Yesterday marks a huge day for me as I finally published my first novel on Amazon and I’m pretty much…terrified. I spent a week going over the book one last time, addressing Heather’s recommendations (from Red Adept Reviews)  and then sat staring at my computer screen for a tortuously long time on the night of the 6th, before taking the plunge. I decided to enroll in Amazon’s KDP program, which means the digital selling of my book is exclusive to Kindle for at least 6 months. If you are an Amazon Prime member and own a Kindle, you can read my book for FREE using the ‘Lending Library’! After that, I can start selling on Nook and other platforms. Paperback copies will be available at a later date all depending on how this eBook process unfolds.

Right now, I need reviews and ‘likes’ on Amazon and abroad!

On my book’s Amazon page, just to the right of the cover you’ll see a graphic like the one above. Be generous and ‘like’ it – I will be in your debt. If you happen to purchase ‘The Mayfair Moon’, I would love a good review! :-) I’m also looking for book reviewers out there who might be interested in delving into my story and telling their readers what they think of it. So, if you know any personally, please send then my way!

As with any new author, I’m both excited and scared out of my mind, but this step in my lifelong journey to become a published author is (it feels like) long overdue, and despite being afraid, I’m also happy. :-)

I really hope you all like it!

Alright, folks! I’m getting a Kindle around February and I want to help give indie/self-pubbed authors some deserving praise and exposure, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m setting aside $50 to put toward the purchase of eBooks to read on my new Kindle. If you’re a self-published author and you write fiction, all you have to do is:

1.  Be following me on Twitter.
2. Be an indie or self-published author.
3. Comment on this blog post with the title of your book, genre and a link to your book on Amazon. (This is important, so read carefully: to help my paranoia, DO NOT shorten your URL so that it removes the ‘Amazon’ from your link, or I will not click on it.)
4. Also post your Twitter username.

That’s it. I will take the first however many eBooks posted (and that qualify: see below)  that equal to $50 and will buy them when I get my Kindle. In addition to purchasing your book, after I have read it and if I like it, I will rate your book on Amazon and on Goodreads and write a short-and-to-the-point review. If I can’t honestly give you at least 4 stars, I will not rate or review at all because I don’t want to give anyone public negative feedback. Keep in mind, it might take me a while to actually get to your rating and review because I’ll have several books to read ahead of yours, but I will purchase your eBook around the same time I purchase the others.

In addition to purchasing, rating and short-reviewing your eBook, I’ll tweet when I’m reading yours along with a link to your eBook on Amazon and a link to your web site/blog. The only things to keep in mind before submitting are the following:

1. It MUST be fiction
2. It MUST be either, paranormal, fantasy, young adult, paranormal romance, horror, middle-grade fantasy, dystopian, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, or anything else that you think fits these genres. I also love a good southern story with rich southern characters, or historical novels about society’s struggles and triumphs (e.g. The Color Purple), or a tragic love story (e.g. The Notebook). I’ve never been too interested in strictly romance novels, or crime and mystery, things like that. However, if you think your book has the potential to change my tastes a little, go ahead and post it and I might give it a try. I can’t guarantee it’ll be counted among one of the first chosen, so please take that into account.

I have been trolling Amazon’s eBook phenomenon for months and am really excited about finally jumping on the eBook reader bandwagon myself. Also, I want to help out any way I can with giving great indie and self-pubbed books/authors some publicity. Every little bit helps, right?

Lastly, even if you don’t post the link to your book in time for it to be among the first $50, I still encourage you to post your link for me anyway! I’m always on the lookout for great indie/self-pubbed books and I might end up checking it out later, regardless.

I have been trying to come up with a few interactive ways to get fresh eyes and opinions on my fiction and have decided on trying out a Chapter Swap with a fellow writer. Or two. Or three.  I know it’s probably difficult (I say ‘probably’ because I have yet to try it myself) to just ask someone you don’t know, “Hey, would you be interested in reading the first chapter of my novel and telling me what you think?” and they be even slightly interested. So, I’m reaching out now to other writers who are as interested in having unbiased, fresh opinions on their work, as I am.

Here’s how it works. I’ts quite simple.

If  you have written a novel and would like to swap your first chapter with mine, you can send me an email through my contact page to request a swap. Include a link to your site and your Twitter page, if you have one,  as well as the title and blurb for your book.

Depending on how many requests I get, I’ll let you know if I choose to swap with you, or not. (This is no popularity game! So please don’t be offended. If I don’t request a swap with you it only means I had more requests than I can take on, not because I didn’t like the sound of your book, or anything like that.)

After I read your first chapter, I will give you my 100% unbiased opinion of the plot, character(s), pacing, dialogue and even editing, in return for your overall about mine. I admit, I’m no professional editor and I’m no professional anything really, but having a fresh mind that will genuinely take the time to read your work  and not charge you for it, can be invaluable.

Also, it’s totally private! Both parties agree not to discuss the work with anyone else, especially in public.

The book I am interested in swapping right now is my YA Paranormal Romance - The Mayfair Moon. Below is the info.

