Novel Notions Welcomes author Beth Camp to Self Published Sunday!

I am so pleased that Beth Camp is our feature author.  She is not only talking about her writing process but sharing an excerpt of her novel, Standing Stones.

About Beth Camp: When I was a kid, I prowled the library to check out the thickest, heaviest books I could find. Two Years Before the Mast. The Wandering Jew. Quo Vadis. Books I could fall into and pretend I lived in the past. Places I dreamed of visiting some day. As a teen, I discovered my grandmother's 5-volume sets of Hemingway, the short stories of Poe and de Maupassant. I began writing poetry and short stories then.

Sometimes it seemed that my family moved every time the rent was due. I attended some 13 high schools on the West coast of the US and daydreamed of attending college. I balanced working full time with taking classes; it took ten years to earn my degree, with odd jobs and careers in international banking and corporate consulting along the way before I became an English teacher at a community college where I taught for 26 years. Today, I live in Spokane, in eastern Washington, with my husband, and close to our daughter, her husband, and granddaughter. Restless feet and writing projects keep us traveling. These days, we’re planning a three-month stay in Spain. The writing travels with me!

What is your writing process? 

I’m often asked when I find time to write. Each morning, before coffee, I wake with half-remembered scenes or conversations that my characters are somehow in the middle of. I sit at the computer and reconstruct what they are telling me, images of who they are and what they’re involved in coming to life before me. An outline emerges out of that combination of history, setting, and then, scene upon scene, their lives unfold.

As a writer, I’m rather a sprinter, more intuitive than methodical, going ahead into story with multiple revisions ahead. I want to discover how it felt to live in a certain time, and how others have conquered their deepest fears to achieve their goals.

My books begin with a flash of an idea, a portrait spotted in a museum, a slice of history that compels me to look more closely. For example, I visited the National Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris to see the unicorn tapestries and later read Tracy Chevalier’s wonderful story, The Lady and the Unicorn. The real history of these tapestries is shrouded in mystery, but I found a clue in Scotland that suggests a very different story. Fiction allows us to play with alternate realities. I hope my readers come away with greater compassion for how others struggle to create order, harmony, and beauty in their lives. 

Why did you decide to jump into self-publishing? 

As many writers discover, after “the book” is done, the round of submissions begins. We are lucky to get an acknowledgement these days whether we are subbing to a potential agent or to a publishing company. Routinely websites suggest a turn-around time of 3-6 months, even for ‘exclusive’ submissions.

Standing Stones took second place in historical fiction at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association literary contest in 2010, but I spent the next several years subbing to potential agents and then independent publishers before deciding that I really wanted readers to read my stories.

I first self-published The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales, a collection of short stories and poems about mermaids, to learn how to format for  Kindle and CreateSpace.

With Standing Stones, I discovered fiverr, a wonderful site that highlights freelancers. Angela Zambrano of pro_ebookcovers created the cover for Standing Stones; I think her work is remarkable.

What is Standing Stones about? 

Standing Stones is the first of two books that begins when Lord Gordon comes to Foulksay Island. His uncle has died, and inspired by the sweep of the Industrial Revolution, Lord Gordon wishes to make his new estate profitable by replacing tenant farmers who have lived on the island for generations with sheep.

Mac McDonnell, a fisherman and head of household for his sister and three brothers, leads protests against Lord Gordon’s changes, but Moira, his sister, falls in love with Dylan, one of the men Lord Gordon has brought to the island. The people of Foulksay Island have gathered to celebrate the end of summer. Dougal, the second oldest brother, is playing the fiddle. Here is the moment that Moira and Dylan meet:

Moira watched Dougal’s fingers fly over the fiddle. She felt proud of him, and her feet tapped the rhythm of the drum. The dancing grew frantic as more people pushed into the hall. Moira closed her eyes and gave herself over to the dance, the music keening in her head and heart. A strong arm held her at her waist and twirled her around.

Moira’s eyes flew open. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Dylan, from across the water, ready to dance your feet off and steal your heart.” He grinned and bowed.

