a Dash of Nattering

Well, got my first assignment for college done and back. B-. Not bad for something I wasn't sure I was doing right! :)

So on to second assignment this week.

As to the covers, I like both so it's hard for me to choose which  one to do for Tail.  Right now I'm leaning towards the one with the eye. The skin is bearded dragon skin and the eye I found on a free site. The eye looks similar to another I saw, the size and a slight difference in color is the only difference I see in the two so I downloaded the free one.

I also changed the dragon skin motif on the other cover to bearded dragon skin. So here's the new design:

Much better I think.

I've had a thought about Mortal Voice. What if I make it a magic world with Adepts. She is something different, a Voice. Magic comes from people's/ living thing's energy. Lifeforce./Elemental energy is something different than what they're used to. Adepts use 5th element spirit and there's more of them. Only a few have the other elements and most don't survive to adulthood and those that do are de-spirted by their 'lack' of gift.  .

Or maybe I'll make this a Fallborn and make Mortal Voice a modern tale with her partnered with a detective. Yeah, maybe.

I got to think on it. And I got two covers for it too, though one has a less chance since the clothes are modern for the Fallborn/ but maybe I'll save the one cover for another story.  :)

At least I hope I can use the image I downloaded from Dreamtime. I don't know. I'll ask Sharon when I'm closer to finishing that book.

I worked a bit on Tail today. I plan to finish it and/or Flames by April. Tail is coming along fine and nearing the confrontations of both the Rennon and Eldanian Armies and Beka and the evil man.  I have put subtle hints in, maybe too subtle. But I don't want to give away the ending too soon or it will be anticlimactic.

I'm also have another of the Fallborn series started; In the Dragon's Claw.

I like these covers, but I also like the other covers I have for them but these are the ones that show they are a series. So I may go for them.


I have a few more Ideas for Fallborn. Most of them are PG13 or close enough.

another bit of prattle

I have two covers for Under the Dragon's Tail. Which do you think is best?

Please leave a comment. I really want to know which you think is the best.

 

I did both on Canva. com. I like both.

 

Fallborn is the "category" all my dragon books are going to be under. All dragons' are Fallborn. Eggs laid spring, hatch fall. All my dragons are going to be hermaphrodites, but present as males. Some of the stories will have regular relationships and some asexual. Tail is asexual. Asexual does not mean  without intimacy. Hugs and touches, even kisses, can be asexual but still convey love and intimacy.

 

Anyway enough of deep thoughts. :) 

 

I'm working on both Tail and Flames. I want to get at least one of them done before April. Tail is farther along than Flames of course. 

Tail BLURB: Dark days have shrouded the Kingdoms, but rumors of the Dragon' s Gem have resurfaced and given hope to those who still fight. Are they just rumors or is it the time of prophecy?

I wrote this during the first days of writing the first few chapters. Now I'm 30, 000 words into it and I still think this is good. :)  

Short and sweet. I'll come up with more by the time I'm finished I'm sure.

This story idea was actually from when I was a teen. I had a dream and wrote a brief, real brief narrative of what I remembered of the dream and I turned it into the prophecy:

 The dragon's gem will be lost for a hundred and one years and will be brought forth by a girl rich in humble origins, causing the dragon to awake. An evil man will seek to steal the gem and an army will gather at the Pass named for the horse general while the king of kings joins with the warrior queen. Blood will flow and evil will seem to have the upper hand until the girl is brought before the evil man. At her word the dragon will smote all the evil before her with cleansing fire.

I'll have to clean it up a bit but I'm leaving this as the prophecy.  My friend Travis and I wrote years ago together to see if we could get a book done doing writing together. He finished his, and eventually published it, though he was not satisfied with it. But I only got to 20,000 words.

 Now it's 30,000 and I got a bit to go yet, but I'm determined to finish this book. I finished four books in the Voice Series and I know I can finish this one since I have finished these. 

All it takes is time.

Aftermath

Well, Ozarks Indie Book Fest didn't turn out like I expected. Troubles happened and we ended up at the Library Center on Saturday. I was disappointed and I know others were as well.

Enough Negative!

I plan to start to work on Flames again this week. There are other things going on but I plan to get started anyway. 

The interviewing process is beginning in Flames so we'll meet at least a few of the suspects. Nick and Sara have already given their initial thoughts on the subject: the firebug is not a firebug. He/she uses the fire to cleanse. A firebug is fascinated by fire, almost in love with it. This suspect is not. Nor is he/she a fire starter or a voice like in Fire Walker. 

Santino is going to make another move.  As I stated before she gets her comeuppance in Wind Whisperer. Being a bitch is not good in my books. :)

I'm editing one of my dragon books. Under the Dragon's Tail.  I'm making it 'family friendly" so no sex or such things as leads to sex. It was YA at the start then veered a bit so I'm un-veering it and going back toward YA. I'm a little over half-way through with it.

