Here we are at another weekend. Didn't Sept just start? It seems like it and the month is half over already. Went out to a lovely lunch with some friends today, Mexican food, one of my favorites, but of course it was about 3pm before I ever got to the computer today. Needless to say, not a lot got accomplished. I did work at my freelance job and that was about it.
I'm still waiting for the proof copy of my latest book and now think it must be lost in the mail because it's been over a week since the publisher supposedly mailed it out. That has me stumped.
I've made a few notes for my next book and have a lot of typing to do on that. The folder of notes is getting bigger, now just to make sense of it all because sometimes I can't read my own scribbles.
I feel a bit guilty about not spending more time with my elderly cat, so I really should do that if I can squeeze it in somewhere. He's 18 and a half and not well at all. The problem is I have all these deadlines staring me in the face that I have to deal with and I get interrupted more than you know when I'm working. One of the drawbacks of working from home. I think flying up and down the stairs twenty times a day helps to keep the weight off though, if you look on the positive side of things.
I suppose it's time to call it a night again, ready or not, since its almost the bewitching hour of midnight. I usually want to go out and dance under that moon, but that's another story and it isn't full tonight anyway although it's still beautiful. Can you imagine how magnificent it would be to live on Jupiter and have all those moons in the sky all the time, probably at different levels of fullness. Wow! What a sight!
Book Reviews and Writing Tips
Friday, September 17, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Feel free to become a follower of my blog
I welcome you to follow my blog. I write fantasy books mostly, but read about any genre. My favorites are fantasy, time-travel, paranormal, mysteries, thrillers and the classics. I welcome all fantasy writers or writers in general, as well as readers, to talk about the writing process. Maybe you don't write, but would like to tell me about a wonderful book you've read, or are reading. That's welcome too.
I have cats and love them. I'd like to hear all your cat stories, if you want to share.
I also collect faeries and have always been a night owl. I try to keep a positive outlook about everything. If I undertake something I think is worthwhile, I will persevere until the job is completed, to my satisfaction, no matter how many times I get knocked down in the process. If you fall into this category, I'd like to hear your stories too.
Blessings,
Sunni
I have cats and love them. I'd like to hear all your cat stories, if you want to share.
I also collect faeries and have always been a night owl. I try to keep a positive outlook about everything. If I undertake something I think is worthwhile, I will persevere until the job is completed, to my satisfaction, no matter how many times I get knocked down in the process. If you fall into this category, I'd like to hear your stories too.
Blessings,
Sunni
My thoughts on e-readers
I was in the shower this morning thinking about the commercial I saw yesterday. I'm sure a lot of you have seen the one with the two gals in the beach chairs, on the beach, reading on their kindles. The kindle e-reader has really come down in price. I think it was being advertised for $139, or some such price, and if I remember right when they first came out a year or so ago, they were $359. Now that's quite a difference, which led me to wonder if they were indeed selling very many of the devices. I also wondered how the people felt who paid top dollar for the new devices when they first came on the market. Of course the people who have to have the newest things probably bought the kindles knowing they would go down in price the longer they were available for sale. That seems to be the way it is with just about everything electronic.
I also wondered if anything could ever go wrong with them and cause you to lose all the books you have stored on them. I imagine it could fail, just like any computer, after awhile. Would the books be able to be recovered somehow, or perhaps backed up in the way we back up our computers to an external hard drive or Cd's?
My thought is that I will never own one of the devices and there are several reasons for that. The least of which would be product failure, although that would need to be considered by anyone giving this some thought. If the books were not able to be recovered, would you have to purchase them again, once you replaced your e-reader? A very good, legitimate question.
Now that being said, my main reason for not going out and splurging on one would be because I like the old fashioned book. I love the smell and feel of a book, and turning the pages the old fashioned way. The e-readers seem so clinical to me, although I know they are able to hold lots of books one tiny device. What will happen to the libraries, and things of that nature, if everything starts being produced in e-book format only? I keep an extensive library in my house and it's such a cozy room to be in. I love sitting in my chair in there and reading, surrounded by books and a couple of my cats. I would really hate for all of that to go away.
