And The Most Difficult Thing About Writing Is...

Finding a quiet moment away from life to be able to afford the luxury of writing. This is the most difficult thing for me, but also the one thing that separates the real writers from the amateurs. I'd love to be able to say that I write consistently every single day, but to be honest, writing is usually the thing that gets bumped from my schedule when life gets busy. With that said, I am still writing. I am working on a few projects at the moment, waiting for the day when I have a piece completed enough to start advertising it, but I'm not there yet.
One of the pieces I'm working on, and I do hope I finish it one day soon, is probably one of the most overdone genres out there today. Alas, yes, it is a vampire novel. It has been done to death, it seems, since the popularity of the Twilight series, but I had to. One of the main reasons I write is because I want to write, read, experience the same stories that I, myself would love to find as a reader. I have been in love with vampires since watching the movie The Lost Boys as a child. I fell in love with The Vampire Diaries series as a teenager (way before the popular television show) and re-experienced a fraction of this love while reading the Twilight series.
My love of ghost stories was just about satiated while writing my book, Rubicon, but there may be another in the future. I am also writing my version of a zombie story, but I assure you, my story will have my own twist that will hopefully make my story seem fresh, rather than overdone.
I have another paranormal story in the works that I would like to think is completely unique, but with all the great ideas floating around out there, it may not be as unique as I want it to be.
If you are one of the lovely, lovely, wonderful people who has read one of my books, I hope you will be patient with me. I have been writing. I've been writing as often as life allows and I hope to start advertising my next project soon.
In the meantime, I hope all of you readers enjoy another holiday season filled with joy, family, peace, and love. Filled with stories that move you and stories that take you somewhere wonderful. Happy Holidays!

Clovers and Life

On one of my author bio's I said that I am very good at finding four leaf clovers. There's a secret to finding these rare pieces of nature and I'm going to share this with you.
When I was a little girl I thought that four leaf clovers were so rare that I would never find one and I never even tried. One day, my grandparents showed me some that they'd found and preserved in the pages of a thick book. They didn't find just one, but found several, even some with five and six leaves. Here, they showed me that what I thought was so rare, was actually possible. They told me that I could find them too and all I had to do was look. Because they told me I could do it, I started to believe it for myself.
I searched and searched with the perseverance of someone who believes that they're going to be successful. Of course, I found one. I found several. I even found some with five and six leaves. I did what I thought was impossible. Now, every time I see a four leaf clover, I try (some days it's easier than others) to remember that one of life's secrets is that you have to believe that you can do the impossible in order to succeed.

Smashwords

If you are a self-published author, chances are you've heard of Smashwords. If you haven't, it's a website that will distribute your self-published novel(s) to both well known (Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Amazon, Apple) and lesser known (txtr, Oyster, Scribd) distribution channels. If you're thinking, wow, that sounds amazing. Why isn't everybody using Smashwords?, chances are you have not heard of Smashword's dreaded "Meatgrinder".

Because each distribution channel requires a different format (of course it does, life would be too simple if they each took the same format), the Meatgrinder essentially takes your word document and, if it is properly formatted (download, READ, and FOLLOW The Smashwords Style Guide or the Meatgrinder will hate you), it will format your ebook into at least seven different formats. How amazing is that!

If you're like me, and you have become addicted to your (somewhat) real-time reports on Amazon, don't fret! You can opt-in or out of any distribution channel you want. Because I am already set up with Amazon, I simply opted-out and let Smashwords distribute my ebook to the other channels. Also, I had to take my books out of KDP Select before I could publish there, otherwise I would be violating the terms. I'm not sure yet if it is worth it to remove my books from KDP, but I am the type of person who likes to experiment before making up my mind. Your book is instantly up on Smashwords (unless you want to make your book available for pre-order), but it takes days or weeks for your books to become available on the different channels and this is AFTER your word document survives the Meatgrinder.  I would love to post about how I personally survived the Meatgrinder, but I would essentially be rewriting the style guide. I will, however, post a few things that I did to take my formatted Kindle document and convert it to a Meatgrinder-happy version.

• The first thing I did was take my kindle-formatted .doc version of my book and I saved it under a different name. Do not forget this step!! Because I had already formatted my document for Kindle, some of the same formatting applied, but not everything. If you do not have a Kindle version, read and follow every step in the SW formatting guide.
• I removed ALL the formatting. You might be able to get by without this, but I wanted to somewhat start from scratch to be on the safe side. The SW style guide recommends keeping things simple. Don't select those fancy fonts or formatting, stick to Times New Roman, and simple is always better. After I removed the formatting I had to reset my indentations (remember to NEVER, EVER use tabs).
•  For my Kindle version, I had to insert page breaks for each new page, but for Smashwords, I had to do this differently (check the formatting guide). Because I have a Mac, I may have done this a little differently. I went into my paragraph formatting, selected "line and page breaks", and selected "keep with next" and "page break before".  After I did this, I had to make sure my table of contents hyperlinks still worked. Some of my bookmarks were no longer in the right place, so I had to move these.
• Speaking of bookmarks, the Meatgrinder did no like my bookmark for my table of contents. For my chapters, I labeled them c1, c2, c3... and my table of contents was labeled TOC. I ended up getting an error and I had to go back and relabel this ref_TOC. The Meatgrinder likes this "ref_" right before this bookmark for some reason and when I read the formatting guide, my eyes drifted right over this instruction.
• Lastly, Smashwords wants you to add two things to your title page and copyright information. 
• The first is adding "Smashwords Edition" or "Published by ___ at Smashwords"
• Also, copy and paste the license notice from the formatting guide.