Dylan was much shorter than her brothers, wiry, and dark when they were fair, his hair curly with sweat. His eyes, nearly black, sparkled. He smiled again, and Moira felt her breath catch. “Dance with me?”

She gave him her hand, and they danced one set after another, until they were both breathless.

“Any others like you at home?” he asked.

“No, not a one. Just me,” Moira shouted over the music, turning away and then back as he twirled her to the music.

“Ah, ‘tis fortunate I am, for then I’ll only have me heart broken once.”

Moira laughed. His hand caught and held hers, and his dark eyes dared her to let go.

“Wait until you meet my brothers.”

“And how many brothers do you have, all tiny men, as small as trolls, no doubt?”

“Four brothers,” she replied on the next round. “Mac, Dougal, Colin and Jamie. All of them are giants compared to you.” She glanced over at Dougal and waved. “There’s Dougal.”

“He looks ferocious,” said Dylan. “Does he have an evil temper?”

“None of my brothers would harm a soul.”

“Then why is he glaring at me like that?”

To Purchase:

Standing Stones is available on

 Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I3RYFW6 and 

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/401903

The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales is also available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090VHKBC

Links:

Beth’s Writing Blog: http://bethandwriting.blogspot.com

Beth’s Travel Blog: http://bethcamp.blogspot.com

On Twitter: @bluebethley and Facebook.  Beth Camp's Author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Page-for-Beth-Camp/536097169822653 

Drop a note to Beth at bluebethley@yahoo.com to find out about upcoming releases with her occasional newsletter.  She’d love to hear from you!

The Promo Plan

Marketing a novel isn't cheap.  However, not marketing doesn't work either. In November, December and January, my novel was on different virtual tours. Each tour was one week long.  Each month, I saw sales. In February, I took a break - no online promotions - What I learned?  Promotion matters - a lot. Because when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, I'm an unknown quantity. I've published one novel - and its not on the best seller list - not yet, anyway.  Like it or not, those tours helped - but they cost money.

Having learned my lesson, I have already made my promotional investments for March and May. Which brings me to April.  April's budget went the way of the dodo bird...  But I still need to promote. So, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a way to get a little more exposure without appearing to be one of those "Look at Me!" peeps who flood social media with tons of self promotion.

The Objective:

On April 17th, my novel will be on sale.   In order for my promotion to work, I need exposure.

The Question:

Are you looking for a way to promote your novel without breaking the bank?

The Plan:

Create a community Blitz.  

Example:  If 5 authors participated, then each participating author would chose the day they wanted their blitz.  On that day, each of the other authors would share the designated author's post.  This would give each participating author one day of multi-blog promotion.  Each host would not only share the designated author's post on their blog but also in Facebook & G+ communities as well as Twitter. An added benefit is we get a little break from having to come up with content ideas for our blogs because we'll have guest posts! And finally, it won't cost anything but our time.

It is important that any authors who participate follow through with their commitment to promote the other participants.   If you are interested, please let me know - I'll be happy to coordinate the effort. 

**I write Young Adult novels - as such, I may have visitors to my blog who are under the age of 18.  For this reason, I won't be able to host any Erotica.  Sorry!

Linda Kage - Book Cover Designer and Author

We've all heard it - Don't judge a book by its cover.  But it's the cover that catches our attention. Literary gold may very well be hiding behind the cover, just waiting to be discovered but if the cover isn't appealing, chances are no one will give it a second look.  Like it or not, great covers are essential to marketing our novels.

With that in mind, I'd like to welcome Linda Kage to Novel Notions.  She is a published author as well as a cover designer.  And she's kindly agreed to talk about covers with us.

Novel Notions:  As a cover designer, you have a really important job.  You provide the "eye candy" that entices a reader to pick up the book.  What do you think are the 3 most important elements to consider when designing a cover?

Linda: -Something pretty

           -Nice Fonts and

           -Something that evokes a certain emotion from me.

Novel Notions:  You have several premade covers available for purchase.  What inspired those covers?

