No. I mean a real tip. You know…money? I’m thinking about all the free books authors give away and call it advertising expense. Sometimes I get a really good book and think, perhaps I should give the author a tip. I could buy the next book, but that isn’t really expressing the value of the book I just read. So I rate it five stars and write gushing reviews. Still I feel something is missing. I see SMASHWORDS has an option under pricing for the reader to choose their own price. Anyone tried that? Reader? Author? I’m curious. Given the choice, how many or which books would you pay for? How about an option to TIP the author for an excellent read?
Instead of T-I-P (TO INSURE PROMPTNESS) satisfied readers could give extra TO INSURE PLEASURE? or PERFECTION? Or we could just insert a DONATION button. I’ve seen them on blogs (idea).
What about the ones when we can’t get past the first chapter? I’m all for emojis but I always seem to feel an emotion they haven’t developed a face for. A middle finger could work well for so much, but some would be offended. Nope. Not a good idea. Rudeness is available everywhere lately. If you can’t say something nice…don’t SAY anything, don’t TIP. don’t DONATE or leave a REVIEW. “NO” review speaks volumes. “BAD” reviews make you sound like a TROLL. I’m voting for tipping. If it’s a FIVE + STAR book, the only thing left is a TIP. For me? I’m okay if you buy my other books — I won’t be offended.
I started this thought, tongue in cheek, but it’s beginning to sound good. Where is that emoji for the face I’m making right now? Eh?
Oh and in case you haven’t signed up for my NEWSLETTER yet…now would be a good time. NO SPAMMING. In fact, unless I have something to offer you like a FREE book or a BIG DISCOUNT or a chance to WIN something … or tell you a SECRET no one knows about yet … I won’t bother you. I will give you my email address so you can contact me back with suggestions. Or just leave them here. I get them.
The link to sign up below will ask you what genres you prefer.
Sometimes it’s hard to decide. I think you can pick them all.
High Concept question. You ask, “What’s the book about?” A Fae Myth? The Gemini: a species born when twin fae royalty fell in love with twin druids.
Another answer: A mashup of Criminal Minds meets Supernatural somewhere in one of the lands in Lord of the Rings, then sprinkle a little True Blood and Underworld into the cauldron of blood and see what you get. Are you ready for a modern day Indiana Jones meets an Irish Sookie Stackhouse?
There are light fae trying to keep the world from going dark, while daemons from the Underworld posing as ancient serial killers are set on murdering supernatural psychics posing as profilers who work for the government. Breathe… Oh yes, there are soul mates and destined love to deal with too. Unfortunately, soulmates meant to save the world can’t deny their gifts or be at odds with each other. Duh! Can’t we all just get along? Work together? save the world?
No!
Hello?
Conflict goes there or there wouldn’t be a story.
Goal: Everyone wants to control the elements of Earth.
Motivation: To prevent the world from being destroyed…or in the case of the antagonists: to destroy the world.
The Gemini are going to have to step up their game. Trouble is, they don’t know the rules or that they were involved. Playing catch up from behind is Hell. Try reading this so you’ll be ready for the series.
Prequel Blurb:
Morgan and Brianna, two sixteen year-old Irish girls, stumble upon a magical book hidden within the standing stones. Believing local mythology is just an interesting tale about immortal killers, vengeful gods, and age-old battles, they take the stories lightly…until the book mentions their ancestors and reveals the girls may be destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
Discovering a deadly rift once split the fae and mortal realms as the result of a forbidden love between the fae and druids, the girls dedicate themselves to the book. A covenant with the gods had been broken, and the responsibility of restoring the worlds fell to the Gemini, descendants of the illicit lovers. These chosen caretakers of the elemental stones were challenged to protect the elements from the dark mystics. With a vow to destroy all the chosen, evil forces used black magic to release the daemon from the Underworld, and the Gemini went into hiding while the battles to find them raged on through the ages.
Years later, psychics and profilers all over the world are being targeted for death. A historic pattern becomes obvious to a former FBI agent and an Irish profiler when they are assigned to join forces. As they uncover more and more details about who or, more precisely, what is targeting the victims and why, even more improbable evidence surfaces to expose their linked pasts.
Fae mythology isn’t in the FBI training manual, but when a killer disappears into a solid stone wall, it’s time for Graeme to re-evaluate reality. Recently, the pragmatic FBI instructor and history buff has a hard time dealing with the woman’s thoughts seeping into his mind. Psychic or not, none of this can be real. He’s convinced she’s the same girl who’s been in his dreams since childhood, but he doesn’t dare admit it.
Morgan only felt whole when Graeme joined her in her dreams. There is no doubt he’s her old imaginary playmate. But what does it mean now that his thoughts are breaking through when she’s awake? Even if he refuses to accept their connection, his presence in her mind is a comfort…until their shared dreams turn into nightmares.