This is basically what I did to convert my manuscript to make it Meatgrinder-happy. One thing I did afterwards was download an .epub version of my book (from Smashwords after I had uploaded it) and previewed this on Calibre because I don't have a Nook and I wanted to see what it would look like. It takes time and patience, but you will get there if you decide to take the plunge. Good luck, and you are always welcome to leave a comment or email me (jmjohnsonbooks@gmail.com) if you need help from someone who has been through the Meatgrinder and lived to tell the tale.

And the Winner is...

Cheyanne from the Philippines!! Nearly 1,400 people entered to win a paperback copy of The Runner and Cheyanne is the winner. Congratulations!
I am very excited to send The Runner on its overseas voyage. Bon Voyage!

Another Giveaway!

I am running another giveaway. You too can own your very own copy of my totally awesome book with a super awesome cover (thank you The Book Cover Machine) scribbled with my lame signature.

Enter to win your copy of The Runner here.

New World Island is Here!!

New World Island, the second book in the Avi Bloom series is available for purchase. I'll be leaving it at $0.99 for a few weeks so pick up your copy here.

It may have been a while since you read The Runner, so let's take a look at some of the main characters:

Avi - Retired runner, kickass heroine. She's trying to find her father and save the world at the same time.

Veronica - She's small and feisty. After Avi saved her from the biker gang, she's a true friend who is eager to learn how to defend herself.

Ziggy - The handsome hero who is always trying to save a damsel in distress. It's too bad Avi is a woman who feels she doesn't need saving.

The image of my character, Ziggy, was modeled after the artist Trevor Hall. He has an amazing singing voice and his music is both beautiful and inspiring. I tried to find a video for one of my favorite songs of his that truly hits a theme in my series, but I couldn't find a good one. If you get a chance, look up the song "Proof of Destruction". Amazing!

Troy - Not your typical hero. Troy is the tech savvy creator of his own virtual fighting game. He has managed to keep some technology alive in a world where most technology has been extinguished.

Grab your copy and let the adventure continue!

Writer's Recipe #1

I love writing. My favorite part about writing is when you get so carried away by your story that it feels as if it starts to write itself. There's a magic that takes place when you're in the groove and hours pass in the blink of an eye. When I'm in this groove I try to let it happen without interruption because tomorrow I could just as easily be staring at a blank page, forcing out words that don't want to come. In either case, when I'm on a writing streak I will eat anything that will fill my stomach quickly so that I can get back to writing. This could be a can of soup, a jar of peanuts, and the other day I had to convince my brain that it was not a good idea to eat a bag of potato chips. Because I know that my writer's stomach will ingest anything that is convenient, why not prepare something quick and nutritious so that when your stomach snaps you from your writer's groove you can be kind to your body.
Today's recipe has no name because it is a conglomeration of things I already had in the pantry (because I'm too busy writing to go to the store). This recipe takes some preparations so I made this in advance so that I can simply pop a bowl in the microwave as needed. It is inexpensive and packed with nutrition.

Ingredients

• Veggies (leafy greens are best)
• Brown Rice (don't choose white or instant rice, they don't pack the same nutritious punch)
• Protein
• Flavor

Simple right? I intentionally kept this vague so that you can modify according to taste and what you have available.

The first ingredient is veggies. One of the few things that almost all nutritionists will agree on is that leafy greens are awesome. Stick to ones that are dark green in color like spinach, collard greens, kale, and chard. I like to stick these in a pan with olive oil and garlic and steam them down for this recipe. Sometimes I add tomatoes for the last few minutes of cooking. Yesterday, I had some leftover steamed brussel sprouts so I cut these up.

The next ingredient is brown rice. Like I mentioned above, make sure it is brown rice. I usually make a vat of this at the beginning of the week because it takes a while to cook and it reheats easily. This can also be substituted for any whole grain you enjoy eating.

Protein is next. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do try to limit the amount of animal protein I eat to no more than once a day. For this unnamed dish, I like to use beans. They are cheap and healthy and when prepared properly their reputation is not as bad as the songs and rhymes say they are. Make sure you soak them overnight!! If you soak your beans and eat them regularly, your body can better digest them and you won't have the embarrassing side effects.  I also like to use lentils. Lentils don't need to be soaked and they don't have a bad reputation.

