Closing In

Very near the 100,000 word mark on Book IV, and I have just finished what will be the climax of the action part of the story. Had to say goodbye to another old friend, probably my second favorite character in all the books. It actually made me tear up a little. But never mind, I hope my readers find his end worthwhile, and a little bit sad too.

Now all that remains is the “scouring of the Shire” as I like to call it. To those of you unfamiliar with “Lord of the Rings” (shame!) that is the denouement.

Denouement is an interesting word we borrowed from the French. It means, literally, untying–as of knots. Which is kind of ironic, because what I am trying to do is tie up all the loose ends for my characters. I want to leave a tidy edge on the tapestry of story I have painstakingly woven over the course of the last three years. There will be one or two loose threads left, and those will be joined on to the next story.

Of course I am already thinking about that. Part of me wants to take a really long break from writing, say six months, but I also know I might not be happy if I do. And from a strictly practical point of view I’d rather have a new book out there before people start forgetting my name!

So maybe a month or two will do. I have a couple of short stories I could be polishing in the mean time. One is highly erotic, and will probably be published under a pseudonym, if it ever sees the light of day. The other is an entry for this year’s Pagan fiction Contest, run by Pangaia . I am a long term reader of this excellent magazine, which deals with pagan issues, interests, crafts and poetry.

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New Toy Review

In addition to bringing back an Asus EEE for #3 kid, I managed to sneak in a cute little gadget for myself–a Sony PRS 505 ebook reader. I have been looking at these devices for some time, basically ever since I became a published ebook author. That is when I became aware of the enormous amount of e-media out there on the Internet. But reading on a computer screen has never appealed to me very much. A notebook computer is heavy, hot (if you actually put it on your lap,) the battery life sucks, and it won’t fit in your purse. Well, not my purse anyway.

The Sony solves all these problems very neatly. It is comfortable to hold, has a battery life of about five or six books, an amazingly sharp e-ink display and best of all it DOES fit in my purse! No more sitting around in the doctor’s office reading People magazine…

It is just so damned cool to have a device that can store hundreds of books. and give them all to you with the touch of a couple of buttons.

As an added bonus, I have found an enormous amount of free content for my ebook reader–mostly books that are no longer subject to copyright law. They can be found at Manybooks, a fully searchable and browseable website with thousands and thousands of free books in all genres. I love pulp sci fi and westerns and they have hundreds of those titles! Of course, there are a lot of great new authors (ahem…) being epublished each week, so I am also spending money on some of my reading materials from sources like Fictionwise. The average ebook costs about 1/3 the price of a paperback, and saves the environment too!

My only criticism of this amazing new toy is the software interface. It is just… pathetic. I mean, you put all this money into R&D for this great very high tech gadget, and then you spend what looks like $50 on the software for it. It doesn’t make any sense. I hope Sony is reading this, ha ha.

I looked at several different devices before settling on the Sony. The Kindle was not an option for me because Amazon doesn’t support the Whispernet feature outside the USA. The Iliad was too expensive. A couple of the others just weren’t where I could get to them to give them a try. I bought the Sony with the understanding I could return it if I didn’t think it was worth the money. But really, once I got past the shoddy software, it was love.

And yes, I have copies of my own books on there, just in case you wanted to know.

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Another go

Based on some excellent feedback I have done a second cover for Dawnmaid.

See which one you like better!

On to the next

Check out the new tab at the top of my blog. It is a page for Dawnmaid, the third book in the series. I’d like feedback on the cover image, if you are so inclined. I originally planned to call this book “Birth of the Dawnmaid” but when I put all that on the cover it looked cluttered and busy. (Also several people said it reminded them of “Voyage of the Dawntreader.”) “Dawnmaid” by itself gives more visual punch, I think.

Picking a title for a book is a serious business. You need something original and catchy that encapsulates the meaning of your work in only a few words. A tall order! I was pretty surprised to find that Dawnmaid hadn’t been used by anyone else.

Using made up words (like Dawnmaid) can be problematic too. I used to work for a national bookstore chain, at the information counter. Sometimes, people would ask for a book they had heard about on the radio or TV, but wouldn’t know how to spell the title. Sometimes I would be able to find what they were looking for. If I couldn’t, then the author lost a sale. I try to keep that in mind when naming my books.

