HOW TO GET YOUR eBOOK TO GO VIRAL

Go to Vesper's fun blog:
http://chickwithaquill.blogspot.com/


for a fun, detailed review of LUCIFER'S ORPHAN

BUT NOW:

Have you been curious 

about Meilori?

Who she is?

What she is?

How does she deals with those around her?

See for yourself

in 

{Only 99 cents}

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPFOJNO

Three days go my visitor tally shot up to 900 daily.  Two days ago 1100 visited my blog.  Today 1300 visited.

SO HOW DO YOU GET YOUR eBOOK TO GO VIRAL?

It is beyond social media.  

You can’t tweet or Facebook yourself into viral status. Your publisher can’t even make it happen. 

 It rarely happens to the common A-list author names – 

 they became A-listers after their viral debut – it’s usually something fresh, from a fresh face.

 The criteria for putting your book into a position to go viral is almost exactly that associated with getting published in the first place.  

The book has to work.  Really, really well.
 
That said, viral books tend to do a couple of specific things really well: 

1.) They are often “high concept” (rather than character-driven, even though they introduce great characters),

with exceptional execution across all the story basics.

2.)  They also deliver something else, almost without exception: they seize the inherent compelling power of underlying story physics in way that exceeds the competition.

These two realms of story – 
compelling concept, 
with exceptionally strong underlying essences, is what gets you into the viral game.

YAWN! Right?  Isn't that what everyone does?




Not really. 

They don’t address these as goals.  

 Some authors just write their story, write it well, let it evolve organically, and hope somebody out there gets it.  

This may get them published, but it doesn’t usually get them on Oprah Winfrey.

 The viral book is driven by hero empathy, 

while delivering a vicarious ride.

  It isn’t the plot, and it isn’t character.  

No, this is about the reader.

 It’s about the reader transporting themselves into this world… going on this ride… feeling it… wanting to be the hero… 

wishing it was them… 

the reader completely engaging in this journey 

on a personal level.

More of this in other posts ...

REMEMBER:

You can still get FREE:

Thank all of you for making this #6!

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,975 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #6 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing Skills

LEARN TO WRITE BETTER AND LAUGH ALONG THE WAY!

 {Hit your cursor on the cover to be taken to the Amazon book page}

HOW HAVE I INCREASED MY VISITORS?

I do not know for sure but lately I have:

1.)  GIVEN 2 FREE BOOKS AWAY EACH WEEK

2.)  DONE EVERY FEW DAYS A DIFFERENT INTRO FOR MY SHORT STORY IN WENDY'S ANTHOLOGY.

3.)  WEEKLY DID A POST TO BUILD UP INTEREST IN SIV MARIA'S EXCELLENT SECRETS OF THE ASH TREE (not just one on the day everyone else did).

4.) PARTICIPATED IN TWO HALLOWEEN BLOGHOPS, INCLUDING A 3RD: MY OWN

5.) OFFERED FAIRLY NEAT PRIZES IN SEVERAL CONTESTS OF MY OWN.

6.) PUT OUT A NEW BOOK AT 99 CENTS.

7.) WROTE POSTS CENTERING ON ISSUES AUTHORS AND GENERAL READERS WOULD BE DRAWN TO.

My increased traffic might be due to some of those or none of those.  Unlike Ratatoskr, I admit I am mostly clueless!

Here is a trailer for a movie that went viral.  See how it drew in the audience:

SECOND AVENUE SECOND HAND Anthology_ Read It If You Dare

 

In Bottle Bay, I am called Mr. Blank.  Sometimes Adam risks more than he knows by calling me Oddman.

 

I have been called so many names ... most of them earned in horror and madness.

 

Come.  Sit down in my quaint, dark curio shop:

 

 

We shall talk of Horror and Humor, Wonder and Awe:

 

The knowledge of hidden things ...

 

Spellbinding tales, experiences which scour the soul, and unforgettable journeys into madness and the unknown.