I've been also looking over the other books I have lodged in my computer.  Over thirty.  All of them have a least part of a chapter done and some more than that. I also have a milk crate full of hand-written notes on about thirty more stories, plus the notebook I keep by my bed in case a dream triggers a writing spree. There's enough ideas to keep me writing until the next century and more keep coming. I have a hard time with which to stay with and which to let go. I just pile them up.

Sometimes I get an idea that has three different outcomes depending on one decision.

Does this happen to you?

Which is why there is three Voice Series in my head. One I'm writing where she moves on toward becoming a shaman, one where she stays a voice and opens a agency that discovers bodies, and another where she becomes a voice to help a clan of weres. 

I'm going to write them all.  Get this out of my system.

2 Days to Book Fest

AS it says two days 'til Book Fest.

Got the eight Water Ferrier I ordered. 

I'll probably sell out the first day, if I have a good day.  I don't have many books since I'm always short of money. I'm lucky I have any at all most times. I buy a few and tend to give them away or sell them for cost more than at retail. Though I do sell a few at retail to my old neighbors. Retail from me is still cheaper than retail from Amazon.   No shipping.

I'm doing a giveaway at the Book Fest. It seems others had that idea as well so I got competition. :)

Flames is on hold until after the Book Fest.

I sent Z is for Ghoul to Sharon to see if it's good for a 99 cent ebook. Hopefully, I'll get some nibbles when I release it. Zombies are always a good read, even the silly or bad.  Mindless entertainment. LOL!

All my book stuff for the Fest is loaded into a bin.so all I got to do is put it in the car Friday morning. I'm also taking my Instax camera. I'm sure some people would enjoy some instant pics.

7 days til School or Book Fest

Ozarks Indie Book Fest is only a week away!

Got everything but the new book in a bin ready to go. Water Ferrier is still in transit. I only got 14 Deadly Sands, 7 Earth, and 7 Fire so I'm low on books and might sell out the first day. I never have enough money to get a lot of books at one time.

I have the two give-away bags in the bin too.

I've been working on Z is for Ghoul the past couple of days. I'm thinking about doing a 99 cent short ebook with it.  It's barely 3,000 words so real short, but I'm still working on it so maybe I'll have more words.  But I think I want to try a short ebook. I also have 'a visit home' that I could do as a short ebook. It's even shorter.   MMMM. I'll think on it.

I started a new chapter in Flames. Interviewing the suspects and Santino makes an another appearance! 

When Flames is finished, I'll go straight to Waters. I'm thinking about changing the name to Deadly Seas. What do you think? Water Ferrier and Deadly Waters or Water Ferrier and Deadly Seas. Nick and Sara head off to sail in Waters so...But most of the action is in the marina.  The three(Nick, Sara, and Elliot) get dragged into a murder at the marina where Nick's boat is harbored.   We also find out why Sara threw that frog on Elliot and what the consequences are.  I like Deadly Waters for it, cause I have an Idea for Deadly Seas, but....

Anyway, just 7 more days 'til Book Fest. I can't wait!

Why Twitter when you can blog?

So I got my business cards. Seems they were at the local UPS store. Who knew? :)

Didn't work very much on Flames.  Santino has harassed Sara and Nick has sent off a grievance to the Vampire council. Sara secretly taped Santino's harassment and let Santino's ex listen. So Santino will get it from both sides.   But you know that won't stop Santino's agenda.

Have a lot on my mind. Financial Woes.

The Ozark's Book Fest is only 14 days away.

http://ozarksindiebookfest.com/

I'm going to be broke when the Fest is here. So either PB&J or chicken salad sandwiches for me.  I wanted to stay at the hotel but I also didn't want to uproot my cat again.  Leaving him for the time I'll be at the Fest is bad enough, though he's used to me being gone all day Sundays but I didn't want to add being in a strange place to me being gone. And the money thing. NO MONEY=NO HOTEL

For an eye catcher, per se, I was thinking about doing a free raffle. They put their business card or a folded paper in a bowl and I draw a winner. I have two bags. One for each day.

Sno-caps, junior mints, journal, pens, and a wine glass.  They're in pretty Halloween treat bags.

I'm also thinking about taking the two books I made at the UPS store about my cat. I just want to see what people think since I'm thinking about doing a picture book through create space with images from his blog.

And yes he has his own blog. :)

I wrote a bit on Sidereal blog.  It has a pic of my new du, hair du that is. Got to look good for the Fest. And my hair was getting too long for work.

Also I'm thinking about bringing my Instax camera. It takes small polaroids, or however you spell it!
Anyway small instant pictures. I think it'd be fun. The film's expensive though. I have 10 shots left.

Got a costume for the after party, but don't know what to expect. Hopefully, we'll hear more about it before it happens. :)