Good News Corner, April 2012

Like the seasons, life is changing right now--and for the better. I love the spring time. I'm cleaning out my house, both literally and personal-self speaking. We're dusting off anything negative, throwing out the accumulations and bad memories, and getting ready for something new and precious. :) We've been eight years in the waiting, and finally it's just over two weeks till baby Eian is due. We are excited.

It's amazing what you will change in life for someone else. It has caught me a bit off guard to find some things that were so important to me beforehand, fall into forgotten cracks of life now, and other accomplishes from the past that seemed so little, have become precious milestones. There were things I was scared to part with over the last few years, that feel much easier now--and other things that I didn't deem as important before, that I would never let go of again. It's just surprising, is all--over the last nine months, everything around me has slowly taken on a different light, in whichever direction--and my home has become a happier place for it. I'm looking forward to the family years of my life.

Meanwhile, on the other fronts:  My harp came home! I've been busy preparing a solo for my church's Easter program (only had 2 weeks to get that ready). I think we're about there--which is probably a good thing, since Easter is tomorrow. lol

I made a website just for my book series too! Check it out, if you'd like: www.ShinehahSaga.blogspot.com.  It  will eventually be just "ShinehahSaga.com" (instead of the blogspot-dot-com), but we haven't updated that yet. The site will eventually host all the books in the saga (there should be five in total), and will hopefully let this blog remain a little less cluttered. Oh, and if you haven't noticed yet, Fire Gate got a new front cover! I think it looks awesome--it's posted on the sidebar.

So, that covers baby, music, and writing... what else? Martial arts. LOL Well, I had to put it on hold this last month, but I'm hoping to be back in the game in 1-2 months from now. I talked with my Sifu and he doesn't see a problem with me staying on track for testing to my 2nd Degree black belt come December 2013, despite the form or two that I'm currently missing. Awesome.

I can't think of anything else, so I guess I'll update you again when things change!
Meanwhile, have a great day, whichever day it is for you today.

Pendragon

Awesome Free Writers Conference!

And yes, I have been asked to teach Story Structure at the conference!

7, 6, 5... 19?

As of today, we started the one week countdown to FIRE GATE's official release! But... there's a little snag. Release day has been delayed. For great news though: the book is being considered by a few different publishers and we've put things on hold until we hear back from everyone. Thank you for your patience!

Good News Corner: Writing, Baby, and a new Publisher!

I've always liked the tradition in my writer's groups, church, or any other social gathering of having a "Good News Minute", or whatever they wanted to call it. This is where anyone who wanted could share something good that happened to them since the last time they gathered together. So, although I'm still rather random in my post-timing on the blog, I'd like to have that tradition here too.

Rules? Not really. I'll share my good news in the post--and if you have something to share too, please do so in the comments thread!

So, my first good news is that over 500 people made a request for FIRE GATE on my first Goodreads Giveaway that I hosted this last month. The countdown is still going for its official release, but it's getting close, and it's nice to know that so many people are interested in reading it all ready.

Another good thing: I'm on my last week of my second trimester! It's a little scary going into the last three months of pregnancy--the house still isn't ready, and I'm not sure I'm wanting to head into that "end" part of having a baby either. lol  But I'm excited because we've made it this far without any miscarriage--that's wonderful news!

With baby coming, I've also set a goal: Earth Haven (book 2 of the Shinehah Saga)--I want to have its rough draft finished before then! That would be awesome news for my fans, ehe? Of course, editing will have to embark after that, but hey, by the end of the year, the book should be ready to go!

My last good news is more of a "this is cool, pass it on if you're interested" sort. There's a new up-coming publisher in town. Their website is still under construction, but you can follow them on facebook here: Xchyler Publishing.  They are currently accepting completed manuscripts of any genre and are scheduled to launch on March 1st of this year! And, I heard it from a good friend who submitted to them, that so far, their turn-around is pretty swift. So, if you're a writer and looking to submit a book, check them out. Their submission guidelines can be found on the information tab of their facebook page.

Oh wait! I lied (sorry). There is one more Good News. Not only was I invited to attend the Write Here in Ephraim's annual Writer's conference this April, but I was asked to teach a class on Story Structure (only like my absolute favorite topic to chat about concerning writing a novel!) I'm totally excited. You should come!