 

All these things come at a price you know.

 

Everything in this world, and in the next, has its price.

 

The price at first seems so small until you realize it is only the first down-payment.

 

Hit your cursor over the book above.  Buy it.  You know you want to.  After all, there is no such things as cursed objects ... or cursed eBooks.  Is there?
 

DEMON SHE CALLS ME

 

"Demon" she calls me.  Rose Red calls me names.  That is almost funny.  Almost.

Am I a demon you ask?  Don't look to me for straight answers.  The world doesn't give you straight answers.

At least not in Bottle Bay.



Bottle Bay is such a quaint little town.  Turn one street and you walk into rubble and death.  Turn onto the next street ...


and Death runs after you.

Bottle Bay deserves the Second Avenue Secondhand Shop.  It is said that its customers deserve the cursed objects they buy there.

Maybe.  Maybe not.  All I know is that my only friend in the world deserved better than he got. 

And he got two, not one, cursed objects with the damnedest price to both ...

Compassion.

How did compassion buy Adam death and damnation?  I'll let him tell you in ...

 

Sure, you'll never have a good night's sleep again. You don't believe me?  Who could blame you?

After all, I am called a demon.  As if you humans knew what that word meant.

Hit your cursor over the book's image, and you'll be taken to the stuff nightmares are made of.

IS THERE ANY HOPE?

THIS JUST IN!THE LAST SHAMAN is

#73 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Native American

Sometimes it feels as if there isn't any hope, doesn't it?

Wendy Tyler Ryan once had an intriguing post http://waitingforpublication.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-dont-think-they-know.html

Donna Hole had another one some time back (and no, not just because she mentioned me ... well, maybe a little.)
http://donnahole.blogspot.com/2010/11/nano-day-2-browsing-blog-roll.html

It does seem as if the publishing industry doesn't have any room for readers or writers interested in what the over-thirty dream, yearn, or struggle for.

Take Edward the sparkly 200 year old vampire. What does he see in a shallow, angst-filled, self-absorbed teenager? Isn't he really just a young looking pedophile?

Maxwell Perkins, editor of Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, would have tossed Stephanie Meyers' work in the reject pile with a disgusted sigh.

But it is a different market : a youth-oriented, visual, me-generation market.

Everyone get up, look up at the night with its fading moon, and say it : CRAP!

All right, now that we have it out of our systems, what can we do?

There are several approaches :

1.) We use both a young protagonist and a mature mentor. Think AUNTIE MAME, THE SWORD IN THE STONE, the first STAR WARS. I chose this route with my THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH.

2.) Focus on an older protagonist with a youngster needing protection. Think THE ROAD, the new movie THE WARRIOR'S WAY, LONE WOLF AND CUB, and the Tom Hanks' movie, THE ROAD TO PERDITION.

3.) Use an intelligent adult for your protagonist and place him/her in a situation that chills the blood or staggers the imagination.

As in these two set-ups :

A) Your MC goes into a confessional, only to hear the priest babble about becoming Other, then the priest shoots himself.

Your MC throws the door of the confessional open only to see the priest is half-circuitry, melded into the very metal of the small room. One by one, all those your MC knows become Other in some strange way or other.

B) You wake up one morning, go to work, only to find your co-workers have faded like a photo left out too long in the sun. Day by day they fade more and more until they are all black and white, leaving you in a world full of color.

Worse, they become more and more dead-faced and robot-like until you catch them whispering ominously behind your back in a strange buzzing not unlike worker bees.


There is hope, fellow strugglers. THE LORD OF THE RINGS caught the hearts and minds of high schoolers and college-aged with hobbits, old wizards, dwarfs, elves, and a long-lived human named Aragon.

How can you bring hope to your novel?

Make the magic real. Even if your protagonist is older, keep a child-like sense of wonder and curiosity to his/her world.

