Monday, January 31, 2011
Free copy of Stars in Chains, Slave
Thanks for visiting. To get a free copy of Stars in Chains, Slave, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and tell me which book am I working on right now. A hint: It can be found in my January 13th post if you scroll down a little.
Lizard World
I just signed the contracts with Melange Books for Lizard World. Book One will be published July 2011, Book Two in September 2011, and Book Three in November 2011.
Here are the covers:
Here are the covers:
Traveling around the world in ten years
Last night on the news they showed this Canadian guy who took a trip around the world. It took him ten years. He just landed in Vancouver and is on his way home to Montreal…still walking. He only took a ship to cross the Pacific Ocean from Australia. I don’t remember what cause he claimed as a reason for this venture and actually I don’t care to know. The news announcer ended with the word ‘Wow’.
I guess people will call the man a hero and an adventurer. I have a different opinion. He’s no hero. He left his wife alone for ten years…to tend for herself all those ten lonely years. Both are ten years older. You can never get back those years. I’m surprised she didn’t divorce him.
Years ago I was listening to one of those Evangelists on the radio. He told the story about a man who went to Africa to do missionary work, leaving his family and five children. “When the Lord calls you to do his work you go, even if it means to leave your family and friends behind. The Lord will take care of them,” the Evangelist said.
And I thought, “Holy crap! What a bunch of B.S.” If you really want to do the Lord’s work you take care of your family. Family always comes first…even before God. Sounds like blasphemy? In my opinion if you turn your back on your family you turn your back on God. What a copout to leave your five children without a father to take care of them if they become a burden!
To come back to the world traveler…had he not been married I would have said, “What an adventure,” but now I can’t. I don’t know where he got the money for food and lodging during those ten years. I suppose he worked once in awhile, but most of the time he depended on the charity of strangers. Of course, now he’ll probably write a book; it will become a bestseller, because people are suckers for those kinds of stories, and he won’t have to work for the rest of his life. Maybe traveling around the world is not such a bad idea. Hmmm…
I guess people will call the man a hero and an adventurer. I have a different opinion. He’s no hero. He left his wife alone for ten years…to tend for herself all those ten lonely years. Both are ten years older. You can never get back those years. I’m surprised she didn’t divorce him.
Years ago I was listening to one of those Evangelists on the radio. He told the story about a man who went to Africa to do missionary work, leaving his family and five children. “When the Lord calls you to do his work you go, even if it means to leave your family and friends behind. The Lord will take care of them,” the Evangelist said.
And I thought, “Holy crap! What a bunch of B.S.” If you really want to do the Lord’s work you take care of your family. Family always comes first…even before God. Sounds like blasphemy? In my opinion if you turn your back on your family you turn your back on God. What a copout to leave your five children without a father to take care of them if they become a burden!
To come back to the world traveler…had he not been married I would have said, “What an adventure,” but now I can’t. I don’t know where he got the money for food and lodging during those ten years. I suppose he worked once in awhile, but most of the time he depended on the charity of strangers. Of course, now he’ll probably write a book; it will become a bestseller, because people are suckers for those kinds of stories, and he won’t have to work for the rest of his life. Maybe traveling around the world is not such a bad idea. Hmmm…
Monday, January 24, 2011
Posting on the groups
It is Monday and I posted an excerpt from 'Stars in Chains, Liberator' on the groups that allow posting. I discovered to my delight that the cover of 'The Xandra, Book Three, Goddess of Life' is featured on the Romance Excerpts Only group site.
Check it out here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romanceexcerptsonly/
Check it out here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romanceexcerptsonly/
Thursday, January 13, 2011
My books at All Romance and other news
They sure don't keep the featured books for long. Mine are already taken off the display, but you can still find my books by searching for my name at the site.
This internet publishing is a fast moving medium. New books come out every day. It's a paradise for readers but hell for authors. Unless a book makes a big splash right from the beginning it is forgotten in a short time. The only things that helps is to keep on writing and publishing. I'm aiming to do that. Right now I'm not making much progress with Book Six in the Xandra series. I write a few lines every day (well...almost every day.There is always something else that needs to be done). The story is not flowing as I had hoped. Maybe it's the weather. The sun isn't showing its face. Actually, we are quite lucky here in the Winnipeg area. Not too much snow and not that cold either. Other parts of Canada and the USA are not so lucky. I don't even want to mention Australia. They are certainly getting their share of bad weather with the flooding of such a huge area. We'll get our flooding again in the Spring. BC had a dumping of snow according to my friend Don who is there right now. But it will melt again in a few days with the warmer weather and rain forecast. I'm not sure if I like that kind of weather.
