There are some words authors should try their hardest to avoid.  Two of them are “very” and “that”.

“Very” is a word used for padding.  Advice often given to authors is to use one word rather than two when describing something.  What is meant by this oft repeated but little understood expression?  On the most basic level one should not describe something as “very blue” but sea blue, ice blue, battleship grey, forest green, rather than use the throwaway “very”.  If one word will suffice, use it instead.  Rather than the green stuff growing on the rock, name it precisely…moss, lichen, whatever the green stuff really is.

How good is “very good”?  Excellent, perfect, 99.9% accurate, barely above average?  Very doesn’t tell the reader anything of importance.  “Very” is an excellent word to eliminate in most circumstances.

The same can be said of the word “that”.  Frequently, the word “that” serves no real purpose in a sentence and when deleted the fundamental meaning of the sentence hasn’t changed.  There will be instances where you have to use “that”; you can’t get rid of all of them, but do try. 

I just wanted to stop by and let you know a few wonderful things that have happened to me lately.  First, I was nominated by the lovely folks at Love Romances and More as Best New Author of 2007 and my book, The Reckoning of Asphodel was nominated for Best Sci Fi/Fantasy Novel of 2007.  Thanks, everyone, for the honor and to everyone who voted.  Then, Asphodel was nominated for Best Sci Fi/Fantasy Novel of 2007 by Preditors & Editors for their annual Readers Poll.  I’m very proud to announce that Asphodel placed tenth–and I now have a shiny new .gif image to add to my various sites.  Asphodel has been getting great reviews (again, thank you LR&M for the fabulous five hearts review!) which is fabulous because the second book in the series, The Gift of Redemption is due out this spring from Aspen Mountain Press.

So, because of all these wonderful things, I’m running a BLOG CONTEST!  Yep,  you too can win a copy of The Reckoning of Asphodel!  All you have to do is visit my blog and post a comment and you’re entered.  Contest ends on Valentine’s Day (cuz I luvs you guyz) and the winner gets not only a copy of my book, but a brand spanking new not shared with anybody LOLCat AND a reserved copy of Book Two.  You’ll get your copy the day that Redemption is released!

On top of that, if you bring a friend and have them mention your name in their post, I’ll enter you again.  Just think how many entries you could have if all of your friends stop by! Go to Elf-Killing and Other Hobbies (follow the linkie) and enter.

So this is my universal ‘thank you’ for everyone who has helped Asphodel become successful.  Have a great day!

Celina

You Are Rum

You’re the life of the party, and a total flirt. You are also pretty picky about what you drink. Only the finest labels and best mixed cocktails will do. Except if you’re dieting - then it’s Diet Coke and Bicardi all the way.

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

Don’t be shy, try this quiz and then post your response on the Aspen Mountain Press yahoo loop. We have a whole series featuring alcoholic drinks…maybe yours will show up as one of the Del Fantasma titles…

So far we have:
Texas Tea
Sea Breeze
Screaming Orgasm
Undertow
Slow Fuzzy Screw
and Black Wolf

This week, our drink of the month is Silk Panties, number seven in the series set in a paranormal bar just outside San Diego in the fictional Vista Loma area.

I love writing.  I spend over ten hours a day at my desk.  And I am so happy that Aspen Mountain Press saw fit to publish my debut novel The Reckoning of Asphodel.  For now, just before the sequel The Gift of Redemption comes out in the spring, Asphodel is starting to get some great reviews and even an award.

Let’s start off with this: The Reckoning of Asphodel is epic high fantasy.  It has a strong female protagonist and enough romance and chivalry to satisfy the romance reader.  There’s also enough blood, guts, war, magic, and prophecy to make the fan of traditional fantasy happy.  Personally, I love epic fantasies.  Tolkien is my hero, just as Hope Mirrlees was.

More on that in a bit.

First review was from Love Romances & More.  Asphodel received five out of five stars and this is part of what the reviewer said: “…THE RECKONING OF ASPHODEL is a wonderfully complex story that lures the reader in and delivers a fast pace ride that leaves you breathless. All this reviewer could do was hanging on for the ride! New author Celina Summers delivers a stunning novel that captures the readers’ attention on the first page and never lets up until the last page is turned…”

Melissa at Dogwild *some of you know her ;)* said in her very lovely review “…The Reckoning of Asphodel is high elven fantasy at its best and I can’t wait for the rest of the story to unfold. This story needs to be in print so I can drag it around with me for reading without banging my laptop up…”

Then came this weekend.  I received a third review from Novelspot.com which read in part: “The Reckoning of Asphodel, by Celina Summers, is traditional high fantasy, with chivalric knights and wood-wise elves, beautiful princesses and wise female seers, good and evil sorcerers and magicians. It’s written in the language typical of the genre. It is, however, much better written, with more complex characters and situations, than many similar books. This is a serious fantasy novel, not the verbal equivalent of a computer game…”

That’s not what got me.  This was: “…The style reminds me a bit of Hope Mirrlees’ Lud-in-the-Mist…”

Oh my goodness.  Dang.  That blew me away.  Well, that and this:  

Don’t really know what to make of that one.  Those of you who voted for Asphodel, thank you.  If you enjoyed that first book, I sincerely hope you catch the second.  The Gift of Redemption, Book Two in the Asphodel series, should be out in 2008.  I’ll give you more details as soon as I can.  Thanks for suffering through my bragfest too.

In the end, you have to give it up for the authors and editorial staff at AMP.  There’s something for everyone here, and you can’t go wrong with the books that AMP offers.  If you want to learn more about me or the Asphodel series, check out my blog or my website.  Follow the linkies and you can find a wealth of information.

Once again, thanks!

