Some good information about Wordpress themes
http://janefriedman.com/2015/06/23/choose-the-right-wordpress-theme-for-you/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JaneFriedman+%28Jane+Friedman%29
I don't think we talk about the story's stakes enough. This is a great post on the subject.
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/story-stakes/
An insightful post about character arc.
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/hardest-part-character-arcs/#comment-1293748
Pricing is always an issue for indie authors. Here's some interesting food for thought on the issue.
http://nicholasrossis.me/2015/07/15/promoting-your-series-free-vs-99c/
How to make the most of your book promotion
http://effrosyniwrites.com/2015/06/10/valuable-resources-and-tips-for-your-promos/
Is making your book available as a pre-order a good idea?
http://www.lindsayburoker.com/amazon-kindle-sales/when-to-use-pre-orders/
Thursday Writing Quotes ~ Smith
In composing, as a general rule, run a pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigor it will give your style. ~ Sydney Smith
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Autobuy Authors
A lot of authors have come and gone from my autobuy list. I suspect that's true for a lot of people. If Barbara Hambly writes a fantasy novel, it's an autobuy. Her other books I'm not as urgent about. Jennifer Crusie used to be auto buy, but that ended when she started co-authoring books. It's also been so long since she put out a book that, well . . . we'll see. Also, some authors have written series that I was avid about, but I haven't caught fire over their other books. I also have to confess that this isn't actually an autobuy list because if the book is priced too high, I'll wait for a sale, try to find it used, or see if the library has it. Even so, my Top Ten List comes up short.
Top of the list is Harlan Coben.
He's a pretty fast writer so it doesn't take forever between books. He writes both a series and stand alones and even has a YA series. I've read them all.
His latest
The Stranger
Next up is Courtney Milan. She's the only historical romance author I'm guaranteed to read. Or maybe I can't say that any more because her last book was a contemporary New Adult romance. So I guess I'll read anything by her. She started with Harlequin, but happily, she's gone indie. I say happily because she keeps her prices reasonable.
Her first series was the Carthart series. I was hooked.
Stacia Kane is on the list because of her on-going urban(ish) fantasy series, Downside Ghosts. I don't know if she'll maintain her place on the list if she ever moves on to another series, but for the moment, she's golden.
Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts Book 1)
Rainbow Rowell writes New Adult. No series. Just standalone books. I think she has four out now, so she's pretty new to the list. My favorite of hers is her first. That might be because it's always a surprise when you have no track record with an author. After that, you have "expectations."
Attachments: A Novel
Michael Perry is an anomaly because it's rare for a non-fiction author to make my auto read list. He's an essayist, who writes with humor. He's also a bit of a wordsmith. So now he's written his first novel, which I'm dying to get my hands on.
The Jesus Cow: A Novel
So that's it. The authors who write books I lust after as soon as their newest book is released. Who's on your list?
Check out who else is participating at Broke and Bookish.
Top of the list is Harlan Coben. He's a pretty fast writer so it doesn't take forever between books. He writes both a series and stand alones and even has a YA series. I've read them all.
His latest
The Stranger
Next up is Courtney Milan. She's the only historical romance author I'm guaranteed to read. Or maybe I can't say that any more because her last book was a contemporary New Adult romance. So I guess I'll read anything by her. She started with Harlequin, but happily, she's gone indie. I say happily because she keeps her prices reasonable.Her first series was the Carthart series. I was hooked.
Stacia Kane is on the list because of her on-going urban(ish) fantasy series, Downside Ghosts. I don't know if she'll maintain her place on the list if she ever moves on to another series, but for the moment, she's golden.
Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts Book 1)
Rainbow Rowell writes New Adult. No series. Just standalone books. I think she has four out now, so she's pretty new to the list. My favorite of hers is her first. That might be because it's always a surprise when you have no track record with an author. After that, you have "expectations."
Attachments: A Novel
Michael Perry is an anomaly because it's rare for a non-fiction author to make my auto read list. He's an essayist, who writes with humor. He's also a bit of a wordsmith. So now he's written his first novel, which I'm dying to get my hands on. The Jesus Cow: A Novel
So that's it. The authors who write books I lust after as soon as their newest book is released. Who's on your list?
Check out who else is participating at Broke and Bookish.
Thursday Writing Quote ~ Michner
But ideas run away with every writer, and it’s amazing how you can start out with something and find yourself grappling with a minor character and you never intended to do so ~ James Michener
Tuesday Teaser ~ The Trouble with Flying
From the first page, I've been enjoying The Trouble with Flying (The Trouble Series Book 1) by Rachel Morgan. Neither of the main characters are perfect. She's ultra-shy with strangers; he's terrified of flying. Which makes them much more interesting that your typical romance couple.