Do you need quiet to write? Do you have a playlist you listen to while writing? Do you have a special place? Is it isolated or in the thick of things? Is the TV blasting distracting news or great dialogue? Action or love scenes? What works best for you? I bet you have multiple answers depending on the scene and what stage you’re at in the book.
Chaos. In the midst of a family of seven, I’ve figured out how to write a first draft. Concepts and ideas fill my creative cup while I’m talking to my kids or friends, making dinner or folding clothes. The story is in my head at all times ready for a new twist or the next conflict.
I can even edit the first draft in chaos. But when it comes to making certain the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed, I need solitude. Complete and utter focus. Grammar and punctuation checks are not what I’m talking about. What I need uninterrupted time to final edit for are these things…the essentials I hope to one day master in my first draft:
are my characters behaving in character?
do they have a goal, motivation, and conflict?
am I staying in point of view?
is the opening grabbing the reader?
is the pace working?
am I including hooks to the next scene?
is there motivation, conflict, and a goal in each scene?
is each sentence structured clearly?
am I overusing adjectives, adverbs, names, dialogue tags, phrases,
am I using redundancies–repeating words, sentence structure, or ideas unnecessarily?
Each of us has our own way or working through the writing process. We also have writing issues we repeat in each book. I check for those problems first, noting there are fewer in the second draft than there used to be. The more you write, the more cognizant you’ll become of your style, your voice. The pace of the story and the style eventually will become embedded in your work. The more you write, the sooner it will happen. Sooner or later, you’ll find your place to write, with or without chaos, with or without a playlist, with or without silence. What you’ll find is a way to focus on what the story needs instead of what you need. Numbers one through ten will fall into place like a marching band, marching in formation while they make music and designs. You’ll have your unique voice, your work will have a unique style that defines it, you’ll have a process of creating your work in a way that works for you.
I’ve tried several approaches. Some work with non-fiction, some with fiction. Some work with short stories but not with longer books. Some work with individual novels but not with series or serialized books. Different strokes for different folks pertains to bodies of work as well as temperaments. My memory isn’t what it was. I make notes now. Thank goodness for my iPhone. I keep it with me always…well, not in the shower…but it’s in the room–TMI?).
I dictate and write myself notes or just write down a word or phrase to jar my memory later when I have a chance to mull it over. We each have our own creative needs and style of getting from A to Z. Figure out your method and don’t be discouraged if you have to make tweaks or adjustments as you grow. I’m going to bare my soul. The second few edited paragraph segments from my first book, Hot Highland Fling, looked like this.
* * *
“Ah, Scotland,” Ailsa sighed into her cell phone. “The untamed highlands, the rugged moors, the burly men, and their kilts!” The cell phone coverage was good as she checked in with her senior editor. None of that, Can you hear me now? stuff, going on up here.
“Katie, why do you live in London with those conservative people when you could be here?”
“I know the only reason you took this assignment was to check out the native men. Besides, the magazine has a silly requirement that their senior editor reside near the publishing house, and if you must know, I prefer civilization to the wilds.”
* * *
I have to thank my first editor, Scarlet Senior Editor, Diana Carlile.at the Wild Rose Press for not only taking a chance on a newbie, but also for being an awesome editor. If I could I’d be rewording and editing it again. You have to know when enough is enough. (Most of us never learn that.)
The first red blob is cutting out a dialogue tag. Now there is narrative action instead of he said-she said.
The next change is a clarification of the first part of the sentence without going into too much unnecessary detail.
The next is a format situation. The editor clarified the idea with italics and punctuation.
Then I changed a word from one that I didn’t think fit as well.
The final edit in this section did a few things. This is the opening of the book. The heroine said several things that hint about the genre. The title of course is pretty suggestive. But Ailsa sighs. Then she sets the mood with her dialogue. “The untamed highlands, the rugged moors, the burly men, and their kilts!” A little excitement, a romantic lilt, sexy and fun. This sentence establishes a promise to the reader. You also get that sarcastic humor reinforced with her internal thought about the cell phone coverage. Can you hear me now? stuff…
We find out that Ailsa is questioning conservative reasoning. What’s she up to?
Ailsa’s editor confirms her motives. “I know the only reason you took this assignment was to check out the native men.” Ah! Ailsa has an ulterior motive. Do we want to read about it? Do we like her enough to be curious? We hardly know her at all. Is the subject something we’re interested in?
The book is short on plot–it’s very short anyway. But it does contain many sex scenes because this is a woman’s journey of sexual discovery, an awakening of sorts, and she has very little time to invest. Not everyone will be interested in a book of this length or genre, but no matter, there should be purpose to every words you choose to put on the page. I hope this helps you move from chaos to peace of mind.