I think I'm probably living in the right time now because I'm sure a couple generations from now perhaps the old fashioned book will have totally disappeared, or be such a rarity it will be hard to get your hands on one. That would be one big shame!
I also wondered if anything could ever go wrong with them and cause you to lose all the books you have stored on them. I imagine it could fail, just like any computer, after awhile. Would the books be able to be recovered somehow, or perhaps backed up in the way we back up our computers to an external hard drive or Cd's?
My thought is that I will never own one of the devices and there are several reasons for that. The least of which would be product failure, although that would need to be considered by anyone giving this some thought. If the books were not able to be recovered, would you have to purchase them again, once you replaced your e-reader? A very good, legitimate question.
Now that being said, my main reason for not going out and splurging on one would be because I like the old fashioned book. I love the smell and feel of a book, and turning the pages the old fashioned way. The e-readers seem so clinical to me, although I know they are able to hold lots of books one tiny device. What will happen to the libraries, and things of that nature, if everything starts being produced in e-book format only? I keep an extensive library in my house and it's such a cozy room to be in. I love sitting in my chair in there and reading, surrounded by books and a couple of my cats. I would really hate for all of that to go away.
I think I'm probably living in the right time now because I'm sure a couple generations from now perhaps the old fashioned book will have totally disappeared, or be such a rarity it will be hard to get your hands on one. That would be one big shame!
Monday, September 6, 2010
A holiday is like any other day in my world
Hello there,
Well it hardly seems like a holiday at all. In fact, I can't believe labor day has come and gone already. I worked as usual. I spent most of the time editing on my book when I wasn't cooking or cleaning. I'm re-editing my proof, so my children's book will be delayed a couple of weeks. I honestly think I could edit until doomsday and still find the need to edit. However, I can't let it get published when I've left quotation marks out in two places. That's what happens when you get rushed, but then it seems I'm always running a rat race at my house. Long story short, I'm rewording other areas too as I go through it again. Good news is, I'm a little over halfway through, so hoping to finish it up in the next day or two, if the creek doesn't rise - as they say. Around my house things can change quickly, so I never really know if I'll have a flood and get called away or not.
I'm a rather tenacious person and if I didn't have a househld to care for I would have the book finished by now. It was my intention to upload new files by today or tomorrow. Really I should know better. Instead I find myself running up and down the stairs twenty times a day. My ofice is upstairs, for any of you who haven't guessed. To look on the bright side, at least I'm getting excercise everyday.
Today I cooked more than I usually do, so it took me an hour to cleanup the kitchen, which was an hour I didn't really have for such things, but what can you do? We are taking care of the old man next door, who has bone cancer and lives alone, so I wanted him to have a nice meal.
I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Tomorrow is back to the trenches as I try to work on my book edit and on the edit of a book I'm doing freelance. More next time.
Well it hardly seems like a holiday at all. In fact, I can't believe labor day has come and gone already. I worked as usual. I spent most of the time editing on my book when I wasn't cooking or cleaning. I'm re-editing my proof, so my children's book will be delayed a couple of weeks. I honestly think I could edit until doomsday and still find the need to edit. However, I can't let it get published when I've left quotation marks out in two places. That's what happens when you get rushed, but then it seems I'm always running a rat race at my house. Long story short, I'm rewording other areas too as I go through it again. Good news is, I'm a little over halfway through, so hoping to finish it up in the next day or two, if the creek doesn't rise - as they say. Around my house things can change quickly, so I never really know if I'll have a flood and get called away or not.
I'm a rather tenacious person and if I didn't have a househld to care for I would have the book finished by now. It was my intention to upload new files by today or tomorrow. Really I should know better. Instead I find myself running up and down the stairs twenty times a day. My ofice is upstairs, for any of you who haven't guessed. To look on the bright side, at least I'm getting excercise everyday.
Today I cooked more than I usually do, so it took me an hour to cleanup the kitchen, which was an hour I didn't really have for such things, but what can you do? We are taking care of the old man next door, who has bone cancer and lives alone, so I wanted him to have a nice meal.
