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I can always rely on the kindness of strangers

by Allie P., posted in Book Stuff and Publishing News, Indie book promotion

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, a thirty second movie trailer went live. I was riding in the passenger seat coming back from our Thanksgiving visit when I saw the news. My initial reaction was OMG! Why is there no WiFi on the highway! Yes, I could use my data plan to stream it anyway, but I am a wee bit cheap, and I only had to be patient for a few hours.

By the time I arrived home, there was practically nothing else in my news feed. Star Wars! Han Solo was back, or at least would be next year! I was giddy. And then it hit me, my book’s re-release had gone live the same day and there was no way I could compete with that juggernaut. Have you ever hosted a party and no one show? It felt kinda like that.

I logged on to my stats. Yep, they looked pretty much as one might expect in those circumstances. I opened up my WordPress Reader and there it was, the Star Wars Trailer embedded in a post. I viewed it and my disappointment was made a little less disappointing. At least my news hadn’t gotten drowned out by something less worthwhile, like, I don’t know… a relatively unknown magazine’s decision to gain notoriety through cheap shock tactics.

A funny thing happened then. The author of that article, a fellow indie author named Michelle Prolux noticed my visit and re-blogged my post announcing my book launch. Suddenly it was like a dam opening. For those unfamiliar with her work, Michelle has written a YA Science Fiction/Romance novel called Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It and is the final days of an IndieGoGo campaign to fund her marketing efforts (she, like me, is in the process of re-releasing her work via new publishing channels). Considering the book is one of the perks of contributing, I would urge you to check out her campaign.

While I don’t necessarily believe in Karma, per say, I do completely believe that if you do kindness, others will do kindness to you. I love the idea of paying it forward. So when the opportunity to help in another indie author’s cover reveal popped up, I knew I had to jump on it. Now it is my turn to help another indie author’s big launch.

Stones and Bones Cover
Cover design by Ravven (www.ravven.com)

I would like to introduce you to Jessica Minyard, author of the soon to be released (Feb 2015) YA Fantasy novel, Stones and Finger Bones.

Jessica describes herself as liking to sing loudly and dance on occasion without being particularly talented at either. Her interests include reading, writing, procrastinating, animal advocacy, musicals, accessories, memes, Harry Potter, and sweet tea.

Based on this, she and I have a number of things in common. I look forward to her novel’s release and am so happy that I was given the opportunity to be one of the first to see its cover.

Stone and Finger Bones Synopsis:
Aurelia Barone, Jewel of Starry Stone, harbors no illusions about the purpose of her life as heir to the throne. But after two failed betrothals, she starts to feel like nothing more than a pawn being moved aimlessly about a game board.
 
Until the night she loses everything.
 
Kidnapped by a wise-cracking mercenary with more than one identity, Aurelia embarks on a mission across land and sea to avenge her father’s death.
 
But an evil is rising from the ashes of memory. Insidious magic is stirring. The dregs of a once-powerful nation are thirsty for blood and revenge.
 
They seek to harness Aurelia. To tempt her. To manipulate her.
 
And if necessary, to destroy her.

It’s a breakout!

by Allie P., posted in Book Stuff and Publishing News, Indie book promotion, Life as I know it

An Uncertain Faith

I am about to suffer monstrous indigestion, and no, it won’t be caused by excessive food or drink…Okay so maybe some of it will, but the majority of my discomfort will be caused by nervous butterflies resulting the re-release of my book An Uncertain Faith. The e-book version will be going live on Friday, November 28th on Amazon and Smashwords (pre-order is available), with the print edition making its way onto the shelves shortly afterwards.

As way of saying thank you for your support over this last year, from now until December 24th, you can download a free copy at Smashwords using the coupon code PK82H.

 

Several of my business books talk about the importance of identifying the one thing that you want to be great at and then design your business practices and product offers around that niche. My dentist office has not read any of these books.

The practice I go to has a massaging chair in the waiting area as well as marble tile floors, soothing music, and a fireplace cheerfully burning. If it wasn’t for the sounds of drilling and spitting in the background, the spa-like conditions might make you might forget that you are about to be shamed for not flossing enough.

I was back for the second time in as many weeks as my dentist had found cavities during my last cleaning. Joy. The cavities weren’t very deep, but needed to be addressed. She told me I wouldn’t even need to have my teeth numbed as if the idea of having a drill in my mouth without a painkiller was somehow less scary than a shot to the gums. One side was done, but rather than finishing the job, my dentist was called away to look after another even less fortunate patient. I sat in that chair, staring at a sign reading use of cell phones are prohibited. Soft music continued to play in the background. It occurred to me that I had the opportunity to do something I rarely have the chance to do. I could take a nap, or at least close my eyes and relax while I waited.