Free lance writer, Ailsa Jackson is finished dating executives. She’s looking for hot sexual fantasies with a man who fits her needs… “All muscle, stamina and no commitment.” The assignment in the UK sounds perfect when she’s assigned to interview an American CEO who recently inherited lands and a title in Scotland.
She tosses her inhibitions aside for the first Highlander she encounters–prepared to research all the myths about brawny Highlanders and answer the age old, burning question: What does a Scotsman wear beneath his kilt?
Colin Fitzgerald knows it’s wrong to deceive Ailsa, but he can’t risk her discovering his true identity before he seduces her. Unfortunately, he is everything Ailsa hates. Yet if he can become the lover she adores, perhaps he can convince her they’re perfect for each other.
He has one night to prove he’s no stuffed shirt and three weeks to become everything she desires in a lusty lover. His adventurous lass is imaginative and willing. But can lust turn to love so quickly? And will they be ready for more than a Hot Highland Fling when their time together draws to an end?
Recommended Reading
MAXIMUM IMPACT – Writing Short: Say More With Less: Condense the Essence & Leave ’em SatisfiedKindle Edition
Her aura has never reacted to any man this way.
After the female dire wolf under her protection goes missing, Laurel Finnegan’s new assignment, vetting the brother, proves even more challenging. He’s everything Laurel isn’t. And everything she wants. Before the full moon rises, she’ll have to test their mutual attraction, find his sister, and keep him away from the other females who will stop at nothing to be the dire wolf’s mate.
He refuses to accept the significance of their mingled auras.
Lucas MacDugal’s family is the last of the purebred dire wolves, and times have changed. So when his sister fought tradition and fled Scotland for Sarasota, he agreed. Now, he has to deal with her female security guard. Laurel has extraordinary elemental assets and is instrumental in deciphering evidence, but she’s also the first female to destroy his self-control. He has until the full moon rises to figure out why. After that, his unusual attraction to Laurel may prove deadly for her.
All the evidence indicates Grace set herself up.
Laurel’s worst fears prove true. Rogues from the south have infiltrated the outlying pack land. When she discovers Grace’s location and telecommunications fail, she decides to rely on the elemental connection she formed with Lucas.
He’s in denial…
But there’s no denying how much she hungers for him, and his lust rises with the waning moon. The innocent female haunts his thoughts night and day. He has to respond. Too many lives are at stake for him to ignore the appeal he can’t resist.
The full moon calls his wolf to action.
Lucas will give up everything to claim Laurel as his, but he won’t risk her life. The fear of losing her drives him to discover the mystery surrounding their irresistible connection.
Excerpt
“Lucas is also their pack enforcer, so you will need protection,” Rand spoke up then turned to Derek. “What do you think?”
“According to everything I’ve got on him, he’s a lone wolf, aggressive, the second son, yet with alpha tendencies. Above all, he’s honorable. He’s no pup. So I’m not concerned about him getting out of control.”
Derek still appeared uncomfortable then looked at Laurel and shook his head. “If he’s as powerful and large as I’ve heard, we need to warn off our females. They should stay away from him at the time of the next full moon.”
“But a few of the females are already looking outside the pack for new blood,” Laurel said.
“If he sets his sights on one he likes, she probably wouldn’t survive a mating. His mother was purebred and barely lived through the births.” Rand kept his attention on Ty while he grew increasingly restless.
“Well, it’s not always about breeding.” Laurel gave a nervous chuckle. “If you want to take his temperature, for some reason I’m still your best chance to vet him. So far, none of you boys have tickled my fancy. And precisely, as a reminder, like Grace, I ‘don’t need no stinkin’ brothers’ to protect me either.”
The three men didn’t exactly growl, but Laurel was certain she heard the low rumbles begin.
Ty shook his head then pointed a finger at her. “Everybody thinks they’re immune, that they’re in control, until it hits them. Then, suddenly, you’re walking around with stars in your eyes and can’t put two coherent sentences together, let alone fight the urges within you.”
“Listen to Mr. Romance!” Laurel giggled.
“Don’t laugh, missy.” Derek gestured to Ty. “Look at him. Neither of them, Grace or Ty, wanted to be involved, and he couldn’t stay away from her, even knowing what she is. Her disappearance has made him as crazy as if they’d been—”
The room went dead quiet, the word mated hanging in the air. Derek turned in his chair, and his eyes flashed a warning.
Laurel’s gaze swung to Ty. “You didn’t…did you?”