Even though we don't have much snow, we do get a little bit coming down, just enough to make the streets slippery. Every day we hear the news about cars sliding off the road into the ditch or worse, getting into accidents, some of them fatal. I'm not surprised. The way some people drive it is no wonder they end up that way. Driving too fast is the main reason for these accidents. Unfortunately, these reckless drivers involve other drivers, even the cautious ones, in their mishaps. There is this idea about installing snow tires on your vehicle for safer driving being pushed right now. I think it is just another ruse to sell tires. I'm not saying snow tires don't help. Sure, they help...in deep snow. The only way to drive safe is to slow down. Drivers in trucks and cars with four wheel drive believe they are safe. How wrong they are. They need just as long to brake than cars without four wheel drive.
Well, enough ranting. Everyone reading this stay safe and come back again.
This internet publishing is a fast moving medium. New books come out every day. It's a paradise for readers but hell for authors. Unless a book makes a big splash right from the beginning it is forgotten in a short time. The only things that helps is to keep on writing and publishing. I'm aiming to do that. Right now I'm not making much progress with Book Six in the Xandra series. I write a few lines every day (well...almost every day.There is always something else that needs to be done). The story is not flowing as I had hoped. Maybe it's the weather. The sun isn't showing its face. Actually, we are quite lucky here in the Winnipeg area. Not too much snow and not that cold either. Other parts of Canada and the USA are not so lucky. I don't even want to mention Australia. They are certainly getting their share of bad weather with the flooding of such a huge area. We'll get our flooding again in the Spring. BC had a dumping of snow according to my friend Don who is there right now. But it will melt again in a few days with the warmer weather and rain forecast. I'm not sure if I like that kind of weather.
Even though we don't have much snow, we do get a little bit coming down, just enough to make the streets slippery. Every day we hear the news about cars sliding off the road into the ditch or worse, getting into accidents, some of them fatal. I'm not surprised. The way some people drive it is no wonder they end up that way. Driving too fast is the main reason for these accidents. Unfortunately, these reckless drivers involve other drivers, even the cautious ones, in their mishaps. There is this idea about installing snow tires on your vehicle for safer driving being pushed right now. I think it is just another ruse to sell tires. I'm not saying snow tires don't help. Sure, they help...in deep snow. The only way to drive safe is to slow down. Drivers in trucks and cars with four wheel drive believe they are safe. How wrong they are. They need just as long to brake than cars without four wheel drive.
Well, enough ranting. Everyone reading this stay safe and come back again.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
All Romance e-books
Stardogs 1 and Stardogs 2 are featured at ‘All Romance’ books. Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/
Here is a list of my books available now from ‘All Romance’ books. To find them just go to 'All Romance' books and search for 'Herbert Grosshans' under 'Authors'
Stardogs 1, Return to Redsky
Stardogs 2, Redemption
Stars in Chains, Book One, Slave
Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator
Orola, Warrior Priestess
Orion, Symbiont of Passion
Here is a list of my books available now from ‘All Romance’ books. To find them just go to 'All Romance' books and search for 'Herbert Grosshans' under 'Authors'
Stardogs 1, Return to Redsky
Stardogs 2, Redemption
Stars in Chains, Book One, Slave
Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator
Orola, Warrior Priestess
Orion, Symbiont of Passion
Monday, January 10, 2011
A few words of Wisdom
Here are some truths I posted on my blog January 1st, 2007. I thought it would be a good idea to post them again. Most of them are probably not new and someone else may have said them in different words, but they might give somebody something to ponder.
Small words of wisdom:
By Herbert Grosshans
To be timid is to lose.
Success does not come to the one who never tries.
Speak and be heard, stay silent and be ignored.
Only a fool swims against the stream.
To reach the end one must begin.
To give up is the way of the coward.
Acting the fool makes you one.
Love comes to the one who gives it...so does Hate.
An evil act does not spawn a good act.
Even a tiny spark can produce a large flame.
To deny the truth is to lie.
Even the tallest tree was once a tiny seed.
To give in does not show weakness...to be stubborn does.
To try does not guarantee success, but not to try guarantees failure.
To give is to receive.
Lie and you shall be lied to.
A cheater is a liar.
To be trusted one must show his face, to hide behind a mask invites mistrust.
To forgive does not mean one is forgiven.
An avalanche begins with a tiny snowflake.
One cannot be a teacher without being a student.
Don't shout into a canyon if you don't want to hear the echo.
Small words of wisdom:
By Herbert Grosshans
To be timid is to lose.
Success does not come to the one who never tries.
Speak and be heard, stay silent and be ignored.
Only a fool swims against the stream.
To reach the end one must begin.
To give up is the way of the coward.
Acting the fool makes you one.
