What An Author Owes the Reader

Alma T. C. Boykin The short answer is "probably nothing, unless you've paid for the story and I need to e-mail/ship it." However, a lot of people, even those who will answer "nothing," believe in an understood contract with readers, especially those of us who are indie writers. Traditionally published writers are a little more... Continue Reading →

The Blurb from the Abyss

[--Pam Uphoff--] Blurbs. The bane of many an author’s existence. They aren’t a brief synopsis, they’re a teaser. A hook. Something to get the potential reader to at least “look inside” if not just hit the buy now button. I'm pretty bad at them. So I just put up a book, with my usual last... Continue Reading →

Re-release me, let me go

I really always thought that was regrease me, let me glow... Today's prompt from wordpress was 'Who do you envy?' My thought at the moment would be people who don't have to play the waiting game for, it seems, everything going. I've never been much good at waiting, and it was always the trad author's... Continue Reading →

Save the Dragons

Just over twelve years ago, we were in the throes of emigrating from South Africa to this little island off the coast of Tasmania. It was a nightmarish, expensive bureaucratic process, that was actually very hard, aside from uprooting your whole life to move across the world to a little island where you knew no-one.... Continue Reading →

The Reluctant Publisher

I’ve been wearing my publisher’s hat for two weeks now. Editing, fixing the errors my beta readers find, as well as addressing their comments and questions. Formatting. Covers. (Why does it usually take me three covers to get them right. Or at least acceptable?) Front matter. Back matter. Ahh! Blurb, forgot the blurb again! And... Continue Reading →

The Ratel Saga

You know, I'm going to have to think about the titles we give books, if this one starts a trend. Publishing it wasn't supposed to be a saga. However, the best laid plans of... you know. It all went well until we encountered the Amazon. This is the fourth? Fifth? coloring book/children's book I've managed.... Continue Reading →

No Problemo, Dudette!

  Actually, the Work-in-Progress has a problem. Which is that the Characters are cruising competently through all the steps they need to solve the problem, without a setback, a misstep, or a single failure. This is not good. It is, in fact, a good way to bore the reader. Drat. Now I  have to kill... Continue Reading →

Oh, Publishing

I admit it. I woke up this morning without a clue what to blog about. So I went walking through the interwebs. Surely, I'd find something to inspire me. Right? Well, yes and no. I found one article that had me thinking, another that left me going "wut?" and a final one that reminded me... Continue Reading →

A Week In

It's been a week since the release of Can't Go Home Again, and it's been an eventful week. Not just because of the holiday, although that's certainly a thing... ours involved a small peaceful day at home munching leftovers from the work feast on Wednesday, and there will be another feast with friends today. There... Continue Reading →

Writer Be Aware

Just a quick post this morning because I'll be leaving shortly to take Mom for another procedure on her back. In other words, my brain is elsewhere and has been, so I've gone trolling through various sites relating to writing and the various groups I belong to and have come up with a few things... Continue Reading →

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