little sir echo and the dreaded word echoes

does any kid still sing this song? I loved it as a kidling! I asked Maddy about it and she looked at me like I was crazy. I guess they're too busy learning songs about not liking candy corns and so on. but I am already off track. this morning fab author Allison Pang was on Savvy Authors sharing her wisdom about word echoes. you know what those are. the words that we apparently love so much that we cram them all over our manuscript and don't realize it until we analyze our manuscript and see them. they weaken a manuscript and show a skimpy vocabulary. my big word is like and all of its benign forms. I though I was being mindful of echoes but I wasn't. go figure. I've got like all over the place. I'm in like with like. (echoes!) but when I go through and weed them out, my manuscript works much better. there's less Shaggy Speak (with all the likes) and more evocative dialog and prose. although Shaggy Speak is kinda cool, just not in my manuscript. I have another word that I love to stash in my draft like a hoarder so I'll be busy getting rid of them. it's work but definitely worth it. go check out Allison's tips for echoes at the link above!

so what's up with Putin?

a bunch of people have asked me what the deal is with ol' VP. honestly, I don't know. probably part of it is his name is Vladimir. anyone named Vladimir is gonna get my attention. also, when I was a theatre student, I did a Scenic Design project called Mr. Putin's Neighborhood. it was all very creepy and evil and steampunky. LOVED IT. doing the research for the project, I had to research the guy and just found him interesting in a despoty and sinister way. consider that he probably killed people for the KGB back in the day but still loves to cuddle with a puppy. that's character dichotomy. I WISH I could write a character like him.
God, I hope he doesn't have some sort of tracking device so he knows all the people who say stuff about him. what am I talking about? I know he probably has Google Alerts so I'm so very screwed when he takes over the world. maybe I'll retitle my saturday posts to  Happy Vladurday, he's the uber emperor of the universe. hmm.

happy vladurday

the pain of moving

I have always wanted to find an old historic house and move it onto a bunch of acres. for some reason I have a fascination/ obsession with house moving. maybe I did it in a past life but anytime I see a poor old neglected house I immediately think "Man, I could buy that and move it." just like this house. but the moving I'm talking about today isn't house moving (I wish). it's chapter moving. I hate doing this and I often think moving houses is easier. I've been trying to rewrite a new first chapter because while my current first chapter is pretty awesome, it's not really in the right place. it should be the second or third chapter. so I've been killing myself trying to find a new hook/ catchy opening that is more appropriate. ha. finally today I had an idea and tried to crank it out. I think it will work or at least I'm hoping it will. it better because I can't think of another way to open the novel lol.
I still think house moving is easier. and more fun too!

fighting the fight (scenes)

well, it's that time again in my writing journeys. the fight scenes. I hate em and have put them off until I can't anymore. I forced myself to write two of the required scenes. I have two more now to do so I am half way through my hell. let's face it, they just aren't my thing. I would rather write anything else. anything. I just have no knack for them. they're boring to me. not to read I guess but to write. so I'll continue my battle and write the dang things even though it feels like torture. it's the only way I'll get the manuscript finished.

holy hell I love history

I love history and would have majored in it if administrative forces hadn't crushed my dream. they wanted me to finish what I originally declared as my major. sure I was a senior with about 20 hours to go but still. and yeah, probably part of the problem was that my college years were sort of like the picture above but that is unimportant right now.
my point is history is so cool. it's proof that very little changes in the world. that's not why I love it but it's true. I love history from a more sociological and personal standpoint. I love finding out about people and customs and everyday life. unfortunately those things are the hardest to find out about because sometimes those details are left out in history. I used to do home health nursing and I had a patient WAY out in the country on land that had been given to her grandfather after the civil war. this patient was so awesome.she would tell me stories about growing up in our county (she was black) and I was spellbound. she told me things that I never heard in books or classes. Or if I did hear them they didn't register. my patient was a living historian. she always wanted me to come so I could do her medications and then talk and watch a bit of her favorite soap. many times I would stay past my visit time just to talk to her. I gained a new insight to that era in history thanks to her and I miss her. she passed away several years ago, long after I stopped doing home care and started doing labor and delivery.
so I'm a history geek. I've said it before. history isn't just a dry collection of names, dates and places. those dry facts are actually rich stories of real people.