Flavor. Don't forget this ingredient or you will not have a pleasant vat of lunch. I like to add chicken bullion to my bean water so that the whole things tastes like chicken soup. Sometimes I just go crazy with my spice cabinet and invent my own flavors. You can make it taste like chili by adding chili powder or curry depending on your mood. This meal is so bland on its own that you can make it taste like anything you enjoy eating and when you're in your writer's frenzy, you may not be able to notice the difference.

This is my vat for the week. I have a reheat button on my microwave so all I have to do is scoop out a glob, press the button, and eat. My mind can stay on my writing and my body thanks me for choosing this instead of the bag of potato chips for lunch. Breakfast is usually a green smoothie, but I'll save that recipe for another time. Now, back to writing...

Goodreads Giveway Results

Goodreads is a great place for readers and writers to connect with each other. Last month I decided to try one of their giveaways for my novel Rubicon. I followed the recommendations posted by goodreads to give away a minimum of 10 paperback copies and run the giveaway for a month. Also, I only allowed people from the US and Canada to enter. 1082 people entered my giveaway, 500 people added  Rubicon to their to-read shelf, and 10 people won a paperback copy of my book.

Congratulations!
--Victoria from Texas
--Angela from California
--Martine from Massachusetts
--Jennifer from South Carolina
--JG from Ontario
--Melissa from Missouri
--Lia from Tennessee
--Morgan from Nevada
--Stephy from Vermont
--Melissa from California
The books have been mailed and they should be received next week.

So, what did I learn from this experience? This was probably the first promotional experience I've had that made me feel like a real author. I enjoyed writing out thank you cards and signing each of my books (sorry readers for my terrible handwriting and my signature that looks like someone scribbled inside your beautiful books). If I had to do it all over again I would do the giveaway for only one copy of my book, but allow anyone from the globe to enter. I recently read this blog post and she offers some very good advice after doing multiple giveaways.

Under the Microscope

The same week my first self-published novel is being sent out to Publisher's Weekly to be judged by the pro's, my twenty-five page thesis for my Master's degree is being sent off to the review committee to decide whether or not I've earned my degree. It has been very hard to focus on anything outside of these events, but if ever there was an excuse to lose focus, I think I have a good one.

I'm not too worried about my thesis. Academic writing is a lot like math. If you can show your work by having enough examples to back up your case, you've proven your point. It doesn't matter if the review committee likes Virginia Woolf and it doesn't matter if they're having a bad day. As long as my thesis can take them from point A to point B smoothly, I've passed. 

Creative writing is another world altogether. It's personal. It's personal for the writer and it is personal for the reader. I can write about anything I want to write. I write about things that I would personally love to read about, but there is no way to guarantee that another living soul would enjoy my story. If I've learned anything from my experience as a quarter-finalist in ABNA [see this post here if you would like to read more about this competition] it is that it all comes down to another person's opinion. I'll assume we've all heard the saying about opinions and a certain part of the human anatomy, and continue by saying that we can't take other people's opinions so personally. There's a quote I love by Epictetus (Greek philosopher AD 55 - AD 135) If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. I love this quote and it is so relevant to self-publishing.  

The ABNA excerpts are live on Amazon. If you do a search for "ABNA 2014" it will pull up all of the excerpts. The Runner link is here and you're more than welcome to download and review my excerpt. Amazon published the vine reviewer comments on the strongest aspect of the excerpt. I'm glad they did this, because I hope it will help to keep things positive. I'll post my full vine reviews below (there are two). I may be the only entrant in history to have such similar opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of my excerpt. Also, I was very fortunate to have two reviewers who had a lot to say. I believe each vine reviewer gets a minimum of 40 excerpts to review in a short period of time and I felt as if my reviews weren't rushed at all, but that they took their time and they both gave me such excellent feedback.

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

I found the concept of The Runner intriguing. The home village of Avi, designed by her father was a fresh and innovative concept that I found admirable. Rome was the culmination of the bringing together the ideals of a history professor (“if we don’t learn from history we’re doomed to repeat it”) plus the security measures of arms experts and finally the off-the-grid thinking of the Amish. I’m anxious for the novel to move the setting into her town so I can learn more of the actual hardware that has been derived from the melding of these three sectors. I’ve already called to mind the mantra of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union."

What aspect needs the most work?

Although the idea was wonderful I found the writing to be a little awkward and not as free flowing as I’d like. On a 1 to 10 scale of comfortable fluid movement of descriptive writing I’d probably give this a 6. This should be an easy fix for any author when they develop a little more maturity in the field. Also, the beginning was jarring. Boom! Avi found the children. I think some additional background and tension build up may have made for more effective start.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

For the most part I liked this excerpt a lot. I was grabbed more by the Global Warming, Off-switch, Rome concept and by Avi as a runner. I think the writing lacks maturity but that can be fixed with rewrites and time. The story line translates into advantageous visuals to bring the reader into the time and place. All in all, I can see this being reworked into a sought out book for the young reader.