And now, a little practical nuts-n-bolts advice that was sparked by Donna's post :

If you find yourself feeling hopeless with the words dammed up inside your wheel-spinning mind, it is probably caused by one of five things :

1) Overwork -
Stop writing for a few days. When you're ready to start singing tales into the night once more, you will know when the keyboard stops being forboding and starts to become a delightful toy again.

2) Boredom -
Put your novel down no matter how close you are to the finish line. Start that new idea that has been buzzing around in the back of your mind. Trust me. If your novel has begun to bore you, it will certainly bore the agent to whom you submit.

3) Self-Doubt -
Starting something new will work here as well. The joy of the new idea will spark your love of writing which led you into this profession in the first place. Then, read the first few new pages and see if you can find echoes of your old work in them.

After a few days of your new project, go back to where you were in your old novel. Read the five pages prior to your stop-point. Then, write on the novel again. It will be reborn. Trust me.

4) Financial Worries -
Tough one. No easy remedy here. You must solve them or lighten them somehow.

If it means stopping the writing to take a second job, then that is what you must do. Family comes first. Dreams second. Those months spent apart from your keyboard will sow your unconscious mind with new ideas.

5) Emotional Problems -
If charged relationships are shortcircuiting your muse, you must find a safe, neutral way to sit down with your loved one and talk through what is eating away at you.

It will clear the air between the two of you or bring a much-needed lance to a painful boil. Have a rear-exit stragedy already in place just in case things should go south. No relationship or person is or can be perfect. Look at areas where you can grow.

In the end, the only person you can change is yourself. Sometimes retreat is better than painful staying in an unhealthy situation or relationship.

There is hope ... for your writing ... for your life -- if only you do not give up on yourself and your own worth.
***


***

Victor Standish's new favorite read : VAMPIRE IN THE OUTFIELD

I sat with my nose happily in my Kindle. My ghoul friend, Alice, flowed silently beside me.

My trap was set. I kept busily turning the pages with the button, apparently not noticing her fidget. I smiled wickedly.

"How do you wiggle without moving?," I couldn't keep from laughing.

"How do you keep on reading with me in this short skirt and low Gothic Lolita top?"

I grinned slyly, "Peripheral vision is a beautiful thing."

Alice snatched Walter's gift from my hands. "Oh, you!"

She smacked me on top of the head with my Kindle. "Ouch! But hey, the eyeful I got was worth it."

Father Renfield was suddenly by Alice's side. He took VAMPIRE IN THE OUTFIELD from Alice.

"Walter gave that to me."

I smiled wide, "I figured you knew all about vampires, Padre."

His sharp canines showing, Father Renfield glowered at me. "Maybe Walter thought I could do with a few laughs?"

Captain Sam smiled at the smoldering Alice, tugging up her Gothic Lolita top. "I think Victor just gave a few to us."

"To you, men, perhaps," murmured Ada Byron.

She curled an arm around my ghoul friend, making me figet as I remembered her, ah, thoughts on what gender was sexy. "Come, Alice. Let us girls put our heads together."

Alice showed her much too sharp teeth at me. "Yes, payback is a terrible thing to waste."

I groaned. I was always too smart for my own good!

Oh, if you guys want to read VAMPIRE IN THE OUTFIELD yourselves, go to :

http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-in-the-Outfield-ebook/dp/B0057P3CMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1309058032&sr=1-1

Oh, Olivia, Alice, Captain Sam, the Padre, and the rest of us at Meilori's wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. And Wendy Tyler Ryan, you enjoy that jazz concert and get better, you hear?!p>
***

THE LAST FAE has her own page on PREVIEW THE BOOK

STOP THE PRESSES!

THE LAST FAE has her own page on the website PREVIEW THE BOOK :

http://www.previewthebook.com/

What's even better?

THE LAST FAE is keeping company with FIRE'S DAUGHTER! How's that for a team-up?

http://www.previewthebook.com/book.php?id=3144


http://www.previewthebook.com/book.php?id=3145

COME CHECK OUT OUR TRAILERS & BOOST US UP IN THE RATINGS!
***
I still want some snow INSIDE MY SWELTERING APARTMENT!!

