A Finished Cover Image and Second Round Edits

Ok, this is really late, but those of you who know me are aware of my big move and that I start law school on the 22^nd of this month. So I hope you forgive me. :-)

Where to begin? Let's go chronologically, shall we?

The Cover Image

Through the patience and skill of Charlotte Holley, I now have an incredible cover image for “Honor the Pack.” Gypsy Shadow Publishing did use the two images I found on the stock image website, and Charlotte found a third to represent my female MC in human form. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, check out my “Author” page at GSP. When the novella is released, the page will also include an excerpt from the piece and a link to buy it. (I’ll figure out how to put up a picture and link in my sidebar when the time arrives so it won’t get buried in the old posts.)

The Second Round Edits

This was the easiest part of the process for me – and the toughest. The edits went quickly, only a couple of hours over the course of a few days. (Again, I like to let things sit for a bit before I make my final decision if I keep it or not.) So, time-wise, it was a cinch.

The emotional side was much tougher. Over the past couple of months, as I’ve gone through the publishing process, I’ve been excited. I still am! But as I sat at my laptop getting ready to send off the “final” version of “Honor the Pack” I was plagued with doubt. Had I really done the best job I could? Will people like it? Oh my God, what will I do if people hate it? :-O

I know that both will likely happen. It’s a fact of life. Not every person has the same view of what makes a good story. But, that didn’t stop my last minute panic and self-doubt.

So, how did I overcome this fear and click the send button on that email? I took a deep breath and reminded myself that this novella is the result of over a year of hard work on my part. I am proud of it. Damn proud. And this is what all that hard work was for, so that people could read it. This is a goal, no a dream, I’ve had for a long, long time. People have told me that I couldn’t do it, that it was a waste of time. They encouraged me to quit and “do something practical” with my time. But you know something? I can’t think of any better way to spend my free time