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

The strongest aspect of this excerpt is the terrific premise. At some point in the future, the world has reached a tipping point in global warming and the grid has been shut down. What was once known as modern society has been essentially replaced with a war-like agrarian socity. The narrator of this novel, Avi, is what is known as a runner. Each family in this new society must provide a runner--runners are messengers who travel (or run) between the various villages. Avi is almost at the end of her term as a runner and she starts seeing things that really disturb her. While this piece takes elements from the Hunger Games, it is not derivative. Nicely done!

What aspect needs the most work?

This excerpt is very strong, but I think the one aspect that could use some work is that the writing can be tightened a bit. There are a few instances where it seems the writing is a bit self-conscious and doesn't flow as well as it could. For instance, the part where Avi describes herself physically seems a little odd and out of place in the narrative.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

Overall, I think this is a very strong excerpt. The story of Avi, the runner, is very interesting and compelling. The dystopian backstory is very creative. The writing is fairly strong (although, as noted above, it could use some tightening). Avi's voice is empathetic and consistent throughout. The excerpt is paced very well and it is an interesting read. I look forward to reading the rest of the novel.

ABNA 2014 Quarter-Finals!

The Runner is a Quarter-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) contest!!

ABNA is sometimes referred to as the American Idol of the indie author industry. You can read the official rules here. The submission period opened in mid-February and stayed open for two weeks or until they reached 10,000 entries. There are a total of five categories: General Fiction; Mystery & Thriller; Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror; and Young Adult.

The first elimination from 10,000 down to 2,000 entries (400 per category) is based solely on the author’s pitch.

The second elimination is based on how well the 3,000 – 5,000 word excerpt is judged by at least two Amazon Vine Reviewers, leaving a total of 500 remaining contestants (100 per category).

The Runner is currently 1 of the 100 contestants remaining in the Young Adult category. Now, my entire manuscript will be read and reviewed by a Publisher’s Weekly reviewer and I can use this review to help promote my book. Also, sometime in the next few days all of the excerpts will be uploaded onto the site so anyone with an Amazon account can read and comment.

I am simply amazed that I’ve made it this far in the competition. This whole process of writing and self-publishing is filled with so many highs and lows and this is definitely a high I will have to remember during the low days. As exciting as it is to have my work commented on by these reviewers it is also frightening.

Now, to pass the time until the next elimination round (on June 13^th, the 500 contestants will be narrowed down to a scant 25) I will continue to write, try my best stay positive and keep the doubts out of my mind, and figure out a way to slip the words “my Publisher’s Weekly review” into as many conversations as I can get away with.

Cover Reveal!

I am weeks away from completing my master’s degree and I have been forcing myself to concentrate all of my efforts into the last bits of schoolwork I hope to ever have in my lifetime. I do try sneak in some writing time (the writing I do for fun) and let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like a new book cover to get me excited about writing again. Here it is folks:

Not sure if you noticed, but the second book in my Avi Bloom series was going to be called The Island. I thought I had done a thorough search online to make sure there weren’t any similar books with this same title, but I must have missed this one. There is already a book called The Island in the same genre and so I changed my title. The second book in the series will be called New World Island and the plan is to have a June 15^th release date. Of course, this is the self-publishing world and I have a life outside of writing, my editor and beta readers have day jobs and families and so sometimes these dates have to be flexible, but I think June 15^th is realistic and it also happens to be Father’s Day. 

Rubicon is Live!!

Rubicon is here! If you like to read about teenage angst mixed with paranormal and a splash of coming of age, Rubicon will be on sale for $0.99 all week at Amazon!

Alright, enough of the sales pitch. Rubicon started out originally as a short story, turned into a feature length screenplay, and now is a novel. What once took place over a period of three days now takes place over an entire school year.

This was the picture for the original cover:

The screenplay was the first thing I ever self-published on Amazon. I sold zero copies and gave away between twenty and thirty. It received a five-star review in jolly old England:

Wow this book was awesome read it in a day so good would read it again ,i will soon. :) - Tamzin Mcowan

I wasn't too hurt about the lack of sales because I don't think I would ever sit down and read a screenplay if I didn't have to.

Originally, the title was Option C. The main character, Brigid James, lives her life knowing that she has the power to end her life at any time. Option C is her third and final option to any difficult situation, it is the option to take her own life.

Here is the original opening from Option C: The Screenplay. It is in screenplay format so it may look a little funny. I decided I no longer wanted any of my high school characters to be armed and there is never any mention of Option C in the novel:

EXT. – SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY

BRIGID (V.O.)

You could say I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.

FADE IN:

BRIGID (18) skinny, unconfident, and beautiful, opens her eyes. Her hair is messy, forehead sweaty, and dark circles indicate a lack of sleep. She is breathing heavily.

BRIGID (V.O.)

(Continuing)

But high school is supposed to be rough.

Brigid is standing, holding a gun. She is right in front of a high school building.

BRIGID (V.O.)