Love comes to the one who gives it...so does Hate.
An evil act does not spawn a good act.
Even a tiny spark can produce a large flame.
To deny the truth is to lie.
Even the tallest tree was once a tiny seed.
To give in does not show weakness...to be stubborn does.
To try does not guarantee success, but not to try guarantees failure.
To give is to receive.
Lie and you shall be lied to.
A cheater is a liar.
To be trusted one must show his face, to hide behind a mask invites mistrust.
To forgive does not mean one is forgiven.
An avalanche begins with a tiny snowflake.
One cannot be a teacher without being a student.
Don't shout into a canyon if you don't want to hear the echo.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Advertising and selling
I've been uploading links and photo albums with a few of my book covers on the sites I belong to. The idea is to keep my name popping up for readers to notice and attract them to my blog or website. I don't know if it helps to sell my books. One thing I should have been aware of: Yahoo sends updates to the members of the sites and that is a good thing. Yesterday, in the update I received, my name popped up about twenty times on the same list. I guess that should grab peoples attention, but that's not how I planned it. If I would have played it smart, I would have dragged out my uploading over a longer period of time. People have short memories. If you want to sell something you have to remind potential buyers over and over again that you exist and have something to sell. Just look at the commercials on TV, the radio, in the papers, and in the household fliers filling your mailbox every day. Advertising is everything. Many bestselling books are not necessarily better than books that don't sell. They just get promoted more. E-publishing is so different from printed books. If a printed book is published, the way it used to be before computers and the internet, the publishers promote the book already before it is released to the public. That's not the case in e-publishing. It is pretty much left to the Author to promote his (or her) book. Besides, there are so many writers out there now and readers have a huge number of books from a ton of publishers to choose from. If the publishers don't get the traffic, the books simply don't sell.
Of course, publishing with one of the large, better known and highly visited e-publishers still doesn't mean a writer's book sells. What a writer can hope for is that his (or her) book gets featured and maybe offered at a discount, but that is up to the publisher. Book publishers, like any other business, want to make money. If they notice one particular writer sells more books than his (or her) counterparts, they will promote this writer's books, and it will lead to more sales. I have fourteen books out there and a few short stories in digests. So far I have 9 books scheduled for release this year and next year. I've noticed with every new book published my older books also start selling again, this means it is important to keep on writing and bring out new books to build up a large reader base. I'm still hoping for that breakout novel that will act like an avalanche and make my name as a writer known to a high number of readers. It's a dream, until then I keep on writing and hoping.
Of course, publishing with one of the large, better known and highly visited e-publishers still doesn't mean a writer's book sells. What a writer can hope for is that his (or her) book gets featured and maybe offered at a discount, but that is up to the publisher. Book publishers, like any other business, want to make money. If they notice one particular writer sells more books than his (or her) counterparts, they will promote this writer's books, and it will lead to more sales. I have fourteen books out there and a few short stories in digests. So far I have 9 books scheduled for release this year and next year. I've noticed with every new book published my older books also start selling again, this means it is important to keep on writing and bring out new books to build up a large reader base. I'm still hoping for that breakout novel that will act like an avalanche and make my name as a writer known to a high number of readers. It's a dream, until then I keep on writing and hoping.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Happy New Year
I wish everyone who visits me a great and wonderful 2011. It feels almost surreal to write the number 2011. Where has the time gone? I ask myself the same question every time I face a new birthday. Another year older.
Looking back at the year 2010 I accomplished a few things. I didn't have much published but I was writing. I finished and sent to Melange Books my latest novel in the Xandra series which will be published as two books because of its length (120.000 words). Book Four: Lure of Seduction, and Book Five: Escape from Paradise. It's been accepted by I don't know the publishing date. Presently I am working on Book six.
If you've been visiting my blog in the past you will notice a change. A new header, it is part of Book Three of 'The Xandra'. Since my publisher MSFiction closed its doors as of today, I had to find a new publisher. My new Publisher 'Melange Books, LLC' has reissued my already published books with a few changes, some got new covers. I'm hoping that a few of the others are still getting new covers.
All my links should be working now. I was busy today changing the pictures and links. It is a lot of work.
As for new releases: My contemporary novel 'Web of Conspiracy' will be published as 3 volumes. It is 180,000 words long. Book One is scheduled for July, Book Two for September and Book Three for October 2011. It is a murder mystery with the war in the Middle East as the background.
I've also submitted my novel 'Lizard World'. It will be published in 3 volumes, but I don't know when. The covers have already been designed. You can find them by scrolling down. My novel 'Outpost Epsilon' was the first volume in the series and 'Lizard World' takes place 15 years after the events in Outpost Epsilon.
