Cover Time!

I know I posted that I was hoping to get my cover soon and luckily enough I just got an email telling me that it had arrived! I’m so excited. So here is a rough blurb for you along with the lovely cover!

Galaxing Around: Infamous space pirate Kria has problems and not just being a wanted fugitive. Or mental ones. No, these problems can mostly be place on the shoulders of two arrogant males. And yes she was blaming them for her family problems even if they had nothing to do with it.

Verdal and Fyre were never ones to share. Being on rivaling sides of an ancient planetary feud, can they bring themselves to share their feisty mate? Can they accept that their mate is from one of the planets that theirs is fighting against? Either way they may have to spank her rear-end for driving them insane.

Writing Fantasy

I love writing fantasy and science fiction stories. But the one thing that I hate doing is research. Why would I need to research anything for a fantasy story? A lot of stuff. It may not be apparent when you write your story but later on you might see that things don’t quite connect. Some authors are ok with things not quite connecting but not everyone is. I am one such person.

1. What Is Your Story About?

This is normally called the plot but I’m a little different. So what is happening in this story? Is your characters going on an epic quest or are we just going to see a small snippet of your fantasy world? Is this a big enough story to have a map and even languages?

J.R.R. Tolkien had not only maps of his world but even created a language for the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit. You may not think these things matter but you may have a reader that wants these things.

2. Types of Fantasy

You may think that this should have been first but as I’ve stated before I do things a little bit different. There is a WIDE variety of fantasy out there and you can mix them as much as you want as long as you make it sound plausible. So you could have androids with unicorns as long as it is plausible then have fun with it.

Cyborg leprechauns, FYI.

They can be a thing. Anyway once you have decided what your story is about then you can decide just how fantastical you want to be. But what about my characters? Just hang on we are getting there.

3. Characters

I already have a blog post about making believable characters. So basically you just have to do the normal routine on your character and if you find something new to add into your fantasy world then go ahead and do it. You may even find out that your plot/story line whatever changes, even expands. Yea, yea whatever. But sometimes a change in the plot line is fine.

4. Writing The Story

Now the hard part begins, writing the story. Don’t stop writing until you have finished. Just remember to let yourself be creative (it’s part of writing). Yes I know this is a short redundant tutorial but hey I like writing these.

What are you still doing reading this? Go. Go write your story. It’s never going to be read if you never write it.

Cover Update

I have been waiting on the updates on me cover before I can put Galaxing Away on pre-order. I found out yesterday why it has been taking so long. My cover creator had a death in her family. It was very unusual for her to not update within a few days of getting a request/review and it had been a week. So now I can happily say that my cover should be up for reveal soon and then we can have a fun little reveal party. Maybe even a e-book giveaway of the winners choice.

Character Development

Coming up with characters is as easy as pie, but coming up with BELIEVABLE characters is a whole different piece of pie. I know each writer has a different process of how they write their characters. Now I will be giving you a tour of how I do this process.

1. Motivation – I start with what motivates my character. Is my character doing this because of x, y, or z? This brings me a clear view of how their personality will be. So if my character had to rob a bank then I want to know WHY he had to.

Example: Joe Bob needed to rob the bank to pay off the mafia boss that he had borrowed money from so they don’t take their payment out of his flesh.

Once you have figured out the WHY then we can move onto the next step.

2. Background – I have had some writers tell me that they don’t do a background on their characters but I feel that having one makes my characters a little more believable and relatable (at least to me). When we have our motives then we need to know why our character feels they need to go about it that particular way.

Example: Joe Bob grew up in a bad part of town, raised by a single mom who worked as a prostitute for the mafia. He wasn’t a good student and never graduated from high school and the only job he has ever had was with the mafia. He slowly developed a drug habit and began borrowing more and more money to supply his habit.

Ok so now we know that Joe Bob hasn’t had a great life. He might have had small moments of happiness but that all depends on how much background you want to put into your characters.

3. Personality – Personality is a tough one for me. I have a tendency to give my characters snarky personalities in the beginning. But not all characters stay that way. As with each person, each character has a unique personality and quirks.

Example: Joe Bob has a Napoleon complex. He is very domineering and aggressive which was only made worse by his drug habit.

4. Description – Describing a character can be really easy or it can be extremely hard. I always look at my characters background and their motivations before I start putting their description together. To make your character more believable their physical description needs to ‘fit’ their personality.

Example: Joe Bob is very short and underweight. His hair is unwashed and a dull brown color. His eyes are a bloodshot brown color. He has track marks covering his arms.

5. Naming Your Character – Obviously Joe Bob was given a name but lets give him an official name. Now poor Joe Bob has a bad history and isn’t the greatest looking guy.

Honestly, he is completely forgettable but that’s how I want him to be. Now if we look at my poor character we know he didn’t grow up in a great neighborhood and has ties to the mafia. Joe Bob is not what his name should be. Why? Because it doesn’t fit him.