(Continuing)

I graduate tomorrow, that is, if I live that long.

People are beginning to come out of the school. A few students peek out. A frightened Mrs. Niceworthy is being held by Mr. ---. Brigid looks in their direction and then in the direction the gun is pointing.

BRIGID (V.O.)

(Continuing)

What would Jesus do? What would Brigid do? I’ve been trying to figure that out for years.

DAN

Brigid! Don’t do it.

BRIGID

(V.O.)

Who is that you ask? He’s just a dead man.

MRS. NICEWORTHY

Brigid?

Mrs. Niceworthy glances over Mr. ---‘s shoulder, giving Brigid a reassuring smile.

BRIGID

(V.O.)

What to do? What to do? A) pull the trigger, B) don’t pull the trigger, C)…Let’s go with option C.

Brigid closes her eyes.

FADE OUT:

(F.X.) Gunshot.

FADE IN:

EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT – DAY

“Three Days Earlier”

BRIGID

(V.O.)

I bet you’re wondering how my situation got so complicated. I’ll have to take you back a few days, to the day I met my first boyfriend.

Just thought I would share those tidbits. Happy reading and writing!

Marketing for Dummies by Dummies

I wanted a catchy title for this post about marketing from a self-published author who has not yet “gone viral”. Whenever I find a book about self-publishing or marketing I always check to see how the author’s book is doing. If they can’t sell their own book on how to sell books, then I won’t buy it. With that said, I have not figured out the magic formula to sell a bunch of books, but I will share my experiences here as they come. Marketing is not one of my passions, but writing is. The self-published author has got to be their own promoter, so whether you like marketing or not, it is necessary, or your book can easily become lost among the millions of other books on Amazon. Here are some things I’ve done to help promote my book and some things I’ve learned along the way:

• One of my strategies is to remember that this is all about the long haul. I didn’t start reading the Harry Potter series until the fourth book was out in stores. There are many authors and series I didn’t discover until they already had numerous books out. I started the Divergent series when books one and two were already out and I have not rushed out to buy book #3. I loved the first two books, but I just haven’t been in the right mood to read the third. When was I in the right mood? Immediately after I read book #2. So, with that said, one of my strategies will be that I won’t spend very much money promoting my books until I have one or two completed series.
• I joined Twitter and Facebook and did not see any sales directly related to this. Is this a waste of time? I don’t think so. Because this is all about the long haul, I can see how these platforms will help authors who have gained a following. In the meantime, I have met some amazing authors and beta readers. This is a great place to see what other authors are doing and what seems to be working for them. Personally, I brush over posts saying “buy my book, buy my book”, but I pay attention to the things that do catch my eye throughout the social media overload and try to figure out what caught my eye in the first place. There is something in these posts that is able to stand out among the flood of promotions so pay attention and figure out what your thing is so you can stand out too.
• I really enjoyed this article and this article about free and cheap book advertising. I tried a $10 Awesomegang.com ad and did not see any sales. I also tried a free ReadCheaply ad and saw four sales the same day the ad ran. Read the guidelines carefully. Some places only let you run an ad if your book is below a certain price.
• Paying it forward. While I can’t directly link this to any sales, I firmly believe that if you want other people to do things for you, you have to be willing to do the same for other people. Beta read for someone. You can learn so much by being on the other end of things. Do you support other authors? If you like another authors work, let other people know about it. Treat fellow authors how you would like to be treated.
• I’m currently reading How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn. I haven’t gotten very far into the book, but I would already recommend it for strategies from an actual expert. On top of all of the other things we writers have to do (blogging, social media, marketing, and fitting in time to actually write) we have to keep reading and learning. I try to read about marketing and writing because we can always improve.

Oh my, that felt like a lot. Like I said before, I don’t have any magic formulas, but I hope there is something in here that another writer can gain from. I would love to hear from fellow authors. Is there something I left out? Something that has worked for you that you'd like to share?

Thanks for reading and happy writing!

Three Months, Three Weeks, and Three Days

Years ago I traveled to New York City with my mom. I was probably in my late teens or early twenties, but I was going through one of those times where I was single and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

Walking the down the bustling city streets, I was distracted by a voice, “Hey, you.”

I turned and saw an old woman sitting at a small (think t.v. tray size) table with an extra chair. She was a psychic. I am a very open-minded person and thought it would be a bit of an adventure so I sat down (and paid the woman, of course).

I don’t remember much of what she said, but when she got to the end of my reading she told me that I would find true love in three months, three weeks, and three days.

Luckily, this was an easy span of time to remember so when I got back home the next day I figured out which day to mark on my calendar. This was back when cell phones had little more than an alarm clock as an app, so yes, I waited until I got home. When I finished calculating, I was surprised to see that the date was none other than my birthday.

This made sense because I was sure to go out and celebrate with my friends. My birthday rolled around, I went out with my friends, and nothing amazing happened. My heart was not stolen, I did not feel the telltale electric vibes from anyone, and I didn’t see staring eyes across from the room, the beautiful eyes that only noticed me.