Also submitted another contemporary novel 'Mark of the Cobra'. It was supposed to have been published a couple of years ago, but I pulled it and made some changes.
Book Four and Five in the Xandra series is the last submission of mine. I don't know when they will be published.
As you can see, I've been busy writing during 2010.
Currently, I am working on Book Six of The Xandra and then, possibly, Book Seven. It all depends on my creative juices, but I think I have enough material already in my head for two books. 100,000 words is pretty much the longest a novel should be for e-publishing and that is actually already too long. My novels usually end up being longer than that. Once I start writing and get into the story, I can't stop after 50.000 words.
Thank you for reading this far. I will give away a limited number of pdf copies of one of my novels. If you are interested, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and ask for one. Any one, except for Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator.
Looking back at the year 2010 I accomplished a few things. I didn't have much published but I was writing. I finished and sent to Melange Books my latest novel in the Xandra series which will be published as two books because of its length (120.000 words). Book Four: Lure of Seduction, and Book Five: Escape from Paradise. It's been accepted by I don't know the publishing date. Presently I am working on Book six.
If you've been visiting my blog in the past you will notice a change. A new header, it is part of Book Three of 'The Xandra'. Since my publisher MSFiction closed its doors as of today, I had to find a new publisher. My new Publisher 'Melange Books, LLC' has reissued my already published books with a few changes, some got new covers. I'm hoping that a few of the others are still getting new covers.
All my links should be working now. I was busy today changing the pictures and links. It is a lot of work.
As for new releases: My contemporary novel 'Web of Conspiracy' will be published as 3 volumes. It is 180,000 words long. Book One is scheduled for July, Book Two for September and Book Three for October 2011. It is a murder mystery with the war in the Middle East as the background.
I've also submitted my novel 'Lizard World'. It will be published in 3 volumes, but I don't know when. The covers have already been designed. You can find them by scrolling down. My novel 'Outpost Epsilon' was the first volume in the series and 'Lizard World' takes place 15 years after the events in Outpost Epsilon.
Also submitted another contemporary novel 'Mark of the Cobra'. It was supposed to have been published a couple of years ago, but I pulled it and made some changes.
Book Four and Five in the Xandra series is the last submission of mine. I don't know when they will be published.
As you can see, I've been busy writing during 2010.
Currently, I am working on Book Six of The Xandra and then, possibly, Book Seven. It all depends on my creative juices, but I think I have enough material already in my head for two books. 100,000 words is pretty much the longest a novel should be for e-publishing and that is actually already too long. My novels usually end up being longer than that. Once I start writing and get into the story, I can't stop after 50.000 words.
Thank you for reading this far. I will give away a limited number of pdf copies of one of my novels. If you are interested, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and ask for one. Any one, except for Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Grand Opening of Melange Books
The following is the announcement from my new publisher:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Schumacher
Address:White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Web Address: www.melange-books.com
Email Address: nancy@melange-books.com
GRAND OPENING OF NEW DIGITAL AND PRINT ON DEMAND PUBLISHING HOUSE
“Melange” for every reader’s taste in literature.
Opening January 1, 2011
December 30, 2010, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
New small press, Melange Books, LLC, www.melange-books.com, is opening its online doors on Saturday, January 1, 2011, offering digital and print on demand books.
Melange Books, LLC, is offering books for sale in several genres, including mainstream fiction, historical and contemporary romance, erotica, science fiction-fantasy, and young adult, for your reading pleasure.
The creation of Melange was a ‘group effort’ composed of experienced editors and artists from another house that recently closed its doors. Melange is opening its doors with over 150 releases available in digital and print format.
Melange owner, Nancy Schumacher, from White Bear Lake, MN, eagerly took on the creation, with very few bumps along the way. “I couldn’t have opened my doors without the help of the experienced staff I’ve been lucky to hire on at Melange,” Ms. Schumacher stated.
Books will be available through several online sources; the Melange website at www.melange-books.com, Fictionwise Books, www.fictionwise-com, All Romance Ebooks, http://www.allromanceebooks.com, Amazon books, www.amazonbooks.com, and in print through LULU publishing at www.lulu.com. In the very near future, all books will also be available in Kindle format.
Melange Books, LLC, is offering authors a competitive contract for publication, and in February will open its doors to submissions.
# # # #
If you’d like more information about Melange, or are interested in scheduling an interview, email Nancy Schumacher at nancy@melange-books.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Schumacher
Address:White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Web Address: www.melange-books.com
Email Address: nancy@melange-books.com
GRAND OPENING OF NEW DIGITAL AND PRINT ON DEMAND PUBLISHING HOUSE
“Melange” for every reader’s taste in literature.
