The Best Laid Plans

About a year ago (Yeah, that long, I’m slow, OK?) I gave myself a new challenge. After all, the last one I gave myself went fairly well. So why not? Right? I mean, we all want to improve our craft. At least those of us who are serious writers do.

That was my aim; to hone my craft, to become a better writer. And what better way to attempt that than to give myself a new, more difficult challenge.

“What challenge?” you might well ask. I wrote my first book in multiple third person point(s) of view. That accomplishment made me proud, especially when I held my work of art in my eager hands. (don’t laugh, it’s not polite) For the sequel I gave myself a new challenge. To write in the first person and still make the story move forward. I am writing a trilogy, so the whole plot had to move forward, not just the life of Liannis, my main character. I think it worked. At least, that is what readers and reviewers tell me. Continue reading “The Best Laid Plans”

Is She Geeking Out AGAIN?

Author Eva Caye

by Eva Caye
I can’t help myself. As an author, words are important to me. My goal is to write with clarity, but sometimes I have to consult Thesaurus.com, tasting the flavor of all possible words to pick the precise one I need. That’s when ‘It Happens’; when I’m stuck in word-selection-mode, I get a little geeky.

The OCD-editor-in-my-brain cackles madly. “Showtime!” She hovers behind me as I pull up the online thesaurus. “Mission parameters?” Continue reading “Is She Geeking Out AGAIN?”

Ed’s Casual Friday: So You Want to be an Indie…

Why not, right? All that seems to be involved is uploading an unedited Word file, then buying a basket to catch all the money that will immediately shower down upon you. However, as there may be the occasional snare along this way, asking yourself the following ten questions ahead of time may save you some surprises later.

1.)    Have you written a book?

Indie News Beat with Chris James

IU Ace Reporter Chris James

The big publishing story over the last few weeks has undoubtedly been the sock-puppet scandal. First broken by the New York Times, suddenly we were drowning in stories, articles and opinions from it seemed everyone in publishing. But just as suddenly as the elephant in the room was acknowledged, so it disappeared.

The general outrage that a few bad apples in the Indie movement would actually pay for multiple, glowing reviews on Amazon, soon diffused when stories appeared reporting that some mainstream authors were also not averse to puffing their own work, while sticking the knife into their competitors. Likely the mainstream authors will suffer more in the short term, given their higher profile, but all this summer flurry really did was draw more attention to the intense competition on Amazon, and the shortfalls of its rating and review system. Continue reading “Indie News Beat with Chris James”