Spalding's Racket: The View From Here by Rachel Howzell - General Fic...: "Nicole Baxter has always tried to control every element of her life, but that control is slipping away. She has issues. Abandonment issues. ..."
Ah, Spalding's Racket: another awesome place to find awesome ebooks. Nick has four books listed today, including mine!
Rachel
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Frugal eReader: Presenting Today's Sponsor ~ Rachel Howzell
The Frugal eReader: Presenting Today's Sponsor ~ Rachel Howzell: "Sponsored Post Rachel Howzell's Frugal Find Under Nine: Description:The View from Here focuses on the beauties and hardships of marriage; ..."
Please check out this site -- especially those who lovelovelove frugal finds like mine!
Rachel
Please check out this site -- especially those who lovelovelove frugal finds like mine!
Rachel
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Are You a Geek Who Likes Robots and Live Performances???
My friend Pam Noles, mistress of And We Shall March, is sooooo freakin' awesome. Pam is a former cop reporter and graduate of the Clarion Writer's Workshop. She lives and writes in be-yoo-ti-ful Los Angeles.And she's continuing in that streak of awesomeness with a new project.
If you're a geek, or someone who likes storytelling, or someone who likes live theater or comedy, Pam has got something for you. Yes, you!
Drum roll, please....
! Death 40-Feet Tall ! is a one-hour live storytelling show about two best friends, giant robots and the quest to become your own Prime. It's a storytelling show, not a showcase, about one hour long and family friendly! Please visit the project page on Kickstarter for full details.
Also, stop by Pam's blog for all things geek. Tell her I said, 'Hey!'
If you're a geek, or someone who likes storytelling, or someone who likes live theater or comedy, Pam has got something for you. Yes, you!
Drum roll, please....
! Death 40-Feet Tall ! is a one-hour live storytelling show about two best friends, giant robots and the quest to become your own Prime. It's a storytelling show, not a showcase, about one hour long and family friendly! Please visit the project page on Kickstarter for full details.
Also, stop by Pam's blog for all things geek. Tell her I said, 'Hey!'
A Novel Idea - the Life of a Chapter IV
This will be ugly. In the last Life of a Chapter, I warned you that it would be ugly. No hyperbole. No belle of the ball is Chapter 8 right now. No tall drink of water. No foxy momma.
But when is editing and revision ever pretty, sterile or neat?
Never.
So. Don't be scuurred. I'm not anymore, now that it's all on page.
Here we go:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
It WILL get better. Oh, yes it will. Because I've completed all these messy revisions and the chapter's clean... For now. But before I dirty it all up again, I will post them and I will bask in their cleanliness and ignore typos and still-clunky sentences and continuity lapses.
There is a light at the end of this tunnel.
Hopefully, it's not a train.
But when is editing and revision ever pretty, sterile or neat?
Never.
So. Don't be scuurred. I'm not anymore, now that it's all on page.
Here we go:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
It WILL get better. Oh, yes it will. Because I've completed all these messy revisions and the chapter's clean... For now. But before I dirty it all up again, I will post them and I will bask in their cleanliness and ignore typos and still-clunky sentences and continuity lapses.
There is a light at the end of this tunnel.
Hopefully, it's not a train.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Two Great Posts on Two Great Sites
Hey, ya!
The View from Here is all over the place today. Well, at least in two awesome places:
The Frugal eReader and Daily Cheap Reads.
If you like e-books, and you like saving money, then both of these sites will HOOK. YOU. UP. Swear.
Pop on over.
The View from Here is all over the place today. Well, at least in two awesome places:
The Frugal eReader and Daily Cheap Reads.
If you like e-books, and you like saving money, then both of these sites will HOOK. YOU. UP. Swear.
Pop on over.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Another Great Review for The View from Here
Syria, mistress of SyriaSays, one of the funniest blog/book review sites on the interwebs, just posted her review of The View from Here:
Storyline: Rachel, I don’t know HOWzell you did it! But, somehow you took a potentially depressing premise and made it both very entertaining and enjoyable.
And she says much, much more. Good stuff. Good, good stuff that made my tired heart SWELL.
Please pop on over to SyriaSays to read the rest of the review as well as other reviews and interviews (she also interviewed me). I'm a lucky gal.