Opening January 1, 2011
December 30, 2010, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
New small press, Melange Books, LLC, www.melange-books.com, is opening its online doors on Saturday, January 1, 2011, offering digital and print on demand books.
Melange Books, LLC, is offering books for sale in several genres, including mainstream fiction, historical and contemporary romance, erotica, science fiction-fantasy, and young adult, for your reading pleasure.
The creation of Melange was a ‘group effort’ composed of experienced editors and artists from another house that recently closed its doors. Melange is opening its doors with over 150 releases available in digital and print format.
Melange owner, Nancy Schumacher, from White Bear Lake, MN, eagerly took on the creation, with very few bumps along the way. “I couldn’t have opened my doors without the help of the experienced staff I’ve been lucky to hire on at Melange,” Ms. Schumacher stated.
Books will be available through several online sources; the Melange website at www.melange-books.com, Fictionwise Books, www.fictionwise-com, All Romance Ebooks, http://www.allromanceebooks.com, Amazon books, www.amazonbooks.com, and in print through LULU publishing at www.lulu.com. In the very near future, all books will also be available in Kindle format.
Melange Books, LLC, is offering authors a competitive contract for publication, and in February will open its doors to submissions.
# # # #
If you’d like more information about Melange, or are interested in scheduling an interview, email Nancy Schumacher at nancy@melange-books.com.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Almost available: Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator
Book Two of 'Stars in Chains' is ready to be published. I already have the pdf copy. It won't be available until after January 1st, 2011, that's when my new publisher Melange Books opens the doors. I don't know when my other books will be available again. There are going to be a few changes on my blog and on my website. I will have to delete all of the books and links and start from scratch. It will take some time until everything will be up and running again. As you noticed I've changed my header. It is part of the new cover picture of The Xandra, Book Three, Goddess of Life. I was getting tired of looking at the same picture and since so much is changing I figured it is time for a new header. I would like to change to header on my website, but I'm kind of limited there. The picture needs to be long and narrow.
So far I haven't found one suitable. I'm disappointed with what I can do on my website, but it is free from my Service Provider and I have to be satisfied with what they give me. I wish I could at least install a counter to see how many people actually visit, but the website doesn't accept html. It sucks.
Book Four and Five of 'The Xandra' is finished. Book Four is titled 'Lure of Seduction' and Book Five 'Escape from Paradise'. I won't be sending it to Melange Books until after the New Year. They have too much other stuff to deal with right now.
Now I'm continuing with Book Six of The Xandra. No title yet. There may very well be Book Seven. I have a lot of ideas in my head. Enough material for 2 books. Book Four and Five are each around 59,000 words long.
So hang in there and keep on checking for updates and how things are progressing. There will be new cover pictures and new links.
So far I haven't found one suitable. I'm disappointed with what I can do on my website, but it is free from my Service Provider and I have to be satisfied with what they give me. I wish I could at least install a counter to see how many people actually visit, but the website doesn't accept html. It sucks.
Book Four and Five of 'The Xandra' is finished. Book Four is titled 'Lure of Seduction' and Book Five 'Escape from Paradise'. I won't be sending it to Melange Books until after the New Year. They have too much other stuff to deal with right now.
Now I'm continuing with Book Six of The Xandra. No title yet. There may very well be Book Seven. I have a lot of ideas in my head. Enough material for 2 books. Book Four and Five are each around 59,000 words long.
So hang in there and keep on checking for updates and how things are progressing. There will be new cover pictures and new links.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Free copy
Hello visitors. Just for visiting, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and I will send a free pdf copy of any of my published books. Just name the one you would like.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Lizard World
Here are the proposed covers for Lizard World Book One and Three. The books will be published some time next year by Melange Books.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Web of Conspiracy
Here are the covers for Book Two and Book Three of my thriller Web of Conspiracy to be published in 2011
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Changes
There are some changes coming. The bad news is my publisher MSFiction is closing its doors after December 2010. But the good news is that all of my books, published ones and to-be-published ones, will not cease to exist.
I’ve already signed contracts with my new publisher Melange Books, LLC. and I’m exited about this, because Melange Books will try to expand what MSFiction started and hopefully grow into a major publishing house. For instance, there will be a new line of books targeting the male reader, which means I have a good chance of selling more books since I write mainly male-oriented novels written from the male point of view.
Most if not all of my books will get new covers. The first three books in my ‘Xandra’ series will have new covers for sure. They have already been done by Bratt and I am quite excited with the new look. I’m at nearly 100,000 words with Book Four in the series, which will most likely end up as two novels (Book Four and Book Five). After that will come Book Six (and possibly Seven). I’m at 20,000 words with Book Six already. As soon as I’m done with Book Four (and Five) I shall continue with Six.