One-sentence Blurb: After a frightening encounter with a werewolf, Adria Dawson loses the love of her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious boy and his legendary family.
Three-word Description: crossover, love, controversial
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 82k
Status: Complete

Longer Blurb:

After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses the love of her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious boy and his legendary family.

 Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

 As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.

(Click images for full view.)

Awesome. I couldn’t resist a photo. THE WALKING DEAD, WORLD WAR Z, among other great and delicious zombie literature and even David Moody’s HATER and DOG BLOOD books.

So anyway, not a lot going on lately. Still agent-hunting and in the meantime editing so much that I can’t see straight. This is what I get for having more than one novel project at a time. Hey, I figure having two books on submission possibly doubles my chances of finding some sort of representation.

So far, I’m still delusional. :-)

I’ve uploaded the newest edit (and hopefully the last one before actual publication) of DIRTY EDEN chapter one and would love and appreciate any opinions or critiques, complaints or compliments.

Well, I’m off to Starbucks and my nieces 2nd birthday party. Here she is, mean face and all. Heh.

Lastly, I’ve changed my Bio page a lot, if you’re interested.

So far, I’m a little over 20k words. I’ve put the first chapter up for download (click the image above for the blurb and chapter one), but of course, it’ll be edited a hundred times before I’m satisfied with it. I’m having a lot of fun with this book!

Thanks for looking. :-)

Click the image for full view. It might not look like much in this photo, but I still can’t believe I saw it like this.

I also got to see the moon UP CLOSE and got an even more detailed shot of it:

I also saw two of the ‘M’ galaxies, though I can’t remember which he said! But they were among these. I just couldn’t believe I was actually looking into the sky at two GALAXIES. I didn’t attempt getting a photo of those because although I could see them through the telescope and clearly make them out, they were too faint to try getting a photo. I also caught a glimpse of Betelgeuse, Titan and several others. Then, to my surprise I watched as two satellites went across the sky around Earth. It was awesome.

Thanks to the CAAS (Central Arkansas Astronomical Society) for organizing the event and for being so welcoming and friendly. Come to find out, they have been doing this yearly for a long time and I never knew anything about it. My brother and I will be going to another one of their events next month. Can’t wait!

The Walking Dead has broken records, was renewed for a second season long before the first season was over and will continue to captivate viewers as long as it stays on the air (if the 1-year-long wait for Season Two doesn’t piss too many fans off and send them packing). Now let me tell you why…

The Cast –

Nothing bugs me more than how television and even film tend to think that getting the hottest, clone-like, most high-profile actors is a necessity. While the cast of The Walking Dead are not by any means unattractive, they are real, relatable, everyday-looking human beings like your next door neighbor, or that guy that works as a mechanic at Jiffy Lube. Fans can easily relate to every character on this show in some way and not be distracted by the Hollywood bullshit expectations, which so many television shows and movies live by. Look at the cast of films such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and yes, even Twilight – dare I say it! Many of these actors were extremely low-profile, or in the case of Harry Potter, practically nobody. Now imagine if Steven Spielberg landed the Harry Potter director’s job and cast Haley Joel Osment as Harry, or if Sean Connery accepted the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. Do I really need to say it? I didn’t think so. So yes, characters matter. They matter A LOT, and if you want a kick ass television show or film, then choose the cast based on character, not on fame and sex appeal.

The Location –

Face it, a good majority of all television and film is not only shot in New York, Chicago and other huge cities as such, but base their storylines in those places as well. There ARE other people and places in the United States, y’know! If The Walking Dead was shot in Chicago instead of Atlanta, I would’ve been pissed, needless to say. But like with casting characters that so many average people can relate to, the storyline taking place primarily in a city OTHER THAN the ‘Hollywood cities’, is just as important.

The Storyline –

In addition to all of the excellent reviews and comments by fans out there, I’ve also run across quite a few haters (can’t be successful without haters!) who have bitched and complained about this and that and blah fucking blah. Basically, the majority of negative comments I have seen seem to revolve around one thing: PREDICTABILITY. These are people who expected Dr. Jenner to know every single thing about this ‘virus’ and give it all up in episode 6, and about other things that did not happen, but they pretty much thought would. The Walking Dead storyline isn’t entirely PREDICTABLE! Really? And that’s a bad thing how? Personally, I was extremely happy that episode 6 went out the way it did and that the characters didn’t go into the CDC and leave with the knowledge that would obviously send them out to find the cure, which is a plant that only grows on ledges under waterfalls. I want to be surprised when I watch something new, like I was when the Vatos sweet grandmother came out and made me feel stupid for calling the fake gangbanger Mexicans, wetbacks. I love Mexicans, by the way – just thought I’d clarify that for any close-minded, chicken-chokers who might be reading.

It’s NOT About Police Investigations or Emergency Rooms-

CSI, Chase, CSI, NCIS, CSI, CSI – Really…when is enough, enough? The Walking Dead comes out and is a godsend to television riddled with cop and doctor shows, not to mention, fake reality TV.