Well, that's it for me today. What's up in your world?

Last lap: Dig deep!

First, an update: I have been invited to attend the writer's conference, Write Here in Ephraim, as one of their authors! So, I will be there all that day (see the post below for details). More info to come.

A month ago, I thought my book was on it's final version! All I had to do was launch it and watch it print. Little did I know back then, with one month to go--one more lap to run--that there were so many more fine edits to do.

What sort of things do we look for at this stage?

Minor typos: They never seem to go away! One of my friends called it right--he said there were gremlins in the printing press who snuck them back in, just when we thought it was perfect. lol He must be right, because every time I turn around, I find another one that just has to be fixed!  Some typos, like a particular evil homophone that a non-writer/reader spotted, I can't believe we hadn't caught before this point. Never, never, never assume that everything is "perfect". :)

Design: We have a great new addition to the design of my book! I feel bad that the ARC copies given away don't sport this new fix. Finally, my book features dragon art! It will be found on the back cover (where the wings use to be on the ARC copies) and also throughout the book as scene-break holders, ect.  I'm really in love with this change--and for that alone, am glad that the book wasn't "finalized" just yet.

Minor scene tweaks:  For those getting ready to send out their manuscripts to agents or looking to publish, it never hurts to read through the whole thing, just one more time. I caught three scenes in my final read-through (despite the hundreds/thousands of reads before) that had some pacing problems and needed tweaking. It wasn't anything that would change the story (heavens, no!) but it tightened up the scenes, making them (in my opinion) stronger.

So, what's my advice for the day? Stay open minded to change and new ideas. Don't be freaked out or offended by that "one more typo" you didn't notice before, that someone else had to catch. 100,000 words are a lot for one person to perfect on their own. :) Have lots of people, in lots of different walks of life, do a final read-through. My book went through a pro-editor and a dozen writers, but only the non-writer lady, who happened to work in the medical field, caught that a character was flat on his back, but indicated with the word "prone"--which is actually on your stomach. lol. And heck, I actually knew that!   It happens. Don't sweat it.

Write Here! in Ephraim

Hey guys, there's a FREE writer's conference coming up on April 14th! Only trick is that it's in Ephraim, UT. Some of you may live just around the corner and it's just what the Writing-Muse ordered! For others it may be a little drive, but a buddy of mine went last year and said it was totally worth it. And heck, we could probably even car-pool out there.

 This is Write Here's 2nd Annual conference and they've already got a list of cool authors attending (of which, I hope to be one of them!) I'm still waiting to hear back to see if I've been accepted to help out, but if so then it'll be the PERFECT place to come check out my (and other author's) new books! Did I mention that attendance is Free?

I know my editor, Tristi Pinkston, should be attending, along with a good friend of mine, Karen Hoover. So mark the day: Sat, April 14th at Snow College in Ephriam, UT. I'll update you on the times and schedule when I find out.

And the Winner is....

Thank you everyone who entered to win FIRE GATE! I'm so excited to start the count-down to the release day: Feb. 1st! If you're new to the website, and haven't heard about this YA Fantasy novel, check out the FIRE GATE tab up top to read all the details.

 So, normally we have Aussie, my little bird, pick out the winner for me (random enough, right?) But this time we thought we'd give Bubba a try (he's the big guy trying to hide behind his wing in the top photo, lol). The video went on and on and on as he just flirted with the drawing bowl, not picking anything, and actually trying to dump half of them on the floor. lol. Finally, he drew and we have a winner for the FIRE GATE pre-release copy and prize package! Here's a VERY shortened video of the moment:

SO, CONGRATULATIONS: 

LAURA B.!! 

Be sure to message me to claim your prize and be sure to include your mailing address information. You can email me at:  author (at) pendragonwrites (dot) com.

 Meanwhile, pre-release copies of my book can be purchased on the side-bar for a discounted price (for any of you who didn't win and would love to read!) Date of shipping these books solely depends on the amount of orders received--as the discounted price has a small bulk requirement. You can email me with questions, if you'd like. There is also a FIRE GATE giveaway still going on over at the Goodreads Giveaway website. There's a link on my sidebar to that one too.

Thanks again for entering.
 Have a great New Years!

(just for fun, a little more of the video)

and yes, Bubba talks