The cover for Book One of ‘Web of Conspiracy’, Death of a Hero, which is scheduled to be published in July 2011 (Book 2 in September and Book 3 in October), has also been done. I’m happy with it.
Here is a sneak preview of the first designs:
I’ve already signed contracts with my new publisher Melange Books, LLC. and I’m exited about this, because Melange Books will try to expand what MSFiction started and hopefully grow into a major publishing house. For instance, there will be a new line of books targeting the male reader, which means I have a good chance of selling more books since I write mainly male-oriented novels written from the male point of view.
Most if not all of my books will get new covers. The first three books in my ‘Xandra’ series will have new covers for sure. They have already been done by Bratt and I am quite excited with the new look. I’m at nearly 100,000 words with Book Four in the series, which will most likely end up as two novels (Book Four and Book Five). After that will come Book Six (and possibly Seven). I’m at 20,000 words with Book Six already. As soon as I’m done with Book Four (and Five) I shall continue with Six.
The cover for Book One of ‘Web of Conspiracy’, Death of a Hero, which is scheduled to be published in July 2011 (Book 2 in September and Book 3 in October), has also been done. I’m happy with it.
Here is a sneak preview of the first designs:
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Outlines versus spontaneous writing
When someone asks me if I create an outline for my stories before I begin writing, I can’t really give a definite answer. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.
A story begins with an idea. It may be a word, a sentence, or a concept.
My novel ‘Seeds of Chaos’ started with one sentence: She had emerald eyes. I heard it in a song I was listening to and I thought it might be something I could use in one of my stories. After I wrote down the sentence I thought, “Okay, she’s got emerald eyes, now what?”
That sentence led to a novel 124,000 words long. Even while I wrote the story I had no idea where I was going with it. I didn’t know who exactly my main character was until I was about halfway through the novel. It came to me at a moment of insight. Of course, I had to go back throughout what I had written and change a few things, but I had a good idea how the story would end.
My Xandra series which so far consists of three books started with a vague idea and I wrote the first chapter. The characters appeared as I wrote and began developing from that point. I had no idea that first chapter would lead to three books totaling 195,000 words, and ideas for more books to come. In fact, right now I am busy writing Book Four and then Five.
And that is how I like writing my stories the best…when I don’t know where it will lead me. I don’t worry about that because I am always sure of one thing: In the end it will all come together. It will all be revealed when the time is right. I know that sounds so mystical, but that’s how it works for me. It’s like reading someone else’s book and I enjoy the excitement of discovery.
Usually that’s how it works.
I like to experiment with different ways of writing. As I mentioned I am currently writing Book Four in the Xandra series. When I began writing it, I wanted to write about what happened to a research team I mentioned in Book One, Daughter of the Dark. Originally, the team consisted of ten members as determined in Book One, but I wanted more characters, so I took a character who briefly appeared in Book One and wrote his story. As happens so often, he took on a large role and now I am at 95,000 words with his story and still not finished. A minor character at first, he turned into a main character who requires two books to tell his story. In fact, he demanded to have his story told first.
And it is not the end of him, because he will also be a character in the following books, a supporting actor so to speak, but he will be there.
One thing I have to mention, even though I wrote the book without an outline, I know exactly how it will end, because the character has to be introduced into the next book. In this case the ending was already in my mind before I started writing the novel. Which is not always the case.
The book which was supposed to be Book Four in the Xandra series and will now be Book six (and possibly seven), originally started with ten characters. They were not individually mentioned in Book One, but their number was fixed at ten. So I created ten characters and made a file for each one with his/her name, background, appearance, age and whatever else seemed relevant. Just a skeleton more or less. As I began writing they came to life and I had to add more and more to their file.
I wrote down some ideas about what might be happening with them, I even had some sort of an outline, but I have to update it as the story develops.
I could never write strictly following a mapped outline where the characters and the storyline are fixed. It would take away the fun and the joy of telling a story. It would be a boring story to write and to read. Formula-writing takes the creative process and makes it into a collection of lifeless words and phrases without a soul.
My main characters are usually Alpha-males and the story is told from their point of view.
I only wrote two short stories and one novel from a woman’s POV: ‘Gin and Tonic’ which appears in the digest ‘Summer Sensations’, and ‘Vania Starborn’, one of the stories in my Anthology ‘Tapestry of Dreams’.
The novel ‘Orola, Warrior Priestess’ is actually a collection of short stories chronicling the journey of Orola.
I didn’t find it difficult to write from a woman’s POV, no more difficult than writing from a male’s POV. Sure, by default a writer puts much of his/her own personality into the characters, but my characters do not necessarily reflect my personality. I am not them. What they say and do in the story is not always something I would say and do. Their opinions are not always mine. I may not even agree with what they do.