Blurb:
When nineteen-year-old introvert Sarah boards a plane to fly home after an overseas holiday, the last thing she expects is Aiden, the guy sitting next to her who’s never flown anywhere before and refuses to shut up. Hours of random conversation later, they part ways. Sarah can’t stop thinking about Aiden, though, and wondering if she made a terrible mistake letting him go. Should she abandon her safe, predictable life and go in search of him, or would she be chasing a happily ever after that could never exist in real life?
Opening:
I don't make friends on aeroplanes. I know there are people who like to strike up a conversatione with the complete stranger sitting next to them, but that's not me. It's not that I'm an unfriendly person. It's more the fact that the conversation centre of my brain seems to sieze up in the presence of strangers, and I can't for the life of me figure out what to say. And even if the other person is happy to simply babble on while I pretend to be interested, I'd rather be doing something else. Like reading. Or watching a movie. Or trying to figure out how to stop crying.
Teaser:
"Your first time flying?" I repeat. I've just broken my own rule--don't perpetuate conversation with strangers if you can help it--but I'm so surprised he's never flown anywhere before that I guess the words just popped out.
Would you keep reading?
Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://adailyrhythm.com/
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
Blurb:When nineteen-year-old introvert Sarah boards a plane to fly home after an overseas holiday, the last thing she expects is Aiden, the guy sitting next to her who’s never flown anywhere before and refuses to shut up. Hours of random conversation later, they part ways. Sarah can’t stop thinking about Aiden, though, and wondering if she made a terrible mistake letting him go. Should she abandon her safe, predictable life and go in search of him, or would she be chasing a happily ever after that could never exist in real life?
Opening:
I don't make friends on aeroplanes. I know there are people who like to strike up a conversatione with the complete stranger sitting next to them, but that's not me. It's not that I'm an unfriendly person. It's more the fact that the conversation centre of my brain seems to sieze up in the presence of strangers, and I can't for the life of me figure out what to say. And even if the other person is happy to simply babble on while I pretend to be interested, I'd rather be doing something else. Like reading. Or watching a movie. Or trying to figure out how to stop crying.
Teaser:
"Your first time flying?" I repeat. I've just broken my own rule--don't perpetuate conversation with strangers if you can help it--but I'm so surprised he's never flown anywhere before that I guess the words just popped out.
Would you keep reading?
Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://adailyrhythm.com/
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
Thursday Writing Quotes ~ King
A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar. ~ Stephen King
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Fairytale Retellings
I'm doing something a little different this week. The Broke and the Bookish does a top ten every week. This week the list is Ten Fairytale Retellings I've Read/Want To Read. Since I love fairytale retellings, I couldn't resist playing.
To play, or to see what made the cut on others' lists, go to: The Broke and the Bookish
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
by Robin McKinley
I was the youngest of three daughters. Our literal-minded mother named us Grace, Hope, and Honour. . . . My father still likes to tell the story of how I acquired my odd nickname: I had come to him for further information when I first discovered that our names meant something besides you-come-here. He succeeded in explaining grace and hope, but he had some difficulty trying to make the concept of honour understandable to a five-year-old. . . . I said: ‘Huh! I’d rather be Beauty.’
By the time it was evident that I was going to let the family down by being plain, I’d been called Beauty for over six years. . . . I wasn’t really very fond of my given name, Honour, either . . . as if ‘honourable’ were the best that could be said of me.
The sisters’ wealthy father loses all his money when his merchant fleet is drowned in a storm, and the family moves to a village far away. Then the old merchant hears what proves to be a false report that one of his ships had made it safe to harbor at last, and on his sad, disappointed way home again he becomes lost deep in the forest and has a terrifying encounter with a fierce Beast, who walks like a man and lives in a castle. The merchant’s life is forfeit, says the Beast, for trespass and the theft of a rose—but he will spare the old man’s life if he sends one of his daughters: “Your daughter would take no harm from me, nor from anything that lives in my lands.” When Beauty hears this story—for her father had picked the rose to bring to her—her sense of honor demands that she take up the Beast’s offer, for “cannot a Beast be tamed?”
Briar Rose
by Jane Yolan
A powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that is "heartbreaking and heartwarming."
Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma's stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma's astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope.
Red As Blood: Tales from the Sisters Grimmer
by Tanith Lee
What if Snow White were the real villain and the "wicked queen" just a sadly maligned innocent? What if awakening Sleeping Beauty would be the mistake of a lifetime - of several lifetimes? What if the famous folk tales were retold with an eye to more horrific possibilities? Only Tanith Lee could retell the world-famous tales of the Brothers Grimm (and others) as they might have been told by the Sisters Grimmer!
