Trying to download an image for e-book covers onto lulu.com and I don't have the option to JPG from my version of Word to be able to publish what I wanted. Unfortunately, for now, people will have to be willing to open what is an otherwise bland cover in order to be able to enjoy the contents beneath. Hey, an ugli-fruit looks terrible on the outside but is soooo good on the inside.
By the way, still trying to make time to do some more writing. Several publications in the works and I keep bouncing back and forth. School and everyday life has been taking time away, but I am indeed motivated to finish. The wait will be well worth it, I promise.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Off the shnide
FINALLY I've gotten back around to some writing again!
As mentioned, I am writing a back-story series based on my Guns and Crosses novel. Some of the more intriguing characters will have off-shoot prequels. Anyone who has seen the Lost series knows what I'm talking about.
How did Jewel Heggeman become an outlaw?
What was Victor Wainwright's relationship with his father really like?
How did Rab Argent turn to a life of bounty hunting?
What pushed John Channing from the bosom of his family after the war to lawlessness?
What was Solomon's life like in Africa before he was brought to America as a slave?
What are some of the connections of the peripheral characters and events in the backgrounds of other characters?
A challenge to be sure to tie the backstories together but it should be fun and interesting.
As mentioned, I am writing a back-story series based on my Guns and Crosses novel. Some of the more intriguing characters will have off-shoot prequels. Anyone who has seen the Lost series knows what I'm talking about.
How did Jewel Heggeman become an outlaw?
What was Victor Wainwright's relationship with his father really like?
How did Rab Argent turn to a life of bounty hunting?
What pushed John Channing from the bosom of his family after the war to lawlessness?
What was Solomon's life like in Africa before he was brought to America as a slave?
What are some of the connections of the peripheral characters and events in the backgrounds of other characters?
A challenge to be sure to tie the backstories together but it should be fun and interesting.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
In Absentia
A lot of things going on lately... position change at work, enrollment in classes in the works, reconnection with my family... which have prevented me from spending time or creative juices on my series. Still enjoying life, just not on the printed word.
Fear not; writing is something I've tended to do in spurts (although any "professional" writer will tell you to spend at least some time each day writing). Ernest Hemingway used to write standing up each morning; guess he didn't have a sciatic nerve problem which put his leg to sleep!
That's my update for now; an update to say that I have no update! I can't force creativity, but I can see a point where I spend an afternoon and the thing writes itself and I crank out a dozen pages at a pop.
Fear not; writing is something I've tended to do in spurts (although any "professional" writer will tell you to spend at least some time each day writing). Ernest Hemingway used to write standing up each morning; guess he didn't have a sciatic nerve problem which put his leg to sleep!
That's my update for now; an update to say that I have no update! I can't force creativity, but I can see a point where I spend an afternoon and the thing writes itself and I crank out a dozen pages at a pop.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Brain cramp
Argh! The hardest part of a story is the beginning. Trying to use some Shakespearian English for the characters at the beginning and not having a great sense of flow with it. Time to park for now and revisit later.
One method I tend to use to overcome being stalled at points is to write chapters out of sequence and come back to earlier chapters later. At least I make progress in some portion of the story and it can actually help set the table for an earlier part of the book where I might be stuck.
Still gotta overcome the Shakespearian English thing, though. Maybe I need to sit down and read some Shakespeare (I have a copy of the "Tempest" upstairs)?
Oh well, time to try again will be later. I'll be doing some furniture restoration with my son, time spent with the fam for New Years. Let's hope the creative juices will flow.
Late!
One method I tend to use to overcome being stalled at points is to write chapters out of sequence and come back to earlier chapters later. At least I make progress in some portion of the story and it can actually help set the table for an earlier part of the book where I might be stuck.
Still gotta overcome the Shakespearian English thing, though. Maybe I need to sit down and read some Shakespeare (I have a copy of the "Tempest" upstairs)?
Oh well, time to try again will be later. I'll be doing some furniture restoration with my son, time spent with the fam for New Years. Let's hope the creative juices will flow.
Late!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Old west slang
Part of the challenge (and fun) writing historical fiction is in trying to have it remain historically accurate. Obviously, it wouldn't do to have a narration state that the outlaw's gun "glinted in the sun like the newly polished fender of a '57 Belair" when automobiles hadn't even been invented at that time. The use of slang and colloquialisms is important in making the story plausible and the characters come alive.
Check out the links below; they're the references I use for slang dialogue in my writing. Some of the phrases are hilarious so don't beat the devil around the stump; have yourselves a hog-killing time!
http://www.frontier1859.com/forum/index.php?topic=404.0
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poindexterfamily/OldWestSlang.html
Check out the links below; they're the references I use for slang dialogue in my writing. Some of the phrases are hilarious so don't beat the devil around the stump; have yourselves a hog-killing time!
http://www.frontier1859.com/forum/index.php?topic=404.0
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poindexterfamily/OldWestSlang.html
New blog
In an effort to try and market my work (or at least put it out there), I'm pleased to introduce my new blog. My hope is this will also hold me accountable for staying on top of my projects by journaling my progress.
I finished my first novel "Guns and Crosses" earlier this year:
http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/guns-and-crosses/18762400?productTrackingContext=product_view/more_by_author/right/1
and decided to do an off-shoot series on the back-stories of some of the characters in the first novel. I'm currently engaged in two projects "Jewel" and "Argent" which explain the past of two of the more interesting and controversial people from the first story. Soon to follow those are "For Love of Money", "Blackheart", "No Home for the Wicked", Momentary Sorrows" and "Angel Unawares", all of which are prequels to the main novel. Those of you who were "Lost" fans might appreciate how all the characters are tied together by events in their past and how many things took place to bring them together. This series follows that format and will be a challenge to write (and hopefully enjoyable to read!).
The series is based in Christian faith and set primarily in the mid-to-late eighteen hundreds. That being said, it's not recommended reading for children as there is violence, suggestions of impropriety and adult situations. Please give the above link a look and follow along closely.
Happy reading.
I finished my first novel "Guns and Crosses" earlier this year:
http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/guns-and-crosses/18762400?productTrackingContext=product_view/more_by_author/right/1
and decided to do an off-shoot series on the back-stories of some of the characters in the first novel. I'm currently engaged in two projects "Jewel" and "Argent" which explain the past of two of the more interesting and controversial people from the first story. Soon to follow those are "For Love of Money", "Blackheart", "No Home for the Wicked", Momentary Sorrows" and "Angel Unawares", all of which are prequels to the main novel. Those of you who were "Lost" fans might appreciate how all the characters are tied together by events in their past and how many things took place to bring them together. This series follows that format and will be a challenge to write (and hopefully enjoyable to read!).
The series is based in Christian faith and set primarily in the mid-to-late eighteen hundreds. That being said, it's not recommended reading for children as there is violence, suggestions of impropriety and adult situations. Please give the above link a look and follow along closely.
Happy reading.
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