THE LAST FAE

Here I am in the air-conditioned refuge of BOOKS-A-MILLION.

The creative genius of Wendy Tyler Ryan has struck again. She has crafted a true gem of a book trailer for my mythic paranormal epic, THE LAST FAE.

The more we live,

the more we realize that there are layers within layers of what we consider reality. Children look at life and see magic.

Adults look at life and see deadlines and ghosts of dreams.

Physicians gaze at passers-by and see signs of disease. Economists look at the headlines and see patterns, predictors of future woes.

What would one who had lived centuries in the shadows see as she gazed upon humans, both cursed and blessed with lifespans of gnats?

Come. Pull up a seat in the shadows. Listen to THE LAST FAE.

***

WENDY TYLER RYAN & FIRE'S DAUGHTER and SELF-PUBLISHING

After Hibbs got over the shock of "pawing" it from Utah to Canada,

he and I made pretty good time to the lovely home of Wendy Tyler Ryan.

Hibbs collapsed in the flower bed, moaning about paws worn down to nubs. And Wendy and I started our interview :

Roland :

Wendy, why the decision to self-publish?

Wendy :
In the beginning, it was terrifying to even consider it. I foolishly thought that self-publishing had this dark, black aura around it.

The query road was long and hard, but also affirming. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "great writing, but..."

- "wonderfully executed, but"...

I soon realized that the market was tight and narrowly focused with regards to genre.

My main character didn't bite or shapeshift so I was out. I believe that every genre is a "niche genre".

Someone somewhere will want to read what you've written, so I dove in.

Roland :
And your cover alone is a work of art, much less your magnificent book trailer. But what do you think is the biggest drawback to self-publishing?

Wendy:
There isn't an easy answer to that, but for one, just learning how to do it all can be a huge challenge.

I know there are services out there, but most can't afford them.

By the time you pay this person and that person and the other person, how many books are you going to have to sell to make that money back?

My advice would be to pay for the services you absolutely can't do on your own and learn how to do the rest.

I can't stress enough how important a cover is to a book. Equally important is the editing. Don't put a book out with spelling errors and poor grammar.

Another huge undertaking will be marketing your book. Unless you know thousands of people personally, you are going to have to spend a great deal of energy on finding creative ways to get it in front of people.

Once you've exhausted your friends and family list, you can't let your book wallow in obscurity. You will have to be vigilant.

Hibbs sticks his head in the window :
French Quarter what?

Roland:
That's right, furface. Laugh it up. Just because your book has 8 great reviews and Sam doesn't! Anyway, Wendy, do you think you will find that "niche" for your book?

Wendy:
I hope so. Fire's Daughter is the first book in my Fire Through Time trilogy. It is a Fantasy Romance with a medieval feel and a healthy dose of adventure.

After all, who doesn't love a woman with a sword?

Hibbs snickers from the window :
Guess who has an autographed picture of Xena on his wall?

Wendy kindly ignores my furry friend :
And who doesn't love a woman who risks everything for the one man she loves?

After maturely sticking his tongue out at Hibbs, Roland asks :
After your trilogy is finished, what's next?

Wendy:
After the trilogy I plan to publish what I guess would be classified as "women's fiction" (can you tell I hate genre labels?)

The title is "Between Friends" and it's the story of two women who meet and become the best of friends,

each unaware that they are involved with the same man. I might have to sell a box of tissues with each copy!

Roland :
It certainly sounds like it will be a grave test for those two women's friendship. But I'm a sucker for books or movies like BEACHES. Thank you, Wendy, for being such a gracious host.

Wendy :
No, thank you so much, Roland, for letting me blather on about myself and my book, I really appreciate it.

Hibbs, his head still sticking through the open window :
Really? You got any honey?