Perhaps my psychic friend delivers this same divine time period to any person who happens to sit at her tiny table, changing the words “true love” to “money”, or “a new job”, or whatever situation she feels her paying customer wants to hear. Or, perhaps, this woman does know how to communicate with the divine. And, if this truly is the case, perhaps my message is that my first true love should be myself. Once I love myself, then everything else will fall into place. This is the scenario I choose to believe.

Coolest Biker Gang EVER!!!!

I had to do some research on child abuse for my latest novel Rubicon and I stumbled across this website for The Bikers Against Child Abuse.
Basically, they're the coolest group of biker gangs in the world! (Sorry other biker gangs, but this one brought tears to my eyes) This group has different chapters around the world and they band together to support victims of child abuse. In the article I read, they will stand guard outside of a child's house so the child will feel safe, especially if they are scheduled to go to trial against their abuser. They'll show up to your court appearances for support. The child immediately becomes a part of this family and finds comfort and safety in their gang.
When a child is abused physically, verbally, sexually, or any other way, the child loses a part of themselves. They lose their confidence, that feeling of safety that every child should have, and they can grow up living in fear. This group helps give back to these children what was taken from them and this is not an easy thing to do. Thank you B.A.C.A. for doing your part to help make the world a better place!

The Runner is $0.99 all Week

The Runner will be $0.99 all week long!

My Main Character Did Not 'Just Say No'

That's right, the main character of my novel Rubicon smokes marijuana, at least, she does in the beginning of the story. Yes, this is a book for young adults, and no, I am not supporting teenage drug use. Instead, I wanted to create a character that begins the story a little bruised and broken.

I’m not sure I’ve read a book for teenagers with a protagonist who has done drugs since I read Go Ask Alice in the ‘90’s, so I’m not sure how my book will be received.

Marijuana has been all over the news lately, with more and more states considering medical marijuana and talk of legalizing the drug. I do worry that by the time my kids are teenagers they will find it more difficult to say ‘no’. Studies are showing that roughly 45% of today’s high school seniors are admitting to smoking pot. That’s nearly half and experts are predicting that this number would go up if the drug were legalized.

So, what does this mean for authors and what does this mean for readers? Nothing, unless we want our characters to face realistic issues. My main character does also face some paranormal elements that are not very realistic, but that’s what makes fiction so fun.

I hope my readers will not be too hard on my main character for the choices she makes in the beginning of the book and instead revel in the woman she becomes through her journey.

Rubicon: Fact and Fiction

I feel a little guilty for neglecting this blog, but I've been totally absorbed in completing my next novel, Rubicon. Now, as my beta readers are performing their beta reading magic, I have a bit of time to write about some of the ideas that went into the formation of this novel.

1. The Creamy Castle - This novel opens with the main character working in an ice cream shop. When I was sixteen years old I got a job at Baskin Robbins earning minimum wage. Shortly into this job, my manager handed me a key and left me in charge of the store and the other teenage girls who were just a few months younger than I was. Now, I was a fairly responsible teenager, but this did open the door for some interesting experiences. Yes, we did play frisbee with the ice cream lids, we did make a gigantic tip cup, and I did dare one of the other girls to try all 31 flavors of ice cream in under a minute, but I never did anything that would compare to what Brigid does in the opening scene of this book. 
2. Odd boyfriends - I may have had a boyfriend who told me it was his mission in life to defeat the antichrist. Afterwards, when I acted like this was perfectly normal and told him I was ready to go home, his car broke down and I had to call a friend to come and rescue me. It was frightening. He may be the inspiration for one of the characters in this book.
3. Roman Numbers - I had a friend who lived down the street from me. She liked to pretend like she was going over to my house and walk around the neighborhood alone at night. I know, not a very smart thing to do and I didn't realize she was using me in her lie to her parents until she had a run-in with a strange man who chased her down the street to ask her what the roman numbers mean. She ran away and I think his last words to her were "see you later". As far as I know, she is alive and well. Looking back on this event, as a parent, I have to wonder if her mom and dad hired this guy to scare the pants off of her because she never did wander the neighborhood late at night ever again.

Anyway, these bits and pieces of my life have entered into this novel in one way or another, and the rest came from my imagination. Real life is often just as bizarre if not more bizarre than fiction at times.

Get your copy of Rubicon here.

Final Line!

I just wrote the final line of my latest novel Rubicon. What an awesome feeling. I feel like I should run up and down my icy neighborhood streets shouting, "I did it!" Instead, I will begin the process of rewriting.
I am one of those people who never likes to know much about what I'm reading or any movies I'm watching. I love being surprised. I think when I go into things without any expectations, I enjoy them more. With that said, I will post the final line of Rubicon because I think that it will make no sense and will not give away anything. If you are like me and don't like to know things ahead of time, skip over this next line:
I vowed to always wear clothing with a pocket on the left side.
There, that's my final line. No sense, right?