Several minutes passed. Finally my dentist and hygienist returned. They explained that one of the other dentists had been hospitalized that morning and they were trying to make sure that her patients still were seen. They wanted to let me know just how much they appreciated my patience. I had just experienced fifteen glorious minutes of uninterrupted me time. I was hardly put out by the ‘inconvenience’ and told them as much.

I must not have reacted as they expected. The hygienist brought in a warm scented neck pillow, but it didn’t end there. After the last cavity was filled she also brought me a pair of gloves filled with Paraffin wax on the house. (Seriously – how many dental practices do you know that offer beauty treatments as a supplemental income stream?)

Then they left again. More minutes passed. I felt the wax and the neck pillow begin to cool. Tick. Tock. I had only expected to be gone from the office an hour, an hour and a half tops. Now it was getting close to two. I tried to move – to gain someone’s attention. The pillow around my neck limited my head’s range of motion and the gloves on my hands prevented me from addressing the problem. I had allowed myself to become literally trapped in my comfort zone. I realized then that I was only going to be able to get on with my life by finding a way to break free.

As I typed this after the fact, know the gloves did eventually come off. I broke free. But I know this won’t be the last time. I will have to escape my comfort zone again and again because, as the saying goes, that’s where the magic happens.

Preparation can only take you so far

 

Be grateful for the little things… even if they have six legs

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

My house sits on a partially wooded lot, which comes in handy when the leaves begin to fall. Most of the time we can get away with merely pushing the leaves into the natural area and occasionally running them over with our mulching lawn mower.

Unfortunately the leaves aren’t the only things that fall. Often, especially after a storm, our yard will become littered with tree limbs and other small branches. These have to be moved before the lawn mower can come out and also go into their own pile in the natural area.

This Saturday, the weather was beautiful, and the air, while cool, was warmer than it had been for the last several days. We decided it was time to get a little yard work done. At some point during our clean-up, the hubby chose to inspect the stick pile, only to get an unpleasant surprise. He discovered that some pretty nasty bugs had moved in, the kind that aren’t inclined to stick to the great outdoors, and the kind that can do several thousand dollars of damage if left unchecked.

We may live in the Southern US where we pride ourselves on our hospitality, but we did not want to invite these creatures into our house. Something had to be done, and done quickly. We decided present their eviction notice in the form of cleansing fire. Soon the wooden debris was positioned in our fire pit, but hardly any of it was burning. The wood was still too wet from the rain earlier this week. What to do?

While we might not be the most industrious yard care workers, the hubby and I consider ourselves problem solvers. As luck would have it, we had grilled chicken for dinner and still had hot coals smouldering in the bottom of the grill. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! These coals were shoveled into the pit. It was enough. Within minutes, the previously bug infested wood had transformed into a cozy fire helping to keep us warm after the sun set. As the stars came out, the hubby and I enjoyed a glass of wine while the kids happily roasted marshmallows. It was one of those moments you wish you could capture forever.

To think, I might never have had that moment joy if I hadn’t first had a problem.

Later this week, we in the US will be celebrating our Thanksgiving holiday. I, like so many others, will be spending it with family. I am grateful for a good many things that I have: loved ones nearby, food when I am hungry, and a roof over my head. I consider myself very fortunate for having these things, especially when I watch the news and see those that don’t, but I am also grateful for the problems I’ve had, for without them, I might never have become the person I am today.

Fire pit at night
Saturday night at our house, courtesy of my in-house illustrator

 

And the winner is…

by Allie P., posted in Book Stuff and Publishing News, Indie book promotion

Back in October I decided to terminate my agreement with my publishing channel. While this decision will provide me with greater creative control of my existing work, it also presented a major challenge in that I did not own the rights to my original cover design. I was going to have to address this as books don’t tend to sell without covers no matter how many times we are told not to judge them.

I reviewed my options:

  1. Sit back and sell nothing waiting for a big time publisher to sweep me off my feet and offer to pay for everything. Because that’s how it works, right…
  2. Do it myself with Photoshop and hope that the casual viewer doesn’t notice the rough edge where I accidentally erased out too many pixels, but hey it is only the cost of a stock photo license!
  3. Purchase a ready-made cover that might possibly, sorta, kinda, maybe represent a scene or theme from my book. Although, if I find a pre-made cover not requiring a full-page of explanation, does that mean the content of my work is so cliché that a suitable cover is on standby? Does that really matter? This option would be shoestring budget friendly. Meaning I could afford to actually do additional marketing with said cover.
  4. Hire a professional hoping that with my limited experience I’m able to identify someone capable of reading my mind in 2-4 tries (and in as many weeks or less) well enough to produce a cover that not only do I like, but readers do as well. Because if reader’s don’t, I just bought myself a nice new decoration for my shelf and little else.
  5. Launch a design contest and throw myself on the mercy of designers, some amateurs playing with Photoshop, some seasoned veterans, but all as hungry to distinguish themselves as I am. Sure, it could potentially cost more than hiring a single professional, but I’d have the one thing I was looking for when I started down this whole road – more choice (and a money back guarantee).