***

WENDY TYLER RYAN & LEMON TWIST PRESS

Hibbs : Mr. Roland, I'm just too pooped from walking all the way to Canada again.

You're going to have to interview Miss Wendy by yourself. Oooh, my aching paws!

Roland :

Hi, Wendy. Your Lemon Twist Press did a lovely job on my book trailer.

Wendy Tyler Ryan :

It was my pleasure, Roland.

Roland :

Just what is Lemon Twist Press?

Wendy :

Lemon Twist Press was born because I'm Canadian and because I didn't want CreateSpace to be listed on my print book as the publisher of record.

Sounds weird, I know. First of all, here in Canada I don't have to pay for my ISBN numbers so why wouldn't I get my own?

I only found this out myself a short time ago, thanks to Smashwords.

Needless to say, I was thrilled. One of the things I needed to supply in order to get my ISBN was a publisher name.

Well, you can imagine that I really didn't like the idea of - written by: Wendy Tyler Ryan; Publisher: Wendy Tyler Ryan,

so, Lemon Twist Press was born.

When trying to come up with a name, I wanted my own "Cellar Door". Cellar door is supposed to be the most beautiful combination of phonaesthetics in the English language.

Go ahead and snicker, Hibbs, but Lemon Twist Press was it for me.


Roland :
Is Lemon Twist Press a Real Publisher?

Wendy :
Yes and no!

It is my publisher because that's what it will say on my books.

While I would love nothing better than to start helping others publish,

right now I will be Lemon Twist Press' only client. I am hoping that will change.

I have been looking into what it would take to get a small e-publishing business off the ground for quite some time, but as you know, I am working on overdrive to try and get the first novel in my trilogy out.

Fire's Daughter, Book I in the Fire Through Time trilogy.

It will be out in the next couple of weeks and it is my priority right now.

I should say that, if all goes well, I would like to help good writer's have a voice regardless of commercial bent or genre.

And while it is true that anyone can self-publish now, not everyone has the wherewithal to go through all of the technical steps to do it well.

I have found my own experience to be a real challenge simply because the information you need to succeed is scattered far and wide throughout cyberspace.

It has been a real learning experience and I can see that it wouldn't be for everyone.

Roland :
Which is where Papyrus Productions came in, right?

Wendy :
Exactly.

Roland :
Just what is Papyrus Productions anyway?

Wendy :
Papyrus Productions came about after making my own book trailer.

I found the whole process completely fascinating and incredibly satisfying.

I have always been artistic in some fashion and it is something I enjoy very much. I am very interested in helping self-published writers and small presses develop book trailers to compete in the marketplace.

A trailer is a wonderful opportunity to interest readers.

An indie author is already at somewhat of a disadvantage when competing with the "big boy" publishing houses,

you want to give your book every chance you can for success.

Book trailers are one way for you to compete on a level playing field.

Roland :
I've always been curious about book trailers. See? Even Hibbs is wrinkling his brow. Just what's Involved In Making A Book Trailer?

Wendy :
When you see the final product, it may not appear that complex,

but it really is so much more than just stringing a few pictures together and adding some music.

I'm sure you've all seen one or two really "bad" trailers that are hard to read with the wrong music and conflicting images.

You have to understand the premise and tone of the book first and then choose the images to suit. It can be a very time consuming venture.

As somewhat of a perfectionist, I find it important that the images are in keeping with the author's vision.

The music is another time consuming matter.

You could literally spend hours searching for the right bit of music with the right tone, but of course, you have to know when to say "when" and get down to business.

Now, all these images have to be paid for and the music has to be licensed for use on a video on the web.

Those who are using any old music for their videos, are in copyright violation.

Music costs considerably more than images.

Just as we writers don't want anyone taking our hard work without paying for it, the same is true for images and music -

it must be paid for and the appropriate licenses obtained.

Once all that is done, the timing of the images to the written text is an intricate process.

Each adjustment you make to a single frame, throws off the timing of the following frame - it's a fine balancing act to arrive at the final cut, but well worth it.