I have to finish up the editing, and get it to the publisher soon. I didn’t do any writing while I was in the USA, and now I am having a hard time getting started again. Fortunately there are always other things to do–like creating the cover art and then blogging about it!

But now I have to get to work…

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Leaving on a Jet Plane

Sitting here in LAX, in a very untidy part of Tom Bradley terminal, where there are promised renovations.  Mostly it is very hot and stuffy, as they don’t seem to have installed the AC yet.  My experiences at LAX always run something along these lines, but actually so far the trip is going well.  Saying good bye is always the hardest part, and makes the last minute rushing around all that more difficult.  But we managed it, without leaving behind people, tickets or passports.  Everything else is superfluous.

As if by magic, to take some of the sadness out of leaving, I am pleased to report that Ketha is sitting at number one in the recent bestsellers list on the Mushroom book store at the Fictionwise site.

Just click on Fictionwise on the box at right to see for yourself.  So I am feeling pleased and proud about that.

I do wish New Zealand were closer to the rest of the world though.  Neil Finn has a song, called Six Months in a Leaky Boat, where he talks about the tyranny of distance.  Tonight I am feeling it keenly.

Next entry from home.

More News

Ketha’s Daughter is out now! My publisher sent me a .pdf of the completed book yesterday, and it looks great. I added some extra artwork to the title page and one of the appendices. When I get back home, I will post a couple of samples.

I am the spotlight author on Long and Short reviews, which is pretty exciting as well. I will be answering five questions this week about the way I write.

We will be heading home Friday, after a lovely time here in the USA. Today we had to get extra suitcases to handle all our acquisitions! One thing about living in the Southern hemisphere–since the seasons are opposite it is great being able to shop the springtime sales for sweaters and other cold weather gear!

I sure am looking forward to getting home and getting back to writing though.

Delays

I am disappointed to report that the release of Ketha’s Daughter has been delayed one week due to circumstances beyond my publisher’s control. New date is April 28th. Stay tuned for updates.

Mr. Perfect

I just got done with a novel, and I won’t tell you what it was called or who wrote it.  It was a dissatisfying read.  Not because the story wasn’t interesting–it was.  It was fast-paced and imaginative.  The problem was with the protagonist.  He was tall, good-looking, debonair, brave, well-spoken, humble, resourceful and a chick magnet.  During the course of the book he never: got hurt, lost an argument or a fight, backed down, made a mistake…

I think you see where I am going with this.

I got the impression that the author might have been writing about a perfect version of himself.

Face it, we all make mistakes.  That is how we learn and grow.  To have a main character who never puts a foot wrong takes all the interest out of the book, at least for me.  We want our characters to be engaging–to be human.  This guy was just annoying.

Has anyone else encountered this, and if so, did it bother you?

America the Beautiful

Another quick post from my sister’s computer.  We have been here nearly a week, in Pensacola Florida.  The weather has been glorious.  Our days revolve around seeing family, shopping, and making huge meals for all ten of us to sit down and share.  My sister comes and goes as she is allowed.  She is a busy physician with a pathology practice, so 12 hour days are the usual for her.  But she still manages to run a small farm with chickens and three enormous horses.  Amazing!

The weather has been glorious since we arrived, sunny and not too hot.  Of course we plan to go to the beach, and to Mobile, Alabama for the day, and more shopping…

I am an American, in case I haven’t mentioned it before.  I moved to New Zealand seven years ago, following the call of my heart.  I am happy there, but I don’t really feel at home, if that makes any sense.  The language is the same, but the people are very different, and I sometimes feel a little uneasy.  Americans, as you may have heard from time to time, are not the most popular people in the world right now.

I try not to get sucked into arguments, because I don’t think it helps.  People here have preconceived notions as to what Americans are like (fat, obnoxious, opinionated, stupid) and the best way to counter those opinions IMHP is not to be any of those things.

But it sure is nice to be back again.

A Review

I have been reviewed by Sage Fire and I am quite happy with it! Have a look:

http://sagefire.pencraft.biz/apr08/Review.Heart_Hythea.html

8 campfires. Yay.

I will have to figure out how to use it in some promotional materials.

I am in the USA. Hooray for malls. Hooray for Sonic. Never take these things for granted…