Welcome to Stuff It Tuesdays: The Storetry Collaboration Challenge
I’d like to thank everyone for the fabulous contributions. I really enjoy reading all of the submissions and putting the ‘Storetry’ (a word that I created, part story, part poetry) together. I only wish I had more time to spend on it!
This is my sixth installment of the Stuff It Tuesday ‘Storetry’ Collaboration Challenge.
The Storm and the Darkness The House of Crimson and Clover Book # 2 By Sarah M. Cradit Expected Publication Date: July 15, 2013
Ana Deschanel has made a terrible mistake. The only chance of protecting the other people involved is to flee New Orleans, the only home she has ever known, for the quiet solitude of Summer Island.
Summer Island, Maine (population 202) is not the tranquil escape Ana imagined. The locals are distant and cold, especially her neighbor, the reclusive veterinarian Jonathan St. Andrews. Her only lifeline is the kind but odd caretaker Alex Whitman. Showing up at all the right moments, he warns her she is completely unprepared for a Maine winter. As the first winter storm approaches to whispers of an island shutdown Ana realizes that she may soon be cut off from the rest of the world.
After a surprising encounter with Jonathan’s brother, Finn, Ana finds herself braving the storm to return something to him. Unprepared for the Maine storm, she slips and falls onto the jagged rocks along the shore. The St. Andrews brothers find her in the nick of time, but she remains unconscious. As the storm worsens, the St. Andrews brothers learn there are other, more sinister forces at work closer than they ever imagined.
With no help from the outside world, they must find a way to protect themselves from both the storm, and the growing darkness that looms across the island.
About the Author
Sarah is the author of the Southern Fiction series, The House of Crimson and Clover. The series was born of her combined loves of New Orleans, family dramas, and the mysterious nature of love and desire. Her books combine elements of mystery, suspense, intrigue, romance, and even paranormal. She is always working on the next book in the series, and absolutely loves connecting with her fans.
Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest, but has traveled the world from Asia to Europe to Africa. When she isn’t working (either at her day career, or hard at work at writing), she is reading a book and discovering new authors. The great loves of her life (in order) are: her husband James, her writing, and traveling the world.
Lea is wondering whether any one out there can recommend editing software. Now I’m interested too. I wouldn’t expect any software to take the place of a professional (and warm-blooded) editor. However, software might help with making my copy as “clean” as possible before it goes to the editor. Y’all have any thoughts on this?
I have been researching Manuscript Editing Software for the last few hours. So far I have found some interesting things! I even tested one out a little bit. I honestly think this might be helpful for me at the moment. Even if all the program ends up helping me with is pointing out certain words and phrases I use way too often.
I do know that this is no replacement for a real, professional Editor. But until the day I can afford one, I might as well do everything I can to edit my work. For now it shall be beta readers and Editing Software and whatever else I can find.
Have you ever tried Editing Software? What do you think of it?
For anyone looking to self-publish your poetry (or any other writing for that matter), you may want to read the following post by Jules Jacob: Reality Check?
Ms. Jacob’s essay is a response to an article posted in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers magazine by poet and critic Reagan Upshaw. She contends that the “advice” offered by Upshaw is more like “put-downs” and then offers her own suggestions for publishing one’s poetry. It’s an interesting read.
Disclaimer: I have not read fantasy since I was a kid, and then it was The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, that sort of thing. As a young adult, I read The Mists of Avalon , but I don’t know if that qualifies as fantasy. My point is I know little about the genre, so I can’t tell you if Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale, a slim ebook (44 pages) by Charles E Yallowitz qualifies as fantasy. What I can tell you is that I love this book.
Like I know good art when I see it or good wine when I taste it, I know a good book when I read it. Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale is a delightfully creepy compendium of strange creatures. The premise of the book is that it is a “battered field notebook” from an expedition to Blatherhorn Vale. The book reads like an epic poem with a firm beginning (“Blatherhorn Vale lies in wait”) to a neat ending (“Leaving Blatherhorn Vale to rise again”), and in-between a curious cabinet of relics.
Mr. Yallowitz’s imagination knows no bounds. Every creature is meticulously and poetically described. He brings them to life to the extent that the reader may choose to ignore the caution that “Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.”
Here’s a taste for you: My two most favorite beasts are the Yethys and the Glintra. The Yethys have “scales of gold,” “eyes of crimson,” no mouth, and “[Risk] all To gain some precious warmth.”
The Glintra are delicate, deadly creatures whose:
“Feeble tendrils
Of finest crystal
Drag along the ground
Burning
Those they touch”
Good wine and good art, indeed. Try the Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale for yourself. It’s only one-third the cost of a tall latte and much more satisfying. Perhaps if the Bestiary becomes popular enough, Mr. Yallowitz could be persuaded to issue a printed version for distribution. This is the kind of book I would want on my shelf.
Everyone, please welcome guest blogger and fellow author Katie Cross to crimsonleague.com today, to talk about her experiences with creative writing, characters, and novels.
Part of the first chapter involves a description of what I consider the most common and most counterproductive misconceptions about writing a novel.
To help pump people up for the release, I asked Katie to write about what she considers one of the major misconceptions non-writers and beginning-writers have.
How much does an author REALLY know what’s going to happen to her characters???
I’ll let Katie take it from here:
When I was a little girl, I would have given up my softball mitt to know who my future husband would be.
This has been an incredible week for me. I’ve been honored with two awards; an essay that I posted to The Community Storyboard was Freshly Pressed; and then I was invited to be an editor on The Community Storyboard. It’s perhaps a bit ironic that, right around this time, I had responded to a post by Victoria Grefer on the milestone of considering yourself a writer. Part of my comment was: “I’m still hesitant to call myself writer, but I’m getting there.”
Well, after all that has happened this week, I want to announce that “I’m there.”
I AM A WRITER.
It feels good to put this in writing. It feels so damn good.
Marie at 1 Write Way 