happy vladurday

working on work is not working

Love Christopher Waltz!I think he's an awesome actor and I'm dying to see Water for Elephants. when I read it a couple of years ago, I fell in love with the story. then when I heard they were making it into a movie I was a bit afraid of the casting until I heard he had signed on. did you know Water for Elephants was a NaNoWriMo novel? or they say it is. that could just be an urban legend among aspiring writers but it sounds good. and speaking of nano novels, mine is creeping by at a snail's pace. that's one reason I have been the most craptastic blogger ever. I've been struggling with finishing Blood of New Beginnings. I find it sad that I could write 50 k good cohesive words in 30 days but I'm only at 88k now in Jan. part of the problem is I tend to edit as I go. I have Text Aloud so I am constantly monitoring for flow. also, I have rewritten large chunks of it so I've probably written about 100k words. one thing I'm struggling with is the big epic fight scene. I've written around it as much as possible and soon I'm going to run out of things to write and be forced to do it. damn it. there's like a 12 page gap. haha. I wish I could just write AND THEN AN EPIC FIGHT HAPPENED but I don't think that would go over very well. I doubt anyone would pub it then.

Happy Vladurday! New Year's Day Edition

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope that everyone has a terrific day with lots of fun, love, food and family!

Happy Vladurday!The Christmas Edition

no way would I skip it because it's Christmas!

WTF happened to my loosely knit plot line?!

yeah, I am having some of those moments. they're mainly about my wip. suddenly it is going in another direction. I guess that's the chance you take when you don't have an outline. I was cranking out a super scene and then the end didn't seem to fit. it was anti climactic. the story wants to go another way and I'm not sure how I feel about that except for WTF. I had no idea that was going to happen. damn you compelling characters and interesting action! I had to send it off to a reader to see how she felt about the ending. she's a pretty good with feeling that stuff out. I'll keep writing on the track it's on. maybe it will work out.

Welcome Kristie Cook author of Promise and Purpose!

Thank you so much, Alison, for having me here! I’m really excited to be visiting your blog and sharing a copy of Purpose.

Tell us about Purpose.

Purpose is the second book in the Soul Savers series that picks up in present day (Promise started 9 years ago). Alexis is going through some pretty rough times and in an unstable state of mind. Much is going on that only exacerbates her condition and she’s faced with a tough decision. Hoping to clear her head and find the answers she needs, she takes off on her own to the Florida Keys, and ends up as the center of another battle between good and evil that requires her to face real-life demons, her own demonic blood…and the worst opponent imaginable.

Was it easier writing a sequel than the first?

Heh, I didn’t exactly write a sequel. I’d originally written Promise and Purpose together as one book. It took a year with many revisions to finally realize that I had two major plotlines. Once I separated the two, Purpose was left as about 2/3 of a book, so I did have to make some new additions. In a way, it was easier because I knew where the story was going and even what happens in book three, so I knew what to add. It was also more difficult because I had to add those new layers within an existing framework, trying not to mess up what was already there.

Your journey to publication is inspiring and different. What led you to that decision?

When it was all one book, the original Purpose, I sent out queries and received some requests for partials. I had already started researching self/indie publication, but wanted to give the traditional route a try. The more I learned about publishing, however, the more frustrated I became. I heard over and over that publishers don’t like college-age main characters. Although readers were still screaming for more vampires, more angels, more paranormal romance, agents were sick of them and wanted something new. My stories are definitely unique, but I could never get that across to agents. Part of the problem was trying to query something that had two different plotlines going on. Then partial responses came back, with most of them saying, “I just can’t market this.” And the number of reports of fewer debut authors being taken on at virtually non-existent advances increased every day, along with publishers saying they expected authors to take on the majority of marketing. eBooks were taking off and the publishing industry, already suffering from the economy, became even more volatile. Finally, I just couldn’t believe how much everyone else gets from a book sale and how little authors are paid. The whole system just seems backwards to me. Add in the facts that I’m an entrepreneur by nature and that I already had a fantastic business partner in another business, we decided to see if we could turn the industry chaos into our advantage. About that same time, I realized the book needed to be split in two. So I never queried what are now Promise and Purpose. Now I have two books released, receiving fabulous reviews and sales numbers growing daily, when they might still be in the querying or submission stages if I’d stuck with the traditional route. I like the idea of earning a bigger share, when the story is the main product and the author has to do the majority of their own marketing anyway. I think authors are sadly taken advantage of and are left powerless to do anything about it – except publish on their own. Finally, I LOVE the idea that readers get to choose what books they want to read – not agents and publishers choosing what they THINK readers want.

