So many of us are pushed for time these days.  Families demand our attention as do our civic commitments.  We get up early trying to get one extra thing done.  We stay up late trying to finish just one more thing from our ever-extending to-do list.

We need more time we groan.  And it’s true, we do need more time.  But…how much time do we manage to waste in a day?

The first thing you need to know is when is your most productive time of the day?  Early morning? Mid afternoon?  Late at night when even the mice are sleeping?

Second, limit the number of items on your ‘to-do’ list to four or five of the most CRITICAL items.  If you absolutely MUST pay your utility bill or be shut off, that becomes a critical item.  Forwarding on the latest Maxine cartoon is not. Read the rest of this entry »

Mythos 1: Bride of Death has been released by Aspen Mountain Press!  This is the first book in my Mythos series, a collection of Greco-Roman myths retold with a modern narrative voice.  I remain true to the original classical sources, which means reinjecting these stories with the original sensual context of the stories.  Most mythologies are of a sexual nature, and despite centuries of vanilla-izing still have those erotic overtones.  The story behind Bride of Death is the myth of Hades, the god of the Underworld, and his wife, Persephone, the personification of the spring maiden.  The story of their relationship was meant to explain the changing of the seasons–while the spring maiden is on earth with her mother, the world thrives and bears fruit.  But, when she is in the Underworld with her husband, winter descends upon the planet as Demeter grieves for her daughter.  Persephone is an early personification of sexual power–in the end, her allure is intense enough to bring Death himself to his knees.

You can pick up a copy of Mythos 1: Bride of Death at http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/bride-of-death/prod_304.html.  You can read an excerpt of the story either on that page or on my website Shoot The Muse! 

Synopsis:When the mischievous god of love targets Hades, the god of death falls hopelessly in love with the spring maiden Persephone, the one immortal most ill-suited for his dark domain. Her mother Demeter will never allow the Lord of the Underworld to court her beloved daughter. The king of the gods proposes an unconventional solution: Hades may kidnap Persephone and take her to the Underworld to woo her. If Persephone agrees to marry Hades, Zeus will support the match.

But neither god has reckoned on Demeter’s inconsolable grief at the loss of her daughter.  If Persephone is not returned to her, the goddess has vowed to destroy all life. Can Hades win Persephone’s heart before her mother discovers who has taken her? Or will Persephone make her own wishes known as the intended bride of death? Even in the world of immortals, time is not on Hades’ side.

Aspen Mountain Press will launch its new Aurora Regency imprint on July 21, 2010!  Aurora Regency at Aspen Mountain Press is a line devoted to Regency romance. Traditional Regency romances, as exemplified by Georgette Heyer’s work, are first and foremost historical fiction about a very specific (and short) era.  So what are we looking for? Hopefully, this will answer any questions you might have about Aurora Regency’s guidelines.

1)      We expect historical accuracy. This includes language, clothing, customs, etiquette, events and places.  Your book should have rich detail, the appropriate language and slang and an understanding of life in Regency England or, if set outside of England, according to the customs of the country.  That includes behavior appropriate to a character’s life, position and social situation. (For example: divorce was notan option in Regency England so no new divorcées gallivanting at Almack’s in competition with the Season’s loveliest debutantes.)  Historical accuracy will be a consideration in the acceptance of manuscripts and an integral part of the editing process. If your manuscript has several historical errors, you may be asked to revise and resubmit.

2)      We hope for novel plotlines or exciting new twists on old themes. We are open to paranormal or Gothic themes as long as these elements do not compromise the Regency romance genre. So if your impoverished but well-born governess falls in love with the lord of the manor that’s fine. Just make it interesting.

3)      We expect romance—oh, loads of it!  Every kind of hero is fair game in a Regency romance and our heroines should be head over heels in love with them.  But remember—this is a Regency romance.  Spice is okay; jalapeno salsa is not.   In an era were even the smallest infractions would lead to social ruin, well brought up young heroines were virgins on the wedding night. {However, if your Regency is about a member of the demimonde (a courtesan) and is erotic in nature, please indicate this in your query letter.} And, naturally, a HEA is the conclusion of choice.