Linda:  Probably two of the answers I gave above!!  I browsed through the stock image place until I saw something pretty and made me connect with it in some way. Then I played and tweaked with it until I got a look I was satisfied with.  Or, sometimes I still play with covers even after I post them because they don’t feel quite right.

Novel Notions:  When someone contacts you about designing a cover, what's your process?  Do you read the story or do you talk to the author and get a feel for it?

Linda:  So far, each person I’ve worked with has gone about it in a different way. So I guess I’m pretty open about the process. For one of my friends, I read the story first. For another, she gave me an idea of what she wanted, another told me enough about her story and showed me some pictures to give me an idea of what feel and tone she wanted. People usually know basically what they want, I just keep asking questions and sending them samples until we come up with something they’re satisfied with.

 Novel Notions:  It seems to me that a lot of covers are genre specific.  Very frequently, young adult novels have a picture of the heroine on the cover while romance novels feature a couple.  What is your thoughts on this?  Should authors choose covers that mimic other novels in the genre or should they choose something that causes their novel to stand out from the crowd?

Linda:  I can see pros and cons for mimicking genre specific covers.  The pros would be that readers who like that certain genre will be able to find your stories easier. The con would be that it takes out some of the originality that’s specific to your novel.  I don’t really have an opinion either way, really. Whatever an author wants to do is fine by me!   

Novel Notions: Not only are you a cover designer, you're also a published author. Do you feel that being a writer helps or hinders your design process?

Linda:  I would hope it helps me, but who really knows!  I understand what it’s like from their point of view. This is THEIR creation that they spent months (maybe years) perfecting and the first thing people will see of it is some cover a complete stranger made. That’s almost unfair. It’s made me a little more patient and I realize slouching off in the cover-designing part is not a good idea!

Novel Notions:  Have you designed any of the covers for your own novels?  If so, what cover was your favorite?

Linda:  All the covers I’ve designed for my own book have not been published yet because I just got started in this designing stuff!  But I did design the cover for To Professor, with Love which is coming out in May!  The cover reveal for it will be March 7th.  So I’m all excited about that one!

Novel Notions:  Congratulations!  That's too cool!  Can you share a little about your novel?

Linda:  Here's the blurb for To Professor with Love:  

 

Junior in college. Star athlete. Constant attention from the opposite sex.

On this campus, I’m worshiped. While seven hundred miles away, back in my hometown, I’m still trailer park trash, child of the town tramp, and older sibling to three kids who are counting on me to keep my shit together so I can take them away from the same crappy life I grew up in.

These two opposing sides of myself never mix until one person gets a glimpse of the true me. I never expected to connect with anyone like this or want more beyond one night. This may be the real deal.

Problem is, Dr. Kavanagh’s my literature professor.

If I start anything with a teacher and we’re caught together, I might as well kiss my entire future goodbye, as well as my family’s, and especially Dr. Kavanagh’s. Except sometimes love is worth risking everything. Or at least, it damn well better be because I can only resist so much.

-Noel Gamble-

Novel Notions:  Thanks for stopping by, Linda.  

*All the covers featured were designed by Linda.* 

To view more or to contact Linda, click on the links below:

Website - http://www.lindakage.com/covers.html

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KageCovers

Self Published Sunday Welcomes Carol Ann Ross

I want to welcome Carol Ann Ross to Self Published Sunday.  Carol is a native of the Carolina coast and remembers a time when life there was very different than today. She disapproves strongly of the "progress" that has been made on so many of the barrier islands along the eastern seaboard, leaving them cookie cutter replicas - each trying to out "modern" the other.  "Where in the hell did quaint and simple go," She asks.

Carol has written for a couple of newspapers and has penned six books, fiction and non fiction.She has experienced at least thirty different modes of employment - from first mate on a fishing boat to college instructor.  She enjoys small town life and trusts dogs over most people. 

Excerpt:  

  

   

 “Why don’t you want to dance with me, Ellie?” Paul asked as the two watched from one of the nearby picnic tables.  