What would be a good name for my unimpressive character? A name that is equally unimpressive. I think I will call him Keith. Now that we have a name for him it is time to write his story. Either way the end for Keith is always the same, death.

If he succeeds in robbing the bank the cops shoot and kill him before he gets away. If he doesn’t succeed then the mafia makes him an example. He newspaper article never makes it to the front page, he’s relegated to page 8.

Yes poor Keith’s story is a dark path of misery but that is how I wrote him. When writing characters every piece influences the character you create. Now Keith could have had to steal the money to get his mother off the streets as a prostitute. His story all depends on you and what you make it to be.

Species Compilation of Trinity Mates

This is my compile of all the different species we come across in Book 1 of the Trinity Mates.

Freorian, Hydrakian, Draconian – Human in appearance, the closer to the original blood line they are the more dragon like abilities they possess. Their height can range anywhere from 5′ to 7′ tall, mainly between 5′ and 6′ 6” tall. Their life expectancy can span centuries. All three species are at war with each other.

Terran – Terrans are human in appearance and physiology. The main difference between the two are that Terrans live much longer than humans. They normally extend their lives even more by exchanging biological body parts for cybernetic ones.

Criptian – Small mammalian beings who are very intelligent. Their features can range from those of a mouse to those of a raccoon. All are no taller than 4′ and they are the natural prey to the Kartorians.

Kartorian – Lizard like beings that stand anywhere from 6′ tall to 9′ tall depending on age and gender. The smaller the Kartorian to weaker they are considered. Most leave their home planet due to the harassment of the larger Kartorian. They are a hostile and violent race known to cause mayhem where ever they go. Males are usually smaller than the females. An off world male Kartorian never breeds with a female of his own race. He usually kidnaps a female from any human like race.

Grenicks – Small amphibious beings known to be cannibalistic. They are very resilient and are known to travel in large groups. Kartorians are known to use them in battle as their first wave of attack.

Credorian – They are a small humanoid race that stand no taller than 4′. Even though they are highly advanced and intelligent they are very trusting and naive. Most become historians for cities, countries, or even entire worlds. A select few become accountants and investors.

Arachni – Spider-like beings. They are a horrible combination of human and spider. They have the ability to shift between the two forms and even shift into a hybrid of the two. They are mostly female. Females are exceedingly attractive and ‘marry’ men, use them to breed the next generation and then devour them. Males, who are also highly attractive, can only be found on their home planet. Males are much larger than females and are known to breed several females at once. If a female attempts to attack the male he tears her apart and leaves her for the other females.

 

Excerpt & Rant

While I have been typing up Galaxing Around I have found that the jargon for my story is confusing, at least to me anyway. There are so many different words or phrases I can use for the same thing. So I am spending some time researching wonderful scifi jargon to see if I’m using the correct terminology.

Anyway, I will give you another short excerpt since I’m going to be a bit busy with researching my jargon.

Galaxing Around – Excerpt 2

She holstered her blaster and looked up at Fyre. “Thank you. That was the most fun I’ve had today.”

He quirked a brow. “You thought that was fun?”

She shrugged. “Why not? They ruined my night of getting drunk and blindly making my way to the tattoo shop. So why can’t I bust their faces in.”

“I can think of several different ways you can spend your nights. Especially with me.” He looked at her appreciatively.

She turned back to the bar and waved down the bartender. He handed her another glass of whiskey and went back to wiping the counter down. She tossed the glass down. “Feel like having a wild night with me?”

He smiled at her. “Just one question. Your place or mine?”

“Definitely yours.” She pulled some credits out of her pocket and tossed them on the counter “Let’s go kind sir.”

He grinned and bowed. “As my lady wishes.” He held out an arm for her and led her out the door.”

Fyre escorted Kria through the streets. His ship was docked on the other side of town from hers. Now that she had time to think over her actions maybe it was a bad idea to walk off with a male. “You’re not going to drag me into some dark alleyway and have your deranged way with me.”

He looked at her like she was deranged. “If you’re having second thoughts I can take you back to your ship.”

She watched him, how he moved like a graceful cat. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to take you back to my ship.” She moved in front of him. “Why do you really want me to go to your ship?”

He leaned down and nuzzled his nose against her face. “How hard is it to believe that I find you sexy as hell?” He pulled back and grabbed her hands, placing them on his chest. “I find your body irresistible and all I want to do is see you spread out on my bed ready for me.”

“Lead me to your ship, oh sexy one.”

“How about this.” He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. “Now we can get there even faster.” He sprinted the rest of the way to his ship. “Welcome to my humble abode,” he said as he set her back on her feet.

