Most authors these days use beta readers, generous folk who are prepared to read an unedited book in manuscript form and give their comments, all aimed at making it better. My friend and beta reader, Donna Hanson, is interviewing various … Continue reading
This is the view from our family room of the orchid shade house. And in amongst the orchids closest to the window, there is a bulbul nest…and yes, those yellow dangling things are the heavily perfumed blossoms. So not only … Continue reading
…for Stormlord’s Exile, Book 3. And guess what: see more Lolcats and funny pictures I’m exhausted. Right now, I am convinced the book is rubbish, I’ve never written anything so awful, and you’ll all hate it. That’s par for the … Continue reading
…you can always rely on the tropics for a diversion. I am at the moment reading my book aloud. That’s right, aloud. To myself. From a printout, which I correct as I find all the mistakes I never saw when … Continue reading
This post is an adjunct to the map I posted previously. ——————————- When you name towns and people and the geographical landmarks of a fantasy world, you are bound to irritate some readers. But, they say, that name has Celtic … Continue reading
The other day I mentioned I was bored with the book. I think that is actually a sign that it is ready to be launched into the hands of the copy editor. In a way, I’m bored because it is … Continue reading
Book Two of Random Rain First draft progress Due Date: March 1st 2009 … for a polished versionPublication date: March 2010 … Continue reading
Book Two of Random Rain Wow – hit the 90% mark of book 2 … first draft. Due Date: March 1st 2009 … for a polished versionPublication date: March 2010 … Continue reading
Fantasy writing gets mocked a lot for sticking to certain tropes of the genre. You know: Dark Overlords, goat-herding boys who end up being the hero and so forth. There are lots of fun sites about it; see here and … Continue reading
.[This is actually an idea by author Josh Palmatier. What happens is this: a number of authors are putting up an example of a successful query letter, i.e. one that either got them an agent or an editor. In other … Continue reading