Kick-ass, Gruesome ZOMBIES –

No need to explain this; watch the show and it speaks for itself.

So there you have it, the ingredients for a kick-ass television series or movie. Now I’ll leave you with two of my favorite Santa photos, ever! Found these off Wicked Lil Pixie’s blog.

It was one of my dying ivy plants. Of course, in my fury I immediately asked Jonah (my youngest son) who did it, because he was out there and the one that put out the flames. An older boy was out there too and apparently Jonah was afraid to tell me, so the boy urged him to just tell me. Come to find out it was another guy from the neighborhood who recently turned 18. Anyway, he is the same one who (he and his younger brother) I’ve had problems with for the past 12 depressing years I’ve lived here.

I have to get out of this place. Guh. Anyway, police are on their way so I can file a complaint.

(10 minutes later}

Police just left, but before they got here, the culprit came and apologized, so everything is cool and I didn’t file the complaint.

Anyway.

The week before last Jonah and I went to the Rendezvous at Pinnacle Mountain, which is a really cool festival with people dressed as pioneers and Indians. We go every year, though I was disappointed the Chief wasn’t there this year.

The photo below is of a woman who had all sorts of little vials and stuff. She immediately made me think of the witch, Adria, in Diablo! *coughBlizzardsuxbecausetheytaketoolongcough*

Cool stuff.

Only Jonah went with me this year, so that meant only Jonah got an awesome handmade bow made out of bamboo. Because he wanted it “really, really, bad.”

Aaaaaand, of course he broke it after a few hours.

A couple photos of me, staring off at whatever, and one with my new bag I only paid $3 for at the Goodwill.

And last, I saw this as we were leaving.

So, with that said, have a good night.

First, on Dirty Eden, I have come to face the reality that the first chapter just wasn’t cutting it. Brian had some of his writing class peeps read it and provide advice, which I truly appreciate! In fact, I appreciated it so much and agreed with everything they said that I completely revamped it. I have to say that I got more positive than negative feedback from everyone, but there were a few key points that everyone seemed to share. Anyway, I took all of the advice to heart and did exactly what they thought I needed to do.

You can read the new version of Chapter One in a pdf. here.

How about some cool photos? I went to visit my brother in Eureka Springs and stopped at some cool old places along the way. I love old abandoned buildings like this.

We went to the river and Jonah decided to take a picture of the sun! Is it true that doing this can potentially fry your camera? Well, it didn’t hurt mine, thankfully.

Not too far from where I live is Burns Park, which is huge place that…let me just copy/paste from Arkansas.com:

1,700-acre park featuring a pre-Civil War log cabin; covered bridge; 36-hole golf course; indoor, outdoor tennis courts; camping, picnic area, horse trail, ball fields; amusement park; disk and miniature golf; 6.2 miles of paved hiking/biking trails; four miles of combined paved/unpaved trails; addition to half of the 14-mile River Trail; Off-Road Trail System includes hiking, biking and equestrian trails…

Anyway, there are also a lot of old mining shafts and underground tunnels as well as many more of those old buildings and places that I love.

(As always, click on any photo for a larger view.)

Look at this little guy…

Of course, ya have to take a photo against all the cool graffiti, right? Doesn’t everybody do that? *shrug*

Let’s see…I’m love The Colony on Discovery and I also can’t get enough of Man Vs. Wild, Man Woman Wild, Dual Survival, Wonders of the Solar System and I’m now all into The Event. Yes, a lot of television lately.

Where does ‘the apocalypse’ come in to this blog? My frame of mind according to my television shows should give you an idea!

I need a Maxpedition backpack…..

(Update: The Event sucks.)

Jerricah has been extremely curious about my newest YA novel, The Mayfair Moon (title subject to change) and finally after seventeen chapters, I decided to let her read it.

She did more than read it. For two days, she read it aloud to me and we edited it. I knew she was intelligent, but I never thought to put her intelligence and love for reading to work like that. It was a wise decision. She found a lot of errors, bad sentences, places were I was ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ – she found a lot! And what was also great was her inability to be biased because I’m her mom. She wasn’t afraid to tell me what she didn’t like, what made no sense, what SUCKED.

Of course, what I say next will likely be interpreted as writer blindness to family opinions, but that’s OK. I’m not ‘one of those’ writer’s, I can assure you. So, with that said, I can tell you Jerricah loves The Mayfair Moon, despite the errors (because ALL first drafts have errors!) and she kept trying to read ahead to find out what happened to this and that character. She truly loves the story and has easily connected with the characters. She’s anxious to read the rest and this has helped inspire me to finish it.

On a side note, I have dumped my cable! I have officially dragged out the crappy converter box and hooked it up so I can get used to limited TV entertainment in a few days when Comcast shuts me off. I did do it because I’m sick of paying $65 a month for basic cable, but also because too much TV=less writing! I know that without the TV on to distract me for hours and hours every week, I’ll have much more time to write.

And that’s what matters.