The Birth of The Runner

This post is going to detail some of the steps I went through in order to turn my manuscript into a finished product I self-published on Amazon.

• My Cover - For my cover of The Runner, I went to Alchemy Book Covers. Their website has a section titled "Quick Covers". I picked out three pictures from **Fotolia.com and for $35 they turned these:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Into This:
  
   **WARNING - looking for pictures for your book cover is very addictive. Do not attempt to do this unless you have some free time.
• Beta Readers - If you haven't checked out GoodReads, do this NOW! Create your profile and join some groups. There are people who may enjoy reading your manuscript and will give you feedback for free. They will give you an idea of what to expect in your reviews when you do publish. There are people who will charge you for this service too. In my opinion, why not get as many free opinions as you can and then if you feel like you need a paid expert, find one. Make sure you know what you're looking for. Some beta readers specialize in plot, characters, flow, and that sort of thing while others are grammar and punctuation experts. Remember, only make the changes you feel you want or need to. If you are getting the same criticism over and over, maybe you should change that aspect. Every person who reads your work may have a different opinion and you can't make everyone happy so just make yourself happy.
• Editors - A good editor is not cheap. Again, are you looking for someone who specializes in grammar and punctuation or your content? I used this editor. She is pretty inexpensive and very helpful. I would recommend sending your manuscript off to an editor as a final step. Do as much as you can yourself, get some free beta readers, take their advice or leave it, complete one more draft or two, and then start paying the experts. 
• Start your blog and join social networking sites if you haven't already. Start building your book up before you publish. Get others excited about it. Set your release date and start counting down the days. This is something I would have done earlier if I had to do it all over again.
• I've mentioned this book before, but download this free Ebook to help you format your finished product. 
• Check out blogs written by and for self-published authors. I am very new at this. I have gone through the process, so I have that experience, but there are people who have been doing this successfully for years and are sharing their FREE advice. I love this website.
• Just Keep Writing!! After you've done all you need to do for your first book, start the second. Keep writing. This is the one piece of advice that all self-publishing advice givers agree on. 

Good luck to all you self-published authors out there. To all you readers, thank you for your support. 

Virginia Woolf had Problems Too!

I thought, driving through Richmond last night, something very profound about the synthesis of my being: how nothing makes a whole unless I am writing. – Virginia Woolf, Diary Vol. 4

Right now I should be working on my master's thesis on Virginia Woolf, but my brain did manage to convince the rest of me that this blog post is related to my thesis and therefore counts as working on my thesis. 

As many of us may know, Virginia Woolf had problems. We probably know that on March 28, 1941, she walked to the River Ouse, filled her pockets with stones, and drowned herself. 

What I didn't know was that despite the fact that Virginia Woolf is one of the greatest authors, ever, she was also one of us. By this, I mean, if she were alive today and wanted to self-publish her novel on Amazon, she would be going through a lot of the same things us normal folks have gone through. I am going to quote from some of her diary entries so you can see what I mean:

George Eliot would never read reviews, since talk of her books hampered her writing. I begin to see what she meant. I don't take praise or blame excessively to heart, but they interrupt, cast one's eyes backward, make one wish to explain or investigate.

It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned...writing is always difficult.

I don't know why it always amazes me that the greatest authors doubted their abilities. They dreaded and sometimes received bad reviews. They had writer's block. 

Virginia Woolf loved writing. She lived for it. Writing is what got her though tough times. It made her feel better. When she was institutionalized her doctors would not let her write. They said it was bad for her mental health. They knew nothing. 

Melancholy diminishes as I write.

In Virginia Woolf's suicide note she believed she was beginning another breakdown. 

I can't fight any longer...You see I can't even write this properly. I can't read...If anybody could have saved me it would have been you.

Here is my all-time favorite Virginia Woolf quote:

Yet who reads to bring about an end, however desirable? Are there not some pursuits that we practise because they are good in themselves, and some pleasures that are final? And is not this among them? I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgment dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards–their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble–the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when he sees us coming with our books under our arms, “Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading."

A Crash Course in Natural Living

A lot of the research I did for my book The Runner came about after trying to live a more natural lifestyle. I didn't want to have to worry about my son drinking windex and I didn't want to teach him how to brush his teeth with a toothpaste that warned, "Do not swallow!" I mentioned in an earlier post that I was moved after watching the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, but didn't know where to begin. This post is a crash course based on years of research, trial and error, and creativity.

1. Toothpaste - A link to my favorite natural toothpaste recipe can be found here. This recipe contains ingredients that you may find at your local health food store, but I did not know how the characters in my book would make coconut oil in a region where coconuts don't grow and xylitol is hard enough to find, even when you have three hippy healthy grocery stores to choose from. The recipe in my book for the toothpaste Avi uses from charred eggplants came from this book:
   
   This is a great resource for hippy-wisdom full of recipes, how-to's like instructions for building a sweat lodge, and naked hippy drawings. This book was written as an instruction manual when the author was living in a commune in the seventies.
2. Clothes Washing - All of the research I've done on washing clothes says that agitation is more important than soap. I've even read that putting your clothes in the washer without soap is enough to get your clothes clean, but I've never been brave enough to try this. Ever seen women smacking clothes against rocks in a river? Agitation.
   