I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Tomorrow is back to the trenches as I try to work on my book edit and on the edit of a book I'm doing freelance. More next time.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Night time Ramblings
Well I'm still waiting for my proof which won't get here until next week now. I was hoping to get it read this weekend to see if I need to make any changes, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Kind of have my hands full now anyway, but wanted to start writing and it will be distracting to go back to the finished book.
A friend left for Idaho yesterday and today I found out another guy I know has terminal cancer. What a bummer. The old man next door has terminal cancer too. Don't know which one will go first, but I'm pretty sure they'll be gone by Halloween or Thanksgiving. It just goes to show you that this life is short and you never know what's coming. It's best to seize the day, or the moment, or whatever you have, and fill it with what counts. I try to live by that, but sometimes it's hard to do. Been trying to take the old man, Bob, some food etc. and check on him because he's all alone. He has a grown son who lives out of state that visits once in awhile, but he just trashes the place and doesn't pick up after himself. His father sure can't do it. A lot of times he can hardly move or get out of bed all day.
I did go out last night and had way too much mexican food. We met some friends at this new place that opened up and the food was terrific. I rarely eat that anymore anyway, so if it's in moderation I guess it's okay. That's the only kind of food my family can agree on when we all get together, which isn't very often. They eat that a lot in TX. It's no wonder almost everyone is over weight. Most of the time I try to stick to salad if I can. anyway this restaurant last night had one downfall and that was a table of kids run rampant. They screamed and ran around all over and the adults simply ignored them. It looked like pigs ate at that table and not children, with food all over the table, floor, chairs, etc. I felt sorry for the wait staff. I know we would have gotten killed if we acted that way when we were kids.
I think it's probably a good thing I never had any kids. Having kids doesn't mean they'll be there for you when you get old, like a lot of people think. Kids do grow up, move away, and have their own lives. I like to write and tell children stories, but then send them home to Mama. I think I would be to much of a disciplinarian in todays world. I have too much of my grandmother in me. She'd always tell us "children could be seen but not heard from, so you couldn't speak unless spoken to." I think all seven of us grew up all right in an atmosphere like that.
Ok, I better get with it. It grows late again and, even though I'm a night owl by nature, I have to halfway watch the time. I hate being a clock watcher, but I posted a sign above my desk - at eye level - that says "Watch the time" so I don't get myself in trouble all the time with the rest of the family. So I'm off to do my night chores which include giving my old cat a pill, scooping cat boxes, locking all the doors, etc. so I can get to bed and listen to Coast to Coast until I doze off.
Blessings all,
Sunni
A friend left for Idaho yesterday and today I found out another guy I know has terminal cancer. What a bummer. The old man next door has terminal cancer too. Don't know which one will go first, but I'm pretty sure they'll be gone by Halloween or Thanksgiving. It just goes to show you that this life is short and you never know what's coming. It's best to seize the day, or the moment, or whatever you have, and fill it with what counts. I try to live by that, but sometimes it's hard to do. Been trying to take the old man, Bob, some food etc. and check on him because he's all alone. He has a grown son who lives out of state that visits once in awhile, but he just trashes the place and doesn't pick up after himself. His father sure can't do it. A lot of times he can hardly move or get out of bed all day.
I did go out last night and had way too much mexican food. We met some friends at this new place that opened up and the food was terrific. I rarely eat that anymore anyway, so if it's in moderation I guess it's okay. That's the only kind of food my family can agree on when we all get together, which isn't very often. They eat that a lot in TX. It's no wonder almost everyone is over weight. Most of the time I try to stick to salad if I can. anyway this restaurant last night had one downfall and that was a table of kids run rampant. They screamed and ran around all over and the adults simply ignored them. It looked like pigs ate at that table and not children, with food all over the table, floor, chairs, etc. I felt sorry for the wait staff. I know we would have gotten killed if we acted that way when we were kids.