Thoughts On Galaxing Around

I am currently working on Galaxing Around (of course) but also a compilation of the different species you will see in it. I am thinking about adding this list at the end of the book, kind of like a glossary. But knowing me I would want to add in history, vocabulary, and character listing. I haven’t seen a whole lot of writers do this but actually like doing things like this. I have something like this for another story I am writing.

I am very on the fence about this. I feel that if I add it I might spoil it somehow, even though it would be at the end of the book. Plus this is the only book I have thought about actually putting in print as well. I know this book is on a much larger scale than my other two. I don’t know. I probably won’t decide on anything until I have finished typing up Galaxing Around. FYI I’m not even a third of the way through typing it up. Which sucks considering that I write everything on paper first (much easier to tote around than a laptop). Eh, I’m old fashioned that way I guess.

Anyway, these are just a few thoughts I have on what I’m doing with Galaxing Around.

Beta Readers

I posted on my personal Facebook page for beta readers and I was asked a very important question that I felt needed to be addressed. The question was whether or not it was a paid gig. For a beginning writer I told them my sales were not enough to actually pay them but I would give them a free copy of the book that they were beta reading for me.

I felt that I should give a bit of advice to other new authors out there. If you have beta readers who are willing to read your book free of charge that’s awesome. But it’s just good manners to give them something in return.

If you are a new writer and find someone willing to be a beta reader, always offer them a free copy of your book if they want one. I would not suggest offering money, unless you have ready cash for them. Here’s why:

1. You don’t know what your sales are going to look like.

2. If you go through Amazon you won’t get your first payment for 30-60 days.

3. Taxes and fees (may) apply to what you get. So if you price your book at $.99 then when someone buys it they get charged $1.07 (if I did my math right) and then there is a Delivery Cost if you do 70% Royalty (which pricing starts at $2.99)

Also beware your beta readers. I’m not saying all of them are bad most are really nice but there are bad apples out there. They might steal/copy your work. Or troll you once you have published your work. Yes there are some messed up people out there. Just turn on the news.

For me there is always one thing that sits in the back of my mind. These are my friends (if you are using your friends as beta readers) are they really going to give me their honest opinion or are they going to sugar coat it?

This question dogs me every time I ask someone to read something for me and it has actually stopped me a few times. But to be a successful writer you have to face your fears. To be successful at anything you have to face your fears and believe in yourself. You won’t accomplish anything if you are in the mindset that you won’t finish your book or that no one will like it.

Keep an eye out for little updates on my Facebook page and Twitter. I try to remember to update but sometimes I forget. I’m sure some of you are going to ask about my personal page but I will tell you right now that my personal page is just that, personal.

Don’t forget to get your copies of Triple Threat and  Taming An Alpha.

Look at me getting all tech savvy… Not! I learned how to use the little links button…. Yeah I’m a dork. It’s ok. Don’t hate me for my dorkiness.

No Book is Perfect

A few days ago I wrote a post about publishing. I’m sure that you will see it if you keep scrolling. But as I was *cough* procrastinating *cough* I came across a post on DeviantArt that was very true. The journal was titled Is Your Skin Too Thin? ( http://neurotype.deviantart.com/journal/Is-Your-Skin-Too-Thin-355303762 ) and it was very true.

Being an author isn’t easy. Yes I talk about being a new author but I’m not, I have published before and it didn’t go very well. People didn’t like my work or didn’t understand it. Some down right hated it. But guess what? That is ok. It made me take a look at my writing and decide how I am going to change for the better. I love the stories I write but I also have to remember that I am not going to please everyone and that just because no one bought a copy today doesn’t mean that they hate it. Sometimes it is hard to remember that being a bestselling author takes a lot of hard work and time.

Yes it takes time. Time and continual learning. Even Stephen King’s writing has changed since his very first book. Because authors are continually learning and changing. Things they wrote about two years ago may no longer be popular or the slang they used may not be used anymore. If you read a book from the 70s or 80s it is going to be different from how things are written now.

Now there are plenty of books, articles, blogs, whatever out there that tell you how to write the PERFECT book. FYI no book is perfect. I still find bloopers or misspelling or grammar mishaps even in a bestselling authors books. Is it in all of them? No. Is it their fault? Not always sometimes during the editing process things don’t get fixed or the fixed area doesn’t make it to the printing press/ebook. But not every book is perfect and not everyone is going to love your book. But as long as YOU love your book who cares.

Think of your book as your kid. Would you love your child less if he/she had flaws? I hope you said no there. No one is perfect. Except deities and sometimes they have flaws too. So please remember that just because you got a bad review or you go a couple days without any sales it doesn’t mean the end of the world.