   A washboard works fine too.
   
   I like this little hand-cranked washer.
   
   If you have enough money to spend, you can check out Lehman's unplugged catalog. 
3. Laundry Detergent - If you do decide that you can't live with washing clothes by agitation alone, there are lots of recipes for homemade laundry detergent that will save you a ton of money and cut down on the harmful chemicals in your household. This is my favorite homemade laundry detergent recipe and it will literally save you 95% of the money you were spending on laundry detergent.
4. Homemade Soap - In The Runner, Avi's village makes soap using wood ashes. I have never made soap this way because it seems difficult and dangerous and it doesn't sound like it would be easy to get your measurements precise, which is such a crucial element in soap making. There are plenty of soap recipes on the web like this site where the soaps look good enough to eat
   
   and there are plenty of resources for soap making. I would recommend a lye calculator if you want to make up your own recipe. Remember to be careful with any additions you add to your soap recipe including color. I've used crayons to color my soap, but remember anything you add could affect the chemical reaction you're creating so you have to be careful. Also, you can't buy lye in any store I've looked in. I had to order it online and fill out a form so someone can track my purchases and make sure I'm not using this to make drugs. 
   
5. Bread Making - In The Runner, Avi talks about how her village makes sourdough bread.
   
   I've used a recipe from this book. It literally takes weeks to make enough starter for this recipe and then it takes a whole day to make the bread (because it takes longer for the bread to rise with homemade starter instead of store bought yeast). This is my all-time favorite dried sourdough starter. If you follow the link, you will find instructions for getting your own Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter in the mail for FREE! It will look like this:
   
   This starter has an interesting history and is very easy to reactivate.  
6. Reconnecting - I can honestly say that this book changed my life. If you think that it is a little odd that Avi knows how to speak to animals and thanks her food after she's done eating, I think it is odd when we seem to forget that we are not the only feeling animals on this planet. 
   
7. Household Cleaners - If you look online you will find numerous recipes for homemade household cleaners. I simply use baking soda anytime I need an abrasive. Sometimes I'll mix baking soda with liquid dish soap and this works great on bathtubs. I buy empty spray bottles from the hardware store and fill them with 1/2 water and 1/2 white vinegar. This is great for just about anything (even windows and mirrors) and if you run out of salad dressing a few sprays will liven up your greens. 
8. Baby Bums - Sure, we've all heard of cloth diapering and many of us know that today's cloth diapers are much safer (no gigantic pins) and much cuter than those in the past.
   
   Have you ever heard of going diaper free?
   
   I read this book when my son was a little over a year. While he wasn't technically a baby, baby anymore, I modified things a bit to get him used to life without a diaper and this made using a potty fairly painless. I stuck him in the backyard sans diaper and he literally jumped the first time he went #1 because his diaper had kept him from truly experiencing this bodily function. 
9. Backyard Animals - If you're like me and always wanted to live on a farm, but lived in the city, don't let your small backyard become your excuse for not having a farm. Here are my backyard chickens:
   
   Check out this inspiring family who has been farming on 1/10th of an acre for years in downtown Pasadena, CA. 
   
10. Personal Hygiene - I've read and reread the Little House on the Prairie books many times and I remember Laura saying that she only bathed once a week, on Saturday evenings before church and the family would re-use the bath water.
    
    I've heard (but never asked to confirm this) that the Amish have a similar routine. Now, this is only my opinion, but I think that this would be a lot easier to get away with when everyone around you has a similar bathing schedule. I also think that because of the labor involved in bathing, that this was okay. I've taken a shower from a rigged up black barrel that had sat in the sun all day and dripped down as a shower. While better than nothing, this did not replace the feeling of a nice warm shower. I've read that some people follow the same philosophy as clothes washing and will simply use water alone with agitation to wash their bodies, but I don't think this would work for me. If society collapsed and I had no other choice, I could get clean in one way or another, but it would be very difficult to look back on the days when I simply had to turn a knob to get hot water.
11. Cooking - Look up recipes online. You can find recipes for just about anything nowadays and when you cook from scratch you get to control what you're eating. There are tons of people who will go out of their way to create a recipe that tastes very similar to your favorite fast-food items, but without any mystery ingredients. I've looked up recipes from Pizza Hut pizza to goldfish crackers. I love the internet!
    

Well, that's it for now. Post a comment if you think I left anything off or if you have any questions. Living a more natural lifestyle is not something that should cost you more money and should actually save you money. The internet is full of recipes, tricks, and wisdom, but so are old people! Visit your grandparents or a retirement village and talk to the people who live there. You will learn a LOT and brighten someone's day.