What I want to say with this is I have to put myself into the character’s head and think like them, be they a man or a woman. I admit, being a man, I will never be able to think exactly like a woman, but being married to one does help to know how a woman reacts in certain situation and even to a point how she thinks. Let’s face it…we are all individuals with our own quirks and ideas and nobody really knows how another person thinks, not yet anyway; so even as a man I can only guess at another man’s thought processes.
A story begins with an idea. It may be a word, a sentence, or a concept.
My novel ‘Seeds of Chaos’ started with one sentence: She had emerald eyes. I heard it in a song I was listening to and I thought it might be something I could use in one of my stories. After I wrote down the sentence I thought, “Okay, she’s got emerald eyes, now what?”
That sentence led to a novel 124,000 words long. Even while I wrote the story I had no idea where I was going with it. I didn’t know who exactly my main character was until I was about halfway through the novel. It came to me at a moment of insight. Of course, I had to go back throughout what I had written and change a few things, but I had a good idea how the story would end.
My Xandra series which so far consists of three books started with a vague idea and I wrote the first chapter. The characters appeared as I wrote and began developing from that point. I had no idea that first chapter would lead to three books totaling 195,000 words, and ideas for more books to come. In fact, right now I am busy writing Book Four and then Five.
And that is how I like writing my stories the best…when I don’t know where it will lead me. I don’t worry about that because I am always sure of one thing: In the end it will all come together. It will all be revealed when the time is right. I know that sounds so mystical, but that’s how it works for me. It’s like reading someone else’s book and I enjoy the excitement of discovery.
Usually that’s how it works.
I like to experiment with different ways of writing. As I mentioned I am currently writing Book Four in the Xandra series. When I began writing it, I wanted to write about what happened to a research team I mentioned in Book One, Daughter of the Dark. Originally, the team consisted of ten members as determined in Book One, but I wanted more characters, so I took a character who briefly appeared in Book One and wrote his story. As happens so often, he took on a large role and now I am at 95,000 words with his story and still not finished. A minor character at first, he turned into a main character who requires two books to tell his story. In fact, he demanded to have his story told first.
And it is not the end of him, because he will also be a character in the following books, a supporting actor so to speak, but he will be there.
One thing I have to mention, even though I wrote the book without an outline, I know exactly how it will end, because the character has to be introduced into the next book. In this case the ending was already in my mind before I started writing the novel. Which is not always the case.
The book which was supposed to be Book Four in the Xandra series and will now be Book six (and possibly seven), originally started with ten characters. They were not individually mentioned in Book One, but their number was fixed at ten. So I created ten characters and made a file for each one with his/her name, background, appearance, age and whatever else seemed relevant. Just a skeleton more or less. As I began writing they came to life and I had to add more and more to their file.
I wrote down some ideas about what might be happening with them, I even had some sort of an outline, but I have to update it as the story develops.
I could never write strictly following a mapped outline where the characters and the storyline are fixed. It would take away the fun and the joy of telling a story. It would be a boring story to write and to read. Formula-writing takes the creative process and makes it into a collection of lifeless words and phrases without a soul.
My main characters are usually Alpha-males and the story is told from their point of view.
I only wrote two short stories and one novel from a woman’s POV: ‘Gin and Tonic’ which appears in the digest ‘Summer Sensations’, and ‘Vania Starborn’, one of the stories in my Anthology ‘Tapestry of Dreams’.
The novel ‘Orola, Warrior Priestess’ is actually a collection of short stories chronicling the journey of Orola.
I didn’t find it difficult to write from a woman’s POV, no more difficult than writing from a male’s POV. Sure, by default a writer puts much of his/her own personality into the characters, but my characters do not necessarily reflect my personality. I am not them. What they say and do in the story is not always something I would say and do. Their opinions are not always mine. I may not even agree with what they do.
What I want to say with this is I have to put myself into the character’s head and think like them, be they a man or a woman. I admit, being a man, I will never be able to think exactly like a woman, but being married to one does help to know how a woman reacts in certain situation and even to a point how she thinks. Let’s face it…we are all individuals with our own quirks and ideas and nobody really knows how another person thinks, not yet anyway; so even as a man I can only guess at another man’s thought processes.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Stars in Chains, Book One, Slave
It's finally here. Book One of 'Stars in Chains' is available from MSFiction. I'm happy with the cover. It was designed by Bratt, the art director at MSFiction. She did a nice job. Actually, I like the cover of Book Two even better. Book Two is scheduled to be published in October.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Morden Corn and Apple Festival
Last weekend we went to Morden, a town of about 7,000 people south of Winnipeg, to see what this Corn and Apple Festival is all about. This was the first time we went there. (I know it's a shame. After living in Manitoba forever!)It took us nearly two hours to get there. Once we got there it rained but we didn't give up and waited it out in the car. We were lucky to find a parking spot really close. Next year we'll go earlier because we didn't get there until 3:00 on Sunday and they finish up by 5:00, not much time to see anything.