Roland :
The talk of all that work wore out poor Hibbs. See? He is sleeping away -- as modern publishing seems to be sleeping through the changes modern technology is making in their world. What do you see as the future of Indie Authors?

Wendy :
I feel the Indie Author is here to stay. There is no turning back.

Yes, there will be works out there that probably shouldn't see the light of day, but the same is true in the world of traditional publishing.

Like J.A. Konrath says, "the cream will rise" just like in anything else.

The good writers will be found, and they are the one's who will succeed.

Somethings else Konrath says is, "people will judge a book by its cover".

If you do nothing else, spend some money on your book cover.

You have one shot on Amazon to make an impression, it's all you've got.

At the very least, use CreateSpace's cover creator tool.

They have pre-designed templates that let you mix and match a little and you can even upload your own images.

My book cover was important to me.

I hired someone to do the cover art and then my wonderfully talented photographer son used his mad Photoshop skills to do my layout -

back cover and spine.

He did a flawless job and you would never know the three pieces were not created together.

If you know someone with these skills, bribe them to help you!

I am trying to talk my son into joining my business to become my cover designer extraordinaire,

and it will be one more service that Papyrus Productions can offer the indie author.

So, Yes, Lemon Twist along with Papyrus, are fledgling companies,

but we have to start somewhere.

And somewhere, in the midst of all this, I have the second book in my trilogy to finish and the third one to write.

Whew!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

Hibbs, yawning :
That kind of thinking always works for this cub with no clue!

Wendy (scratching behind Hibbs' wiggling ears) :
Thank you, Roland, for this wonderful opportunity.

It was a pleasure to create the Trailer for Rites of Passage and I hope you are pleased with the outcome.

Roland :
I am esctastic about your artistry in my book trailer.

Wendy :
I look forward to working on your next endeavour, French Quarter Nocturne.

Thanks, Roland

Roland :
No, thank you for your kindness and warm hospitality. C'mon, Hibbs. It's a long walk to our apartment.

Hibbs :
Oooh, aching paws don't fail me now!
***

W is for WOW!_Isn't WENDY TYLER RYAN something special?

Wasn't that a fantastic, mind-blowing book trailer?

Not because of my book. {Well, maybe a little. LOL.}

But mainly because of the artistry and extraordinarily hard work of :

WENDY TYLER RYAN!

Her Papyrus Productions --
http://lemontwistpress.com/BookTrailers.aspx

An off-shoot of her Lemon Twist Press -- is a fledgling Book Trailer cyber business.

But her creations are the polished, fine craftsmanship of a seasoned professional.

Let's face it :

Book Trailers can sweep up the on-lookers into the world of your novel.

A GREAT book trailer can have the viewer saying out loud, "I WANT that book!"

Such a dynamic, riveting book trailer as you've just watched is the result of intensive, time-consuming work.

Long days are put into such a creation.

Can you imagine laboring ten hours days that grow into a week's worth of finding just the right images & music, paying license fees for them, and then crafting them together dramatically into a hypnotic whole?

That is what Wendy Tyler Ryan did for me.

That is what she can do for you.

Check out her web site --
http://lemontwistpress.com/default.aspx

M is for MAYHEM, VOODOO STYLE for Wendy T. Ryan's Blogarversary!

Join the fun :

http://waitingforpublication.blogspot.com/p/blogaversary-blogfest-sign-up.html

{Excerpt from the third volume in the Saga of Victor Standish, SOMETIMES THERE'S NO VICTOR} [496 words]

(Victor and Alice have been flicked back to the year 1826 by the eerie supernatural entity, DayStar, like you or I would brush away knats) :

The blood moon leered down on Alice and me through thick, silent mists snaking above us. The mists were the only things silent across the grassy courtyard.

Drums beat wild rhythms as rocking black men chanted, their wide eyes glazed over. In the shadows of the huge bonfire, black dancers wheeled about, long machetes flashing in their fists.