Storyline: Rachel, I don’t know HOWzell you did it! But, somehow you took a potentially depressing premise and made it both very entertaining and enjoyable.
And she says much, much more. Good stuff. Good, good stuff that made my tired heart SWELL.
Please pop on over to SyriaSays to read the rest of the review as well as other reviews and interviews (she also interviewed me). I'm a lucky gal.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Novel Idea - the Life of a Chapter III
Hey, hey! A Devil Within is growing and turning into a real book! Holla.
Now, this is my favorite part of writing. The second draft. Oh my, yes, yes, I do love me some second draft with all its errors and Times New Roman 12 and half-baked ideas and WTFdidImeanbythat and the all of it.
Because now! Now, I get to return to each sentence with a clearer understanding of my story, of the characters, of all the nitty-gritty and plot points and turns that I need to make. It is not pretty work, this second draft. No, second-drafting is not the Tai Chi of writing with all the grace notes and wit and stunning prose. No, second-drafting is sweaty, lifting tractor tires, bloody hands, endorphins running through your body kind of writing. Ooh-wee.
So, in the last Life of a Chapter, I shared pristine pages of prose transcribed from the handwritten version. My next step was to read the manuscript all the way through and make notes on the page. No correcting or adding, but adding 'Describe more' or possible directions to take. This is also where I notice all the 'I shook my head', 'she sighed' and 'he shook his head' wackness. This stuff I circle and underline to return to later with more clever actions and descriptions that first drafts don't allow.
So what's changed? The chapter number, for one. And I learned that Juliet Hill kept a diary -- this will play an integral part in the way I tell the story.
Ready? Here we go (remember to click on each page to enlarge):
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Stayed tune for the next episode of Life of a Chapter! It's about to get ugly up in here.
Now, this is my favorite part of writing. The second draft. Oh my, yes, yes, I do love me some second draft with all its errors and Times New Roman 12 and half-baked ideas and WTFdidImeanbythat and the all of it.
Because now! Now, I get to return to each sentence with a clearer understanding of my story, of the characters, of all the nitty-gritty and plot points and turns that I need to make. It is not pretty work, this second draft. No, second-drafting is not the Tai Chi of writing with all the grace notes and wit and stunning prose. No, second-drafting is sweaty, lifting tractor tires, bloody hands, endorphins running through your body kind of writing. Ooh-wee.
So, in the last Life of a Chapter, I shared pristine pages of prose transcribed from the handwritten version. My next step was to read the manuscript all the way through and make notes on the page. No correcting or adding, but adding 'Describe more' or possible directions to take. This is also where I notice all the 'I shook my head', 'she sighed' and 'he shook his head' wackness. This stuff I circle and underline to return to later with more clever actions and descriptions that first drafts don't allow.
So what's changed? The chapter number, for one. And I learned that Juliet Hill kept a diary -- this will play an integral part in the way I tell the story.
Ready? Here we go (remember to click on each page to enlarge):
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Stayed tune for the next episode of Life of a Chapter! It's about to get ugly up in here.
Writing In My Car... With SL Danielson
Today, romance novelist SL Danielson is Writing In My Car. SL (government name: Stephanie) is the author of five novels, including Lust in London. What's this novel about, you ask? Young Alex had never left Kansas, much less flown across the pond to London. He arrives to study, but ends up getting involved in far more than he bargained for. He meets a charming salesman named Mason who beguiles him from the moment they lay eyes on each other. They start a romance, only for it to be put on hold while Mason travels and Alex attends school. Soon enough, they two are together again, but things are straining due to the distance between them. There are other obstacles as well including a secret admirer, and a jealous ex-lover. Will their relationship survive or fall prey to the London fog as only lust?
In her essay, Stephanie talks about her past dreams of becoming a writer and the challenges she faces now that she's published. Here's Stephanie!
My writing life has been something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a young girl in the mountains of the northeast. I’d written all these years and was finally inspired to attempt to publish something in 2007. I still remember the absolute euphoria at being accepted by someone! My little book would go out into the world and I’d be rich and famous, right? Well, not exactly. Things didn’t go as planned with that particular item; but it was a huge learning experience. Since then, I’ve penned 4 other books, some of which have sold into the hundreds (a huge amount to me)! For the first time in years, I am able to buy Christmas presents for my family thanks to my loyal fans, and them buying my books.