I’m a sucker for Fae Mythology. Trouble is I want to manipulate the stories to fit my tastes. I like author, Karen Marie Moning’s fae–good and bad, dark and light. I like their warrior aspects and their sexual appetites. How beautiful they are. How dangerous they can be. How evil and cold hearted, too. I also enjoy their evolution.
My story is very different from Ms. Moning’s, but similar elements and characteristics run rampant through the mythology surrounding everything from pixies to gnomes in the fae world. The Stone of Fal and elements, like the Agate and the Book of Kells, play a large part in the series’ conflicts. But so does love and faith, trust and friendship.
My Gemini are a species born of the royal fae and druid mortals. Damned until they accept what they are and locate the other half of their soul. Each has special gifts but can be killed. And they are being hunted by the Traighon, right hand of the dark lord of the Underworld.
A Fae Myth, the prequel to the upcoming modern day series of The Gemini Prophecy, fills the reader in on the past. What came before. Find out what caused the anger of the gods and forced them to separate the realms of the fae and mortals. What is the prophecy and how can it be fulfilled? Where have the Gemini been and why are they hiding? What threats remain that could still send our world into eternal darkness?
Fantasy and suspense blend the past and draw the reader into the present as serial killers return to track down and kill psychics and profilers throughout the world. But why? And who are these serial killers with links to Vlad the Impaler, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Jack the Ripper?
Morgan and Brianna, two sixteen year-old Irish girls, stumble upon a magical book hidden within the standing stones. Believing local mythology is just an interesting tale about immortal killers, vengeful gods, and age-old battles, they take the stories lightly…until the book mentions their ancestors and reveals the girls may be destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
Discovering a deadly rift once split the fae and mortal realms as the result of a forbidden love between the fae and druids, the girls dedicate themselves to the book. A covenant with the gods had been broken, and the responsibility of restoring the worlds fell to the Gemini, descendants of the illicit lovers. These chosen caretakers of the elemental stones were challenged to protect the elements from the dark mystics. With a vow to destroy all the chosen, evil forces used black magic to release the daemon from the Underworld, and the Gemini went into hiding while the battles to find them raged on through the ages.
Years later, psychics and profilers all over the world are being targeted for death. A historic pattern becomes obvious to a former FBI agent and an Irish psychic who, forced to join forces, are assigned to discover who or, more precisely, what is targeting psychics, and why. They also discover an improbable relationship linked to their past.
Fae mythology isn’t in the FBI training manual, but when a killer disappears into a solid stone wall, it’s time for Graeme to re-evaluate reality. Recently, the pragmatic FBI instructor has a hard time dealing with the woman’s thoughts seeping into his mind. Psychic or not, none of this can be real. More and more he’s convinced she’s the same girl who’s been in his dreams since childhood.
Morgan only felt whole in her dreams when Graeme joined her. There is no doubt Graeme is her old imaginary playmate. What does it mean now that his thoughts are breaking through when she’s awake? Even if he refuses to accept their connection, his presence in her mind is a comfort…until their shared dreams turn into nightmares.
No. I mean a real tip. You know…money? I’m thinking about all the free books authors give away and call it advertising expense. Sometimes I get a really good book and think, perhaps I should give the author a tip. I could buy the next book, but that isn’t really expressing the value of the book I just read. So I rate it five stars and write gushing reviews. Still I feel something is missing. 
I see SMASHWORDS has an option under pricing for the reader to choose their own price. Anyone tried that? Reader? Author? I’m curious. Given the choice, how many or which books would you pay for? How about an option to TIP the author for an excellent read?
emojis but I always seem to feel an emotion they haven’t developed a face for. A middle finger could work well for so much, but some would be offended. Nope. Not a good idea. Rudeness is available everywhere lately. If you can’t say something nice…don’t SAY anything, don’t TIP. don’t DONATE or leave a REVIEW. “NO” review speaks volumes. “BAD” reviews make you sound like a TROLL. I’m voting for tipping. If it’s a FIVE + STAR book, the only thing left is a TIP. For me? I’m okay if you buy my other books — I won’t be offended.
I started this thought, tongue in cheek, but it’s beginning to sound good. Where is that emoji for the face I’m making right now? Eh?
I have something to offer you like a FREE book or a BIG DISCOUNT or a chance to WIN something … or tell you a SECRET no one knows about yet … I won’t bother you. I will give you my email address so you can contact me back with suggestions. Or just leave them here. I get them.
I’m a sucker for Fae Mythology. Trouble is I want to manipulate the stories to fit my tastes. I like author, Karen Marie Moning’s fae–good and bad, dark and light. I like their warrior aspects and their sexual appetites. How beautiful they are. How dangerous they can be. How evil and cold hearted, too. I also enjoy their evolution.
Eliza March Writes...Books, Blogs, and Writing Secrets 