Beauty
by Sheri S. Tepper
Drawing on the wellspring of tales such as "Sleeping Beauty," Beauty is a moving novel of love and loss, hope and despair, magic and nature. Set against a backdrop both enchanted and frightening, the story begins with a wicked aunt's curse that will afflict a young woman named Beauty on her sixteenth birthday. Though Beauty is able to sidestep tragedy, she soon finds herself embarked on an adventure of vast consequences. For it becomes clear that the enchanted places of this fantastic world--a place not unlike our own--are in danger and must be saved before it is too late.
Sunshine
by Robin McKinley
In a world where darkness threatens, there is Sunshine . . .
Although it had been mostly deserted since the Voodoo Wars, there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years. Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, head baker at her family’s busy and popular café in downtown New Arcadia, needed a place to get away from all the noise and confusion—of the clientele and her family. Just for a few hours. Just to be able to hear herself think.
She knew about the Others, of course. Everyone did. And several of her family’s best regular customers were from SOF—Special Other Forces—which had been created to deal with the threat and the danger of the Others.
She drove out to her family’s old lakeside cabin and sat on the porch, swinging her feet and enjoying the silence and the silver moonlight on the water.
She never heard them coming. Of course, you don’t when they’re vampires.
The Snow Queen
by Joan D. Vinge
The imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers. But soon the galactic stargate will close, isolating Tiamat, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. All is not lost if Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can destroy destiny with an act of genocide. Arienrhod is not without competition as Moon, a young Summer-tribe sibyl, and the nemesis of the Snow Queen, battles to break a conspiracy that spans space.
A Kiss at Midnight (Fairy Tales Book 1)
by Eloisa James
The Cinderella story moves to Regency England—with more than a few twists and turns along the way! With A Kiss at Midnight, the remarkable Eloisa James spins a delicious tale involving a carriage, a godmother, a pair of rats…and a beauty with no interest whatsoever in getting married—and certainly not to a prince!
When Beauty Tamed the Beast (Fairy Tales Book 2)
by Eloisa James
A wonderful spin on a much-beloved fairy tale, Eloisa James’s When Beauty Tamed the Beast is heart-soaring and fun historical romance at its finest. No wonder People magazine raves about her books, saying, “Romance writing does not get much better than this.” Eloisa’s delightful take on Beauty and the Beast unfolds in Regency England, where a beastly, bad-tempered Earl matches wits with a brazen beauty who has vowed to make the handsome grump fall in love with her in two short weeks.
Maybe it's a cheat to include the short story I wrote, but it seems like something would be wrong if my own story wasn't one of my favorites, so I'm including Snow White & the Eighth Dwarf
.
You always knew there was something fishy about Snow White's story, didn’t you? Seven lusty men. One young, nubile woman. Living innocently together in a cottage in the woods.
But life ain't no fairy tale.
Now Bitchy, the eighth dwarf, tells the real story of Snow White and it's nothing like you imagined. Or maybe it is.
There's one retelling that's on my wish list. I'm not 100% sure that Robin Hood counts as a fairy tale, but mythology probably counts so . . .
Scarlet
by A. C. Gaughen
Posing as one of Robin Hood's thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only Big John and Robin Hood know the truth-that the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. It's getting harder to hide as Gisbourne's camp seeks to find Scarlet and drive Robin Hood out of Nottinghamshire.
But Scarlet's instinct for self-preservation is at war with a strong sense of responsibility to the people who took her in when she was on the run, and she finds it's not so easy to turn her back on her band and townspeople. As Gisbourne draws closer to Scarlet and puts innocent lives at risk, she must decide how much the people of Nottinghamshire mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles and temper have the rare power to unsettle Scarlet. Full of exciting action, secrets, and romance, this imaginative retelling of the classic tale will have readers following every move of Robin Hood and band of thieves.
Have you read any of these?
To play, or to see what made the cut on others' lists, go to: The Broke and the Bookish
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
by Robin McKinleyI was the youngest of three daughters. Our literal-minded mother named us Grace, Hope, and Honour. . . . My father still likes to tell the story of how I acquired my odd nickname: I had come to him for further information when I first discovered that our names meant something besides you-come-here. He succeeded in explaining grace and hope, but he had some difficulty trying to make the concept of honour understandable to a five-year-old. . . . I said: ‘Huh! I’d rather be Beauty.’ By the time it was evident that I was going to let the family down by being plain, I’d been called Beauty for over six years. . . . I wasn’t really very fond of my given name, Honour, either . . . as if ‘honourable’ were the best that could be said of me.