Promise is award winning!Congrats! Do you have the same expectations for Purpose?

Thank you! Promise’s award was a surprise to me. I submitted for the award just to see how it would do and to get feedback on the story. I really didn’t expect it to take first place. I don’t know about having the same expectations for Purpose, but I can say that I think it’s a better story, better writing, better everything. So far, reviewers and readers agree. So we’ll see if we enter it in any contests and then see how it does.

Your fan base is remarkable for an indie book. What do you attribute that to?

My background is in marketing. A long time ago, I wrote resumes for a living, which is basically personal marketing. At that time, I had to coach my clients that they MUST learn to sell themselves. I had to drill into their heads that they can’t be afraid to discuss what they’re good at and toot their own horn about their accomplishments. Because no one else will. Promoting your own book is kind of the same way and I had to take my own advice. Authors can’t be afraid to promote and market their books. We can’t be afraid to talk about them. We can’t be afraid to be excited about an award or good review and share it with others. It’s not bragging. It’s marketing. Once your book is going to be published, it becomes a business and all businesses need marketing. So, I reached out to others – other writers, reader sites, book bloggers – and asked them to give my book a chance. Fortunately, the vast majority loved Promise and shared it with their family, friends and followers. So that’s the other key – having a book people enjoy and want to talk about.

If your series was made into a movie who would you cast in the leads?

Don’t be disappointed, but I won’t go here. For one, I’ve searched and searched and can’t find anyone who quite embodies Tristan. He’s just too otherworldly. But, more importantly, I don’t want to give readers a preconceived idea about the characters. I want them to imagine their own version of what “Mr. Beautiful” looks like and form their own idea of the main character that draws them into the story. That’s what reading is all about, why it’s more engaging and more personal than TV or movies – being able to take the parameters the author has given us and using our own imagination to fill in the blanks. Of course, I won’t complain if a movie is ever made and I hope to have say in the selection of the cast. But until then (as if it’ll ever happen), I’ll let you read the books and make up your own cast. It’d probably be different than mine and everyone else’s.

Thanks again, Alison, for having me!! Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!

Thank you Kristie! Okay everyone! I'm throwing in a copy of Promise too so there you go! I'm also giving away a $10 iTunes gift card. The give away is as follows:

leave a comment anytime this week on this interview and receive +3 entries

link my giveaway +2

tweet it +2

if you are a follower+5 ((you don't have to be but I sure would love it!)

do the math for me(you know why) +3

REMEMBER!!!YOU CAN ENTER ALL WEEK!!! previous winners and overseas followers are eligible. I'll draw the winner on december 26th.

And now...the winners

since I don't have a drum for a drum roll I'll just go WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
the winners of the signed book by Alex Bledsoe are:
Aik and Alicia Gregoire! congrats ladies! I will email you to get your addresses and then Alex will sign your book!
the sauce winner is:
Steve Bossenberger (I love his name almost as much as his blog.It makes me think of an epic hamburger) I'll email you to get your address and the sauces will be on their way to you.
just so you know I used the wonderful random selector tools at random.org to choose. there was no fix or whatever in the contest. cheating is bad.
come back tomorrow for an interview with Kristie Cook, author of Promise and Purpose. I'll be giving away a signed copy of each of her books and a iTunes gift card on 12/26 (I get Christmas off) you can enter all week, not just the day that I post the interview! former winners are welcome too.

Happy Vladurday!