I thought long and hard about my options. It seemed that every 4th tweet that crossed my feed was “Bad Cover = Bad Sales!” No pressure!

After my eyes had gone blurry from viewing pages and pages of images and designer portfolios, I ultimately designed to bite the bullet and launched the design contest (I chose 99designs.com). Entries began to roll in. A few of the early designs looked similar to my Photoshop mock-ups. I felt justified. Talented even (I refused to worry that I made the wrong decision). I began to think maybe if this whole writing thing didn’t work out I could earn some spare change selling my own pre-made covers.

Additional entries started to roll in, and wow! I thought to myself, what an interesting idea – I wouldn’t have considered doing that! Now I understand what separates my Photoshop dabblings from experienced professionals. Keep them coming. In the words of my 2yo, “More! More!”

I found myself with over 160 entries in less than a week, and more than half of them were completely unique (I believe my experience may be atypical – I was told to expect 30). Suddenly all that choice I wanted so badly a week ago was overwhelming. How can I pick just one? What if I pick the wrong one? Too much choice was almost as paralyzing as having no choice. I was once again stressed, but it was worth it.

Thankfully, the contest offered the option of sending out a poll and letting the public vote. After whittling down the list to a few favorites, I asked, and a number of you answered. I am now extremely pleased to present the winner and new cover of An Uncertain Faith!

Cover by Danny Design Studio, Photography by Dave and Les Jacobs.

An Uncertain Faith
A brand new cover for a brand new release!

Oh the joys of the 3AM wake up call

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it
The Bat-Signal as seen at the end of Batman
When does Batman/Bruce Wayne sleep between business and saving the day/night? I’ve often wondered. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was three AM Sunday morning. More accurately 3:27. I know this because we have one of those clocks that project the time onto the ceiling like some sort of sadistic batman call sign. (In the wee hours of the morning, I tend to forget our rationale for buying it.) I could hear our toddler crying in his room. I closed my eyes, hoping in vain that he would settle himself down. If anything it increased in pitch and volume. To my side, I could hear the rhythmic breathing of my hubby still enjoying deep sleep. The toddler’s call wasn’t quite loud enough to rouse him – yet. Groan. It was up to me. Cursed mom ears, with their supersonic hearing, I thought to myself for the millionth time.

I stumbled down our hallway to the little guy’s room unwilling to turn on a light to help along the way. Opening the door, my son emitted one last loud cry before noticing that help had arrived. I’m not sure exactly what might have caused my son to wake up. Perhaps he had a nightmare, or maybe it was just the sound of the heat turning on that startled him. Who really knows what two-year-olds think about at night. The cause really didn’t matter. He was up and needed mom. I’m a fan of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Throne Series. The line, “for the night is dark and full of terrors” came to mind, as I picked him up and held him close.

Even though I was there he still he continued to whimper. I asked him what he needed, only to hear pitiful sounds in reply. A change of strategy was required. “Use your words,” I told him.

“I wan Monkey Man,” he answered (his reigning favorite toy). Of course he did. Sigh. Monkey Man is a small, flat, toy that is always hiding itself away. Why couldn’t my son have an obsession with a large, glow in the dark, GPS enabled toy that I could tether to the bed? Something woke him up and now he couldn’t find his friend. It was a catastrophe!

I told him that I would find it as I tucked him back into his bed. He looked up at me with a smile as I searched around the bedding, confident that all would be made right soon.

I located the little guy wedged between two other stuffed animals at the foot of the bed and handed it back to him. My toddler clutched his toy, snuggling next to with a sleepy grin as if he hadn’t just been wide awake and crying his eyes out five minutes before. All was once again right in toddlerland. I closed the door and tip toed back to my room where I proceeded to lie awake for the next twenty minutes.

There are many things that can keep me up at night. What if I am on the wrong track, what if I fail, what if something goes terribly, terribly wrong? How nice would it be if all my fears and doubts could be as easily silenced as my son’s. On those nights when I lie awake in a panic, does my mom still wake up wondering why her ears are tingling?

Of course none of that matters to the little boy down the hall. He doesn’t care that about what I do or don’t do well. All he cares about is that there is someone who will hold him tight when he’s afraid and help make everything right, and he adores me for it. It gives me a warm feeling that is almost worth the 3AM wake up call. Almost.

My boys will be grown and on their own in what will seem like a blink of the eye. I’ll soon know first hand whether or not mom ears ever lose their acute sense of hearing. If fears seem more terrible at night, at least I can take comfort knowing that as time flies by, dawn will arrive that much sooner, and with it, delicious coffee.

The following is the author's description of t...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)