I was so scared it felt like my skin was about to leap off me and do the Mambo with my skeleton. I knew where we were from pictures in that book on voodoo in early New Orleans :

Congo Square, across Rampart Street from the French Quarter. But a very primitive French Quarter.

I reached out and took Alice’s ice-cold right hand. My heart calmed. With her at my side, I could take on monsters.

With the musk of sweat, alcohol, and hate heavy in the humid night air, Alice whispered in that odd British accent of hers, “Victor, we are in serious jeopardy here.”

Now, when a flesh-eating ghoul says she’s afraid, even a mongrel like me knows that life has just hit a new high in low-down.

The drums suddenly stopped. And every wild eye turned to us.

I winked at her. “You think?”

A tall woman, her black face glowing with deadly grace, spoke soft, yet it carried out across the dancers and slithering snakes on the grass.

But none of them equaled the boa across her shoulders.

“You two do not belong here.”

Alice murmured, “Look at Marie Laveau, Victor. She is such a striking woman.”

I grinned crooked, “Even without the snake.”

A small, crooked old man limped to us. “She be right.”

He turned to Alice, his voice gaining an edge. “’Specially you, nzumbe.”

I stiffened. “That’s Myth Nzumbe to you, Fright Face.”

Alice lips got tight. “Is everything a jest to you, Victor?”

I gave her icy hand a squeeze.

“Never you, Alice. But you can’t let monsters see you sweat.”

Alice rose a prim and proper eyebrow. “I never sweat.”

The old man limped closer. “You be half-dead, now, Miss Nzumbe. Soon you be all dead.”

I shook my head. “Don’t count on it, Legba.”

He stepped back an inch. “You know me?”

“I know of you.”

“Then, you knows how powerful I be. I be the origin of life!”

I snorted. “Get real. That would be Elohim. And I’m pretty sure you’re not Him.”

Legba husked, “So sure are you?”

I nodded to the squirming reptiles on the grass.

“Pretty sure. He’s not real fond of snakes.”

He cackled, “But Erzulie is, and she be right behind you, boy. Erzulie, loa of Love and Death.”

I turned to face the tall black woman with scars on her face and smiled,

“That’s a new look for you, Mother.”

“No, child. ‘Dis face be veeery old. And you be in bad trouble.”

I winked at her and copied her accent, “Dat be an veery old story, Mother.”

***

HIBBS : WENDY TYLER RYAN & CANADA! HERE I COME!

Hibbs, the cub with no clue, here.

I am on the run for Canada. I want to see Wendy in person.

You writers live in such a weird world : I mean how strange is the world of words when skating on thin ice can land you in hot water?

Or it may not be you can live on words alone,

especially when sometimes you have to eat them!

You know, traveling as I have with Mr. Roland lately,(especially after being rejected by ABNA),

I think you humans developed language because of your deep need to complain!

Now, come with me to Canada and Miss Wendy.

I hope I see one of those Royal Canadian Mounties so I can swipe one of their hats! http://waitingforpublication.blogspot.com/
***

THE RAINY DAY WANDERER_THE NEXT STOP ON THE TOUR!

Hibbs here.

Hey, what are YOU doing here? WordsCrafter is expecting you. Roland is already there. C'mon, follow me :

http://therainydaywanderer.blogspot.com/

Wait. Just in case Becky is still having Wiley E. Coyote problems, follow me to Wendy Tyler Ryan who wrote about the novel of my adventures

Oh, and she had some nice things to say about Roland, too. But pay attention to what she says of me. I'm the hero after all!

http://waitingforpublication.blogspot.com/2011/03/bear-with-two-shadows-new-classic.html
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IS THERE ANY HOPE?

Sometimes it feels as if there isn't any hope, doesn't it?