I think it's probably a good thing I never had any kids. Having kids doesn't mean they'll be there for you when you get old, like a lot of people think. Kids do grow up, move away, and have their own lives. I like to write and tell children stories, but then send them home to Mama. I think I would be to much of a disciplinarian in todays world. I have too much of my grandmother in me. She'd always tell us "children could be seen but not heard from, so you couldn't speak unless spoken to." I think all seven of us grew up all right in an atmosphere like that.
Ok, I better get with it. It grows late again and, even though I'm a night owl by nature, I have to halfway watch the time. I hate being a clock watcher, but I posted a sign above my desk - at eye level - that says "Watch the time" so I don't get myself in trouble all the time with the rest of the family. So I'm off to do my night chores which include giving my old cat a pill, scooping cat boxes, locking all the doors, etc. so I can get to bed and listen to Coast to Coast until I doze off.
Blessings all,
Sunni
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Finally finished my children's novel
Well, I can hardly believe I've reached the end of the road with this novel. The writing process is such an ordeal at times, especially editing over and over again to get it all perfect. Now as if all this editing wasn't enough by itself, I still had the cover to do after reading the ms a jillion times.
Then silly me, I decided to use the wacom tablet I got for my birthday to design the book cover. I've always used photoshop, but this was a real learning curve. Actually once you get the hang of it, it's kind of fun although very intense. You're actually painting pixels on the computer screen. It's really neat how it works. But it's a real challenge to keep things straight. And also to remember which color you're using, although that can be fixed if you make a boo-boo. In that way it's like oil painting. The bright colors are very hard on your eyes, though, after awhile. It's kind of like seeing spots after someone's been taking pictures or coming in out of the bright sunlight. In fact it was so intense, I had to take a day off in between when I was working on it. I think it turned out real well considering it's my first stab at it using that tablet, and it certainly fits the theme of the book which is what I was going for. I'll post a pic here and let you be the judge for yourselves.
So what do you think? I uploaded this book to my publisher today, so if my files are in order I'll be recieving my proof soon. It should be out the end of August or first part of September 2010. You can read an excerpt at my website if you like. http://www.faeriemoundbooks.com
All feedback is welcome and appreciated.
Now it's on to my next venture. Until next time, blessings to all.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Editing Goes On
Well, I'm still editing which I guess is no surprise. The book desperately needed commas added so while I was doing that, on the umpteenth read through, I changed a few other things as well to make it read better. I still have about a hundred pages to go and then I'll be tackling the cover.
Some days it's slow going and I don't get to it at all, so when I do I try to edit at least two chapters before I have to quit. If it was up to me, I'd just stick with it until it was finished if I had to stay up all night. But alas, it's not up to me.
I'm still hoping to have it to the publisher by the end of August, but that hope is dwindling more everyday. What can I say? I know this story front to back and back to front from reading it so many times. Of course that's the way with all my books. I've read them all fifty times before I'm ready to get them published.
I already have thoughts for the sequel buzzing through my head, as well as thoughts for the sequel to the medieval story I wrote last year. I have so much writing to do, if I can get out of editor mode, and find all the scraps of paper I've made notes on along the way.
I better get back at it. It's already 10 pm here and it won't be long until I have to quit for the night. I simply hate that. I'm a night owl and do my best work in the wee hours, but I have to keep the peace.
Hopefully my next post will be announcing the new book. Wouldn't that be nice?
Some days it's slow going and I don't get to it at all, so when I do I try to edit at least two chapters before I have to quit. If it was up to me, I'd just stick with it until it was finished if I had to stay up all night. But alas, it's not up to me.
I'm still hoping to have it to the publisher by the end of August, but that hope is dwindling more everyday. What can I say? I know this story front to back and back to front from reading it so many times. Of course that's the way with all my books. I've read them all fifty times before I'm ready to get them published.
I already have thoughts for the sequel buzzing through my head, as well as thoughts for the sequel to the medieval story I wrote last year. I have so much writing to do, if I can get out of editor mode, and find all the scraps of paper I've made notes on along the way.
I better get back at it. It's already 10 pm here and it won't be long until I have to quit for the night. I simply hate that. I'm a night owl and do my best work in the wee hours, but I have to keep the peace.
Hopefully my next post will be announcing the new book. Wouldn't that be nice?
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