur might think he accomplished what he did on his own, but it was I who laid the groundwork. As for my magic not amounting to much, I'll have you know that I have performed many extraordinary feats. I am a master shape changer, and used that power to great effect in Arthur's education.

Greg:  Yes, but what about the time traveler from Connecticut who blotted out the sun?

Merlin:  Argh! It was that Twain person. He had it in for me from the very start. Always painted me as a villain, a fool. What he did was not magic, mere looking back to the past. Hindsight is always 20/20. I look into the future. My specialty is seeing what shall be.

Greg:  Then why didn't you see what was coming?

Merlin:  Er, um, I was looking too far ahead. You see I was about to meet my fate. The lovely Lady of the Lake was my future. Unfortunately, I was too enamored of her to pay attention to the road immediately ahead.

Greg:  Well, we can talk more about that a little later. I'm interested in whose idea the Knights of the Round Table really was. Arthur claimed it to be his, and that you wanted the table to be octagonal. Is that true?

Merlin:  That was just an early sketch. No, of course I hit upon the round, all knights are equal concept soon after. I will admit that Arthur selected the majority of the knights who would make up the order, but the chivalric concept was entirely mine. Of course, I had nothing in mind at the time but the unification of Britain and the betterment of the world.

Arthur was really the one after the glory. The lad does have a vain streak a mile wide, despite his many good qualities.

Greg:  Ah, so you admit that Arthur is not all bad?

Merlin:  Admit? I do not have to do anything of the kind. Of course he has many good qualities. That's why I chose him for the task. That's why he was able to pull the sword out of the stone. It was because he was destined to unite and rule all of England. I just resent the fact that now that he's reached the pinnacle of success, he's trying to minimize my considerable contribution to the whole affair.

Greg:  Speaking of affairs, what's the story with you and the Lady of the Lake?

Merlin:  It's a painful part of my life that I don't like to talk about, but since you've been kind enough to give me equal time, I'll give you the lowdown. She was such a temptress. First, she tosses Arthur that magic sword, then she starts making with the small talk. Then next thing you know, she's enchanted me and locked me in this cave. It took me ages to get out.

Greg:  I guess this is where we get out. I think our time is up, but I really did enjoy our visit together.

Merlin:  I did, also. Thank you again for giving me some time to give my side of the story. Now that I'm free, I think I'll go have a talk with the Lady of the Lake. She's bound to have gotten over our spat by now.

A Writer's Week #88: Fall Cleaning?

I've never hear of fall cleaning, but that's what I wound up doing this week here on the Deliverers Blog. There were a few pages that needed some serious tidying up, and I noticed that there were a couple that could be combined. Then I thought of a couple new pages to add. Before I knew it the row of page buttons at the top of the sight was looking a whole lot different.

The main reason I thought to look at them in the first place is that I have confirmed a few appearances over the next couple of months. So, there is now an Appearances button. Please check it out, and if you happen to be in the area on any of those date, stop by and say hello! It is my intention to be appearing somewhere at least once a month whenever possible. Let's see how that works out! :)

Next, I decided to add a Reviews page. I have been receiving a lot of fantastic feedback on both books, so five-star review from Readers' Favorite for The Deliverers: Sharky  & the Jewel. This is a great organization that reviews books for authors for free. If the book is worthy of a four or five star review, then they start a book page on their site for it. If the book receives three stars or less, the review is not published, but the author is given an objective critique to help them improve their book. Thank you to fellow author Karen Pokras Toz for telling me about Readers' Favorite!
I figured I'd feature a nice sampling. I received one of the most exciting reviews just this week. It was a wonderful

Some of the other pages have received face lifts. I combined the Calendria and Dwarf Kingdom pages. It is now called Calendria & the Kingdom. I also redid the picture layout on the Characters page so that readers can have easier access to the actual interviews. Some of the less popular pages have gone bye-bye, such as the Maproom and Doorways. I have some ideas for a couple of new pages based on Order of the Crystal Lion and The Golden Dragon of Ang, those are projects for another week.

Some sparkling mist for you

On the writing/editing front, editing continues on The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang. It should
be ready to go by the end of next week. Daniel Vogel has done a rough sketch of the cover, based on conversations we've had regarding subject matter. I have not seen it yet, but I know it will be great. He is currently working on a group shot of the Deliverers that I plan on using as the header for the blog and as a banner for shows. That should be complete in another couple of weeks.

So, thing are definitely moving forward. If you have a moment, feel free to tour the blog and let me know what you think of thee updates. If you have any suggestions on improvements you'd like to see, please let me know. Thanks and have a great week.

What's Abigail Reading? Starring Jules (as Herself)

Abigail's first book report of fourth grade went over very nicely with her teacher, so I decided it would make the perfect Reading Crew installment. She read Starring Jules (as Herself), by Beth Ain. Let's hear what she had to say.

Here's what Abigail says the book is about.

The book that I read was Starring Jules. It is about a girl named Jules who has a new best friend named Elinor. Jules tried out for a mouthwash commercial. She was waiting for her turn to go and then it was time. When Jules was getting taped she almost threw up, but didn't. Jules' video was good and she was happy.

Jules told her grandma what happened after and she was happy. When they got home Jules found out that she wasn't going to be in the commercial, but that she would be on a TV show!



Here's what Abigail liked best about the book.

That Jules was going to be on a show, which is cool.

Was there anything Abigail did not like about the book?

When she made milk bubbles, because that is disgusting.

So how did Abigail rate Starring Jules, by Beth Ain?

She gave it three and a half out of five dolphins.