Wendy Tyler Ryan had an intriguing post http://waitingforpublication.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-dont-think-they-know.html

And Donna Hole has another one (and no, not just because she mentioned me ... well, maybe a little.)
http://donnahole.blogspot.com/2010/11/nano-day-2-browsing-blog-roll.html

It does seem as if the publishing industry doesn't have any room for readers or writers interested in what the over-thirty dream, yearn, or struggle for.

Take Edward the sparkly 200 year old vampire. What does he see in a shallow, angst-filled, self-absorbed teenager? Isn't he really just a young looking pedophile?

Maxwell Perkins, editor of Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, would have tossed Stephanie Meyers' work in the reject pile with a disgusted sigh.

But it is a different market : a youth-oriented, visual, me-generation market.

Everyone get up, look up at the night with its fading moon, and say it : CRAP!

All right, now that we have it out of our systems, what can we do?

There are several approaches :

1.) We use both a young protagonist and a mature mentor. Think AUNTIE MAME, THE SWORD IN THE STONE, the first STAR WARS. I'm choosing this route with my THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH.

2.) Focus on an older protagonist with a youngster needing protection. Think THE ROAD, the new movie THE WARRIOR'S WAY, LONE WOLF AND CUB, and the Tom Hanks' movie, THE ROAD TO PERDITION.

3.) Use an intelligent adult for your protagonist and place him/her in a situation that chills the blood or staggers the imagination.

As in these two set-ups :

A) Your MC goes into a confessional, only to hear the priest babble about becoming Other, then the priest shoots himself.

Your MC throws the door of the confessional open only to see the priest is half-circuitry, melded into the very metal of the small room. One by one, all those your MC knows become Other in some strange way or other.

B) You wake up one morning, go to work, only to find your co-workers have faded like a photo left out too long in the sun. Day by day they fade more and more until they are all black and white, leaving you in a world full of color.

Worse, they become more and more dead-faced and robot-like until you catch them whispering ominously behind your back in a strange buzzing not unlike worker bees.


There is hope, fellow strugglers. THE LORD OF THE RINGS caught the hearts and minds of high schoolers and college-aged with hobbits, old wizards, dwarfs, elves, and a long-lived human named Aragon.

How can you bring hope to your novel?

Make the magic real. Even if your protagonist is older, keep a child-like sense of wonder and curiosity to his/her world.

And now, a little practical nuts-n-bolts advice that was sparked by Donna's post :

If you find yourself feeling hopeless with the words dammed up inside your wheel-spinning mind, it is probably caused by one of five things :

1) Overwork -
Stop writing for a few days. When you're ready to start singing tales into the night once more, you will know when the keyboard stops being forboding and starts to become a delightful toy again.

2) Boredom -
Put your novel down no matter how close you are to the finish line. Start that new idea that has been buzzing around in the back of your mind. Trust me. If your novel has begun to bore you, it will certainly bore the agent to whom you submit.

3) Self-Doubt -
Starting something new will work here as well. The joy of the new idea will spark your love of writing which led you into this profession in the first place. Then, read the first few new pages and see if you can find echoes of your old work in them.

After a few days of your new project, go back to where you were in your old novel. Read the five pages prior to your stop-point. Then, write on the novel again. It will be reborn. Trust me.

4) Financial Worries -
Tough one. No easy remedy here. You must solve them or lighten them somehow.

If it means stopping the writing to take a second job, then that is what you must do. Family comes first. Dreams second. Those months spent apart from your keyboard will sow your unconscious mind with new ideas.

5) Emotional Problems -
If charged relationships are shortcircuiting your muse, you must find a safe, neutral way to sit down with your loved one and talk through what is eating away at you.

It will clear the air between the two of you or bring a much-needed lance to a painful boil. Have a rear-exit stragedy already in place just in case things should go south. No relationship or person is or can be perfect. Look at areas where you can grow.

In the end, the only person you can change is yourself. Sometimes retreat is better than painful staying in an unhealthy situation or relationship.

There is hope ... for your writing ... for your life -- if only you do not give up on yourself and your own worth.
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