Now if you are getting bad reviews because you sent your ‘finished’ product to Amazon/other ebook platforms before editing for spelling, grammar, etc then you need to take it as constructive criticism and seriously take another look at your manuscript. Editing is an essential part of the writing process. “But I don’t want to edit it. It is fine.” Guess what buttercup you better suck it up and double check because you may think it is fine but you need to check to make sure. Take a green/purple pen to your printed copy and start fixing. Triple Threat had hardly any edits at the beginning of it but by the time I came to the end I was slaughtering it. I even back over the beginning in a different color.

So I will end my blog here and say that if you plan on publishing your book just remember that a lot of hard work goes into it, even if you have to research some of the steps to edit and revise. It is ok if you don’t know every step. Research is your friend and your friends are sometimes even willing to give you a look at it and critique it.

Galaxing Around Sneak Peek

This is still unedited and I am having second thoughts about a couple of character names. I haven’t finished writing this yet but I have been talking about giving everyone a sneak peek, so here it is! A quick glance at Galaxing Around. I haven’t gotten a cover yet but it’s in the works.

She exited her room and almost sprinted to the engine room. Maybe those two idiots had some good news for her. Or tell her that the engine they got was a complete waste of time. She really needed to get a new set of engineers or maybe just one, then she wouldn’t have to pay as much. She’d most likely end up with some craggy old male with no sense of humor who would demand more money than what she paid the twins already. Never mind replacing them. She would pay them less and buy more alcohol for herself. It wasn’t like she had anything else to keep her busy. Stupid male. No sense of loyalty or caring about mate marks.

She hit the keyboard next to the engine room and opened the door. “Hey, you two fracking idiots have any news for me?” A set of legs was sticking out from underneath the engine board.

“Not really.”

She glanced over her shoulder and saw the twins sitting on a couple of crates, a card game between them. “Who’s fixing the engine?”

Kell looked up from the cards in his hand. “Verdal’s fixing it.” He turned back to his cards and dropped two face down on the crate.

“Why aren’t you two fixing the engine?”

“Because those fracking idiots have no clue how to fix a fusion engine,” Verdal growled from beneath the control panel.

“If you didn’t know how to fix one of these why did you talk me into getting one?” she growled.

Fell dropped a card on the crate and drew two from the stack. “It’s pretty to look at, unlike that hunk of junk we had before.”

Kell grimaced and dropped three cards. “Plus we lost a bet against Kip.”

“Are you fracking serious?!” Kria grabbed her com. “Kip you are needed in the engine room immediately. You two stop sitting there and find us a port that has a fusion repair shop or something. You two will learn how to fix this!”

The door slid open revealing a fit man with graying hair and a cybernetic arm. “Kip, did you know that these two didn’t know how to fix a fusion engine when you made that bet with them?”

Kip growled at the twins. “You told!”

Fell shrugged and stuffed the cards in his shirt pocket. “We like our throats were they are. Besides if she beats the crap out of you then we have some form of entertainment.”

Kria growled in frustration. “Help Verdal fix this now!”

The speakers crackled as they came on. “Captain, we seem to have acquired the attention of a possible hostile ship.”

“What is the current status, Neera?” Great just another headache she needed.

“They are currently scanning my hull. I took the liberty of changing my serial code and the name on my hull, along with my current paint job.”

She sighed. “Hopefully that will be enough. I guess spending all those credits on the Chameleon Program was worth it.”

“I think you need to find a stress reliever Captain.” Fell chuckled as Kria turned pink.

“I’m going to kill all of you,” Kria growled. Sometimes being the only female on board really sucked.

“Torture me before you kill me. It makes awesome foreplay,” Verdal chuckled.

She snorted. “You’re such a perv.”

“Only for you, zemera.”

The speakers crackled again as Neera came back on the overhead. “Captain, I have identified the ship as part of the Lorakas Galactic Federation.”

“Just great. Anything else? Like they cancelled the bounty on my head?”

“Negative. They have doubled the bounty and any Federation officer that captures you receives a hefty payout along with a promotion within the ranks. You have become the Golden Goose.”

“Fuck me,” she groaned.

“I’m sorry Captain but I am physically incapable of doing so. You could enlist one of your crew-mates who would be willing to do so.”

Kria looked up at the ceiling. “Why? Why me?”

Verdal chuckled as he continued to work on the control panel. “Because, zemera, you have the best of luck.”

Kria shook her head. “Don’t I know it. Kip, you are temporarily in charge.”

“Why temporarily?”

“Do you have 30,000 credits to pay off this hunk of junk?”

Kip detached his arm and held it out to her. “I can give you my arm.”

“What am I going to do with that other than beat you with it?”

“I can think of several things. Especially with the vibration mode the fingers have.” Kip grinned as a low threatening growl came out from under the control panel. “Though if you ever feel like de-stressing you know where my room is and I can give you an in depth demonstration.”

“Or I can forcibly remove your male anatomy and sell it at market when we make port?” Kria smiled at him as he retracted his arm and reattached it.