Chat with Aline de Chevigny, Maura Anderson, Melissa Glisan, and Michelle Hasker from Aspen Mountain Press at Realms of Love. These smart and witty ladies have some very hot releases at AMP and there will be give-aways of ebook downloads during the chat.  Join us for the fun Monday at 9 PM EST, Monday, January 28.

Title: Night Moves Authors: Matt Brooks, Erastes, Kiernan Kelly, Kira Stone Artist: Deana Jamroz ISBN: 978-1-60168-083-9 Genre: M/M Vampire Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press Publication Date: 01/25/2008 Sexual Content: M/M Erotic Paranormal

Four stories of vampires and their lives and how they interact with those around them make up this hot m/m anthology.

In Theron’s Boys Kiernan Kelly tells of a group of men seduced by the vampire Theron and the not so pleasant way he controls their lives.

Matt Brooks poses the question in Inferno about what happens to a vampire who hasn’t been turned completely because he doesn’t have the heart to hunt.

An artist is given his greatest commission and perhaps a chance to pay off his family’s debt to his Patron in Chiaroscuro by Erastes.

Finally, Kira Stone’s Immortal Steps reveals a hidden vampire society amongst our own where being a person with vampiric DNA can be dangerous when Hunters want you for your hormonal serum and the larger sum your body parts will bring.

Click here to read an excerpt.

All writers seem to be tempted at one time or another to include in their stories the history of their main characters.  In writer jargon this is known as backstory.

DON’T!

Start on the day that is different, in the middle of a tense conflict if at all possible.  This advice goes as far back as Aristotle who said a story should start “in the midst of things.”

Should you, the author, know backstory for your characters? Absolutely.  Just don’t tell the reader.  You see, that backstory could easily be a pivotal point in your tale, the secret that shocks the heck out of us.

Two books from AMP won Honorable Mentions in the Love Romances Cafe Best of 2007 Poll.

Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyan.

Babes in Toyland II by Maura Anderson, Jeanne Barrack, Raine Delight, Melissa Glisan, Wayne Greenough, Michelle Hasker, Dawn Montgomery and Skylar Sinclair.

Congratulations to our wonderful authors!

Every author wants to sell books.  Loads of them.

Every publisher wants every author to sell books.  Loads of them. 

The competition is fierce.  Thousands of books are released every month.  How can anyone possibly “stick out” from all the rest?  There is no easy way to get noticed, but there are seven simple things you can do to help the process.

Have a media page on your website.  You DO have a website, right?

On your media page include a brief bio (500 words or so).  Your bio should include a photo and any special credentials you have.

Next, include information about your product…for authors that would be your book(s).

A third thing to include is to share ideas that the media could use to base a story around you.  Were you almost kidnapped in a foreign country?  Did you overcome a handicap of some sort?  Did you participate in an unusual activity or do something special at an unusual age (like Grandma Moses starting to paint late in life)?

The media also likes it when you lessen their work, so a fourth thing to include are interview questions and upcoming personal appearences if you have them.  You can use these questions to guide the media in getting the information you want covered out to the public.

Fast facts about you is yet another item to include on your media page.

Testimonials are another thing the media is interested in.  Has your novel given someone encouragement? Did a reader write in to say how much they were touched by your story?  Those are testimonials.  Gather them, ask for them, post them on your media page.

Have you had other media coverage? Blog talk radio, newspaper articles, interviews?  Other media release information is item number seven to include on your media page.  Have this information available in a number of formats…something that can be downloaded in a PDF version, stored digitally on your computer so you can send the info electronically, and on-line so someone researching you can access vital information including upcoming appearances.

No one thing can guarantee success especially in the publicity realm.  Being prepared through having information readily available to a producer looking for that special “human interest” or “local angle” for a story will put you ahead of others; those who think a writer isn’t supposed to do anything to get noticed. 

This is the first in an intermittent series of posts I hope will be useful to the authors and prospective authors out there but also an interesting insight into the things editors (or at least THIS editor) notices in manuscripts and submissions.

Today I’d like to talk about the order in which events happen. The main mantra of any series of events is Action THEN Reaction.

In order to jump away from a threat, the threat has to exist. It doesn’t make much sense for a person to leap backward first, then for the speeding car to turn the corner and veer toward where they had been. (Well, not for anything other than a paranormal story, perhaps).

Readers notice these issues. Sometimes consciously but sometimes all they will be able to tell you is the scene seemed odd or mixed up.

But there’s a deeper sequence within reaction. Some reactions normally happen faster than others. Sub-conscious or instinctive reactions will always take precedence over conscious reactions.

Think about what happens when:

Action:
- Put your hand down on a hot stove.

Reactions:
- Snatch hand back
- Clutch or wave hand to try to stop the pain
- Yell “OUCH” (or bad words of choice)
- Put hand under cold water

So if you look at what the reactions are, you can see the most instinctive reaction is first — the reaction to a pain stimulus. Then an only slightly less deep-seated reaction to ease the pain. Then comes the more conscious ones, ending with the most conscious one which is to remember what to do about the pain as far as first aid.

A trick to figuring out if you have events in the correct order is to sort of picture the scene in your mind and walk through what would happen, sort the reactions in order of instinct, then write it that way.

If a character hits the wall hard enough to lose his breath, you shouldn’t have the character impact the wall, then the character say something (other than “oof”), then say he has his breath knocked out of him and grunts. If you impact the wall, the first instinctive reaction and one that is out of the character’s control is to lose his breath. A conscious thought to say something wouldn’t be able to happen in there.

It’s also important to remember that readers like to have discrete actions in sequence rather than many actions happening at once. I’ll talk more about that later, though.

Action THEN Reaction in the correct order will help readers to follow your story the way you intended.

Feedback is welcome and feel free to suggest things you’d like to see in this blog series.