So where do all of these volumes come from? Are they welled up inside of me like a font? Kind of. I have stories that go back 20-23 years (which I plan on publishing in the coming years), but as for my overall inspiration? I’d say watching life and playing games and being a soap opera addict was a massive help! I would take what they were slowly drawing out and shorten it with my own dramatic twists. My first ‘real’ writings were when I was 12 and stuck on an incredibly long family vacation, where we had 5,000 miles to cover. It was just me, a pad of paper, and markers. The rest is history on that.
So now that I’m in this marvelous world of writing as an officially published author, what’s next? Well, let’s step back and see how I got here. There are fears and triumphs along the way. The first major fear I had? Acceptance! The genre I write (gay fiction) is not exactly a conversation starter; more a conversation ender! I rarely mention it and only last year did I ‘come out’ to my father with the truth about what I write. He read one of my books and called the characters ‘sick’, BUT, he did read it and was impressed with my storytelling style and ability. Have to get the ‘ol man credit there.
My triumphs? Being accepted in 2007 (though it turned out to be short-lived and rather empty in the end). I regret it now, and would never use the same format, company, or manner that I did. That said, my next triumph, REAL this time…was finding my friend Leiland Dale. He welcomed me onto his site in its early days and in that time I sold more books than ever in my life! My 2 best-sellers (Ranch Hands and Lust in London) finally started S. L. Danielson on the map and out of obscurity.
What’s next? Blogging, promotion, and all in-between graduate classes, working, and life. I have many more books to write, and only recently began signing with publishers again (did the self-pub thing for 3 of them). So therefore, let the games being, this author is ready!
Please take a moment and visit Stephanie's blog. You'll get an honest glimpse of the writing life. And there are also lots of guest posts by other authors.
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
In her essay, Stephanie talks about her past dreams of becoming a writer and the challenges she faces now that she's published. Here's Stephanie!
My writing life has been something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a young girl in the mountains of the northeast. I’d written all these years and was finally inspired to attempt to publish something in 2007. I still remember the absolute euphoria at being accepted by someone! My little book would go out into the world and I’d be rich and famous, right? Well, not exactly. Things didn’t go as planned with that particular item; but it was a huge learning experience. Since then, I’ve penned 4 other books, some of which have sold into the hundreds (a huge amount to me)! For the first time in years, I am able to buy Christmas presents for my family thanks to my loyal fans, and them buying my books.
So where do all of these volumes come from? Are they welled up inside of me like a font? Kind of. I have stories that go back 20-23 years (which I plan on publishing in the coming years), but as for my overall inspiration? I’d say watching life and playing games and being a soap opera addict was a massive help! I would take what they were slowly drawing out and shorten it with my own dramatic twists. My first ‘real’ writings were when I was 12 and stuck on an incredibly long family vacation, where we had 5,000 miles to cover. It was just me, a pad of paper, and markers. The rest is history on that.
So now that I’m in this marvelous world of writing as an officially published author, what’s next? Well, let’s step back and see how I got here. There are fears and triumphs along the way. The first major fear I had? Acceptance! The genre I write (gay fiction) is not exactly a conversation starter; more a conversation ender! I rarely mention it and only last year did I ‘come out’ to my father with the truth about what I write. He read one of my books and called the characters ‘sick’, BUT, he did read it and was impressed with my storytelling style and ability. Have to get the ‘ol man credit there.
My triumphs? Being accepted in 2007 (though it turned out to be short-lived and rather empty in the end). I regret it now, and would never use the same format, company, or manner that I did. That said, my next triumph, REAL this time…was finding my friend Leiland Dale. He welcomed me onto his site in its early days and in that time I sold more books than ever in my life! My 2 best-sellers (Ranch Hands and Lust in London) finally started S. L. Danielson on the map and out of obscurity.
What’s next? Blogging, promotion, and all in-between graduate classes, working, and life. I have many more books to write, and only recently began signing with publishers again (did the self-pub thing for 3 of them). So therefore, let the games being, this author is ready!
Please take a moment and visit Stephanie's blog. You'll get an honest glimpse of the writing life. And there are also lots of guest posts by other authors.
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)