We stood in line for about 15 minutes to get our free corn on the cob. Wow! was it ever soft and sweet. We bought one dozen of the same corn to take home and we weren't sorry. We paid $5:50 for one dozen and it was worth it. The cobs are large and the corn sweet. DELICIOUS. We'll have some tonight again.
I don't have the figures but apparently about 80,000 people go to the festival every year. It lasts 3 days. They have stalls set up where one can buy the usual stuff available on these fairs.
On book news not too much. I'm still busy with writing Book IV in the Xandra series. I'm at 78,000 words and I sort of see an end in sight. That's the problem sometimes, at first I'm looking for ideas and once I get started the ideas come and the book becomes too long. When I started Book IV it was supposed to be only about the fifth planet in the system, but then I had so much stuff in my head that this is only about the Nu-Eden, the fourth planet. The story will continue in Book V, but Book IV will have a definite end to it, sort of.
MS Fiction wants to re-issue the first three books in the Xandra series, which is great since I'm writing two more books in the series. There will be new covers and a new edit. I spent quite some time these last few days looking on the internet looking for stock photographs for cover ideas. MS Fiction has a form to fill out where we authors have to write a blurb and what kind of ideas we have for the cover. It makes it easier for the Art Director and at the same time we have an input into what we wish to see.
The first book of my novel 'Stars in Chains' is supposed to be published in September but I haven't heard from my editor where we stand with the book right now. It may not happen in September, we'll see.
We stood in line for about 15 minutes to get our free corn on the cob. Wow! was it ever soft and sweet. We bought one dozen of the same corn to take home and we weren't sorry. We paid $5:50 for one dozen and it was worth it. The cobs are large and the corn sweet. DELICIOUS. We'll have some tonight again.
I don't have the figures but apparently about 80,000 people go to the festival every year. It lasts 3 days. They have stalls set up where one can buy the usual stuff available on these fairs.
On book news not too much. I'm still busy with writing Book IV in the Xandra series. I'm at 78,000 words and I sort of see an end in sight. That's the problem sometimes, at first I'm looking for ideas and once I get started the ideas come and the book becomes too long. When I started Book IV it was supposed to be only about the fifth planet in the system, but then I had so much stuff in my head that this is only about the Nu-Eden, the fourth planet. The story will continue in Book V, but Book IV will have a definite end to it, sort of.
MS Fiction wants to re-issue the first three books in the Xandra series, which is great since I'm writing two more books in the series. There will be new covers and a new edit. I spent quite some time these last few days looking on the internet looking for stock photographs for cover ideas. MS Fiction has a form to fill out where we authors have to write a blurb and what kind of ideas we have for the cover. It makes it easier for the Art Director and at the same time we have an input into what we wish to see.
The first book of my novel 'Stars in Chains' is supposed to be published in September but I haven't heard from my editor where we stand with the book right now. It may not happen in September, we'll see.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Giant tomatoes
Here are 1075 grams of tomatoes, that’s over 1 kg. One of them weighs 625 grams and is 5 inches across; the other tomato weighs 450 grams and is 4 inches across. I picked them today from my ‘Ultra Sweet’ tomato plant. There are more tomatoes on the vine, not quite as large though.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Folklorama 2010
We went to the Cuban Pavilion on Saturday. It was the last night for Week one. Great show. We really enjoyed it. Hard to believe the performers were all volunteers. We went to the 8:15 show. There was no trouble or long lineup to get in. The location was good with lots of room. We had supper (Roast Pork with rice and black beans and salad and Roasted Chicken with rice and black beans and salad) One plate cost $9.00. The beer was $4.00. Getting into the pavilion cost $ 6.00 per person.
Some people really have nerve. They think if they come late they can still sit in the front. One group of people plunked themselves right in front of the table next to us, blocking their view. Another group of women got chairs from the back and moved to the front. I find that rude. We were early and we got a table close enough to the stage.
Well, they are everywhere, the people who have no regard for others. As long as they are okay.
Some people really have nerve. They think if they come late they can still sit in the front. One group of people plunked themselves right in front of the table next to us, blocking their view. Another group of women got chairs from the back and moved to the front. I find that rude. We were early and we got a table close enough to the stage.
Well, they are everywhere, the people who have no regard for others. As long as they are okay.
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