      Ellie shook her head no, “you’re my cousin…”

     “When did that ever stop ya? We’ve been dancing together since we were kids.”

     “I’m a grown lady now.”

     Paul guffawed, “Seems like since the Army came to town, you’re too good to dance with your cousin.”

     “I like upbeat music. This is too slow and all the parents are out there – even mine.” Scrunching her nose in disgust, she fidgeted about, swishing her skirt, “I wish Mr. Pike would call a square dance, then I’d probably dance with you.”

     Paul glanced again toward Pearl and Jay, “I hope she’s happy.”

     “No you don’t. You’re hoping right now that there’s a war and that Jay gets sent overseas and never comes back.”

     “Good God, Ellie.” Paul rolled his eyes as he moved a few steps, distancing himself from her. “I don’t want us to go to war!”

     “But you wish that was you there, holding her, kissing her – and you know what else.”

     “Stop it. All girls aren’t like you.”

     “Well, you do wish it.” A slight grin crept upon her lips as she turned her glance away from Paul.

     “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do wish that it was me dancing with her and getting ready to marry her.  But that doesn’t make me wish anything bad for her.”

     “Bad for her?”

    “Bad for her,” Paul retorted. “If and when we have a war and Jay has to go off and fight in it, just how do you think she’s going to feel?”

     Tossing her hair to the side, Ellie fumbled with the ribbon in it. “She’ll get over it. And besides, while the cat’s away the mice will play.”

     “Not Pearl, she’ll be faithful to Jay for as long as it takes him to come back.”

     “Humph.”

     “That’s the kind of girl she is.” Paul’s eyes looked sternly at Ellie. “And I hope he comes back, because I want Pearl to be happy.”

     “Liar. And if he doesn’t come back, you’ll be there for her to pick up the pieces.”

     Paul turned away from Ellie and strode to the grill to pick a strand of pork from the nearly bare bones. He glared at Ellie who was still watching him as he chewed on the succulent meat. Swishing her skirt about, she motioned for him to come back as the fiddle player announced that a square dance would be coming up next. Paul ran his fingers though his hair, then reached for the jug hidden behind a wooden beam, walked off into the night, flipping his palm out quickly, as if to say, get lost.

Purchase Link

Connect with the author:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook Author Page

Book Review - Confessions of a Paris Party Girl

Amazon's Book Description:  

Wine, romance, and French bureaucracy - the ups and downs of an American's life in Paris. This laugh-out-loud memoir is almost too funny to be true!

Drinking too much bubbly. Meeting sappy Frenchmen who have girlfriends or are creeps or both. Encountering problème after problème with French bureaucracy. When newly-single party girl Vicki moved to Paris, she was hoping to taste wine, stuff her face with croissants, and maybe fall in love. 

In her first book, this long-time blogger and semi-professional drinker recounts the ups and downs of her life in Paris. Full of sass, shamefully honest admissions, and situations that seem too absurd to be true, Vicki makes you feel as if you're stumbling along the cobblestones with her. 

Will she find love? Will she learn to consume reasonable amounts of alcohol? Will the French administration ever cut her a break?

What I thought:

Paris.  Wine.  Croissants.  If this sounds like your dream getaway, then get comfy because Vicki Lesage is about to take you on a trip.   Confessions of a Paris Party Girl is a humorous memoir detailing the author's life in Paris.  The memoir is witty and on occasion a tad bit snarky - but that made me enjoy it all the more. The author shares her adventures - not only introducing us to a variety of people (I loved old creepy foot fetish dude) but letting us tag along to her favorite places.   We get lessons on French bureaucracy and witness the struggles of apartment hunting.

There's a lot of drinking as the title suggests and the author is honest in her recounting of events - even when she's not at her best.  (At one point - I felt sorry for her liver!)  But there's more to this story than the author's drinking. We get to watch as she grows and matures - as friendships/relationships develop and she embraces all that Paris has to offer.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style.  She describes her life and Paris without subjecting the reader to tedious details - yet, I felt as though I had ventured into the bakeries and bars along with her.



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.