The sisters’ wealthy father loses all his money when his merchant fleet is drowned in a storm, and the family moves to a village far away. Then the old merchant hears what proves to be a false report that one of his ships had made it safe to harbor at last, and on his sad, disappointed way home again he becomes lost deep in the forest and has a terrifying encounter with a fierce Beast, who walks like a man and lives in a castle. The merchant’s life is forfeit, says the Beast, for trespass and the theft of a rose—but he will spare the old man’s life if he sends one of his daughters: “Your daughter would take no harm from me, nor from anything that lives in my lands.” When Beauty hears this story—for her father had picked the rose to bring to her—her sense of honor demands that she take up the Beast’s offer, for “cannot a Beast be tamed?”
Briar Rose
by Jane YolanA powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that is "heartbreaking and heartwarming."
Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma's stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma's astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope.
Red As Blood: Tales from the Sisters Grimmer
by Tanith LeeWhat if Snow White were the real villain and the "wicked queen" just a sadly maligned innocent? What if awakening Sleeping Beauty would be the mistake of a lifetime - of several lifetimes? What if the famous folk tales were retold with an eye to more horrific possibilities? Only Tanith Lee could retell the world-famous tales of the Brothers Grimm (and others) as they might have been told by the Sisters Grimmer!
Beauty
by Sheri S. TepperDrawing on the wellspring of tales such as "Sleeping Beauty," Beauty is a moving novel of love and loss, hope and despair, magic and nature. Set against a backdrop both enchanted and frightening, the story begins with a wicked aunt's curse that will afflict a young woman named Beauty on her sixteenth birthday. Though Beauty is able to sidestep tragedy, she soon finds herself embarked on an adventure of vast consequences. For it becomes clear that the enchanted places of this fantastic world--a place not unlike our own--are in danger and must be saved before it is too late.
Sunshine
by Robin McKinleyIn a world where darkness threatens, there is Sunshine . . .Although it had been mostly deserted since the Voodoo Wars, there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years. Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, head baker at her family’s busy and popular café in downtown New Arcadia, needed a place to get away from all the noise and confusion—of the clientele and her family. Just for a few hours. Just to be able to hear herself think.
She knew about the Others, of course. Everyone did. And several of her family’s best regular customers were from SOF—Special Other Forces—which had been created to deal with the threat and the danger of the Others.
She drove out to her family’s old lakeside cabin and sat on the porch, swinging her feet and enjoying the silence and the silver moonlight on the water.
She never heard them coming. Of course, you don’t when they’re vampires.
The Snow Queen
by Joan D. VingeThe imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers. But soon the galactic stargate will close, isolating Tiamat, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. All is not lost if Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can destroy destiny with an act of genocide. Arienrhod is not without competition as Moon, a young Summer-tribe sibyl, and the nemesis of the Snow Queen, battles to break a conspiracy that spans space.
A Kiss at Midnight (Fairy Tales Book 1)
by Eloisa JamesThe Cinderella story moves to Regency England—with more than a few twists and turns along the way! With A Kiss at Midnight, the remarkable Eloisa James spins a delicious tale involving a carriage, a godmother, a pair of rats…and a beauty with no interest whatsoever in getting married—and certainly not to a prince!
When Beauty Tamed the Beast (Fairy Tales Book 2)
by Eloisa JamesA wonderful spin on a much-beloved fairy tale, Eloisa James’s When Beauty Tamed the Beast is heart-soaring and fun historical romance at its finest. No wonder People magazine raves about her books, saying, “Romance writing does not get much better than this.” Eloisa’s delightful take on Beauty and the Beast unfolds in Regency England, where a beastly, bad-tempered Earl matches wits with a brazen beauty who has vowed to make the handsome grump fall in love with her in two short weeks.
Maybe it's a cheat to include the short story I wrote, but it seems like something would be wrong if my own story wasn't one of my favorites, so I'm including Snow White & the Eighth Dwarf
.You always knew there was something fishy about Snow White's story, didn’t you? Seven lusty men. One young, nubile woman. Living innocently together in a cottage in the woods.
But life ain't no fairy tale.
Now Bitchy, the eighth dwarf, tells the real story of Snow White and it's nothing like you imagined. Or maybe it is.
There's one retelling that's on my wish list. I'm not 100% sure that Robin Hood counts as a fairy tale, but mythology probably counts so . . .
Scarlet
by A. C. GaughenPosing as one of Robin Hood's thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only Big John and Robin Hood know the truth-that the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. It's getting harder to hide as Gisbourne's camp seeks to find Scarlet and drive Robin Hood out of Nottinghamshire.But Scarlet's instinct for self-preservation is at war with a strong sense of responsibility to the people who took her in when she was on the run, and she finds it's not so easy to turn her back on her band and townspeople. As Gisbourne draws closer to Scarlet and puts innocent lives at risk, she must decide how much the people of Nottinghamshire mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles and temper have the rare power to unsettle Scarlet. Full of exciting action, secrets, and romance, this imaginative retelling of the classic tale will have readers following every move of Robin Hood and band of thieves.
Have you read any of these?
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