4)      Great dialogue. In the Regency romance, conversation is well-crafted and engaging. Half of the process of falling in love occurs when the hero and heroine engage in a battle of wits.  Repartee is an art form; conversation is seduction. Anachronistic sayings or language are strongly discouraged.

5)      Society.  Society rules these characters’ lives.  The Season is capitalized for a reason.  As Jane Austen said in Pride and Prejudice, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Society dictates that universal truth, and in a Regency romance Society is where the bridal hunt is carried out.  It can be London or Bath or Brighton or even a simple country parsonage involved in county society—but society (either capitalized or not) is as big a character as any human being.

6)      Fun.  Above all, Regency romances are fun—both to read and to write.  The more adventures your madcap heroine has, the better.  Paranormal Regencies are acceptable as are the more intricate Regency murder mysteries. Even the darker side of the Regency world is fun.

So, do you think your Regency romance fits the bill? Then submit to us!  The Aurora Regency line is published by Aspen Mountain Press, a royalty-paying e-publishing company.  We do not charge fees for set up or charge for editing your story once it has been accepted for publication. Our contracts request rights to the contracted work, including digital and print formats as we will provide some of our titles in print later this year.

Aurora Regency is looking for well-researched Regency romances between 35,000 and 70,000 words, although we will bend on the upper word limit if the story merits it.  Please submit exactly and only the following if you wish your manuscript to receive serious consideration:A query letter in the body of an email with:

Your legal name, pseudonym if applicable and contact email.

Working Title

Manuscript Length

General story description in two paragraphs

Writing Credentials

Include the first chapter (or first twenty pages, whichever is shorter) embedded in the body of the email. We will not open attachments. If we like what we see, we will request the rest of the manuscript. 

If this is a simultaneous submission, please inform us of this in your query letter.  We will consider only COMPLETED manuscripts.  Aspen Mountain Press does not accept proposals from writers unknown to us. Aurora Regency at Aspen Mountain Press will open for submissions on February 15, 2010. Please send all questions and submissions to AuroraRegency@gmail.com.  We accept ONLY e-submissions.  Initial response times are anticipated to be no longer than 2 weeks. 

If you love gay romances with shapeshifters and a healthy dose of thriller, you will be sure to enjoy this week’s release by Emily Veinglory.  Kerry is a werewolf and Bern is a vampire and the two are on the run, seemingly from everybody.  A strange situation for two men employed by the local police agency.

Bern is a quiet sort of man who works as a receptionist at a police station.  He is legally registered as a vampire.  Not so, Kerry, a born werewolf, who is keeping his paranormal status quiet.  But when a murder takes place, Kerry knows that he’ll be suspect number one.  The victim was attacked by a wolf.

Prejuidice takes shape in all sorts of forms and this time it is between humans and ‘otherkin’; and between the ‘born’ not ‘made’ groups of paranormals.  Kerry and Bern have trouble all around them and it’s going to take a lot for an unasumming vampire to step up and keep Kerry safe.

Visit Aspen Mountain Press today and pick up a copy of Blue Murder.

At the end of January I attended Digital Book World in New York City.  The two day event was interesting. The first day was spent doing a lot of hand-holding for print publishers and talking about price-fixing (I’m pretty sure that is illegal according to anti-trust laws, but my history is rusty) and the Apple iPad.  There was even a speech about how publishers could save money on shipping by using another company’s product and procedure…that had absolutley nothing to do with digital books or digital publishing.

The real treat, for me, came on day two.  I listened to Raelene Gorlinsky tell the audience how Ellora’s Cave made $5 million dollars selling just eBooks within a few years of their opening (Ellora’s Cave is TEN this year); and that they’ve been around as long as they have been selling eBooks.  There was literally a corporate gasp from the tables near where I sat and then a stunned sort of silence.

Publishing has changed.  This isn’t new news.  In the ancient days, books, the few there were had to be copied by hand.  This made them highly valuable to the owner and costly as well.  Then along came Guttenberg.  Books came down in price.  Then came Luther and others like him who had the radical idea that books should be in your home language.  The Industrial Revolution automated the publishing material.  Costs dropped again. Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations, you got your first book contract and now the publisher wants you to go out and talk about your book. Where do you go? What do you do if you are a new author just starting out and don’t have an advance?

I found myself in this position a few years ago and discovered innovative ways to get my name out there. I looked for free places to go to chat with readers, introduce myself and “pimp” my book. I also talked to established authors on marketing ideas and made up a ton of free promo items at home off my computer like bookmarks, post cards and other items to send to review places/conventions as promotional items to get readers interested in my work.  

Blogs are great, yahoo loops, interviews, spotlights, a professional looking website and more all help get your name out to the readers. I try to do a blog spotlight a month and a few interviews or chats a week if possible. I go on loops and start asking reader questions, use my signature line with links for readers to go to.  I just started using Twitter, which I’v heard helps readers get to know you better.

It doesn’t have to cost a ton of money for you as a beginner author to get your name out there. All you need is perseverance and a little ingenuity to make your name known.

~*~*~*~

Raine Delight is the author of the Devon Falls series now available at Aspen Mountain Press

Our business is selling e-Books.

Sometimes selling e-Books isn’t as easy as the media and others would like us to believe.  Despite the fact that nearly two million new e-readers were sold by the end of 2009, a lot of people you might talk to on the street, in your place of worship, at work have not heard of them.

Many people are just now hearing about these portable devices thanks to commercials showcasing the Sony reader and the Nook from Barnes and Noble. 

But how will these new clients look for content for their readers?

That is where you, the author, need to think about the content of your story.

There are loads of products available via the web on how to promote your writing, but a good three quarters or more are dedicated to non-fiction writing.  So how can you take that information and apply it to your fiction work? Read the rest of this entry »

Seach in google for blogs with similar content/themes to your work and writing genre. Send emails to the owners and ask if they would consider letting you blog.  They usually will because people are always looking for content.

Announce your blogs daily ( a day or two before…you don’t want to make people sick of you, but you don’t want them to forget either) on the social networking sites like FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace.

Leave comments to get your name out there and you will find people sending you invitations, especially if your post is reasonably intelligent, not insulting, and is as free of errors as you can make it.  Don’t be afraid to get together with another author; don’t be afraid to brainstorm all sorts of possibilities and then search.  You may be very well surprised by what you find.

If you really want to make your writing stand out, you need to actively hunt for clichés in your prose.  Clichés are tried and true, yes, but they are also boring and lazy.  You are a writer who wants to tell the best possible tale…do so by hunting those cliché’s down and killing them.

This may require another author’s eyes.  A critique partner, even a beta reader if you tell them in advance that you want them  to look for clichés.

What are some clichés you can look for?  Here are a FEW.  There are thousands, if not more.

A breath of fresh air.

Dumb as a rock.

Dog tired.

Dog days of summer.

Fresh as a daisy.

Sardines in a can.

Sharp as a tack/pin.

Played like a violin/Stradivarius.

As cold as ice.

Better late than never.

Time flies/time flies when you’re having fun.

Old hat.

No bones about it.

Like the pot calling the kettle black.

Dead as a doornail.

Stiff as a board.

Bored stiff.

Bored to tears/death.

I think you get the idea.  These things creep into our writing without us being aware of them.  Frequently, it takes another set of eyes to reveal these clichés. 

You can take some of these and turn them on their head.  What if you said, “Dead as a zombie”?  This is fresh.  This gives you a different picture of someone that may be dead and just extremely tired.  If you are writing a zombie story, this would be a phrase we’d identify as a thematic phrase because it echoes what your tale is about…zombies.  And, of course, if you use this phrase, you get a very different sort of picture as zombies aren’t entirely dead.  Your character could be telling another character that this person who is dead as a zombie isn’t really dead.

Have fun killing clichés.  Doing so will improve your writing and make it fresh and memorable.

This came from a handout I got not too long ago.  I don’t know if they truly are Barbara Kingslover’s 10 Rules of Writing Fiction, but there is some good advice in them.

1. Your first sentence or paragraph makes a promise that the rest of the story or novel will keep.

2. Give your reader a reason to turn every page.

3. Keep a very large trash can beside your desk. (I follow these faithfully, though I’ve updated the wastebasket to a recycling box.)

4.  Show, don’t tell.  Everybody knows this rule, and most of us still break it in every first draft. Be ruthless. Throw out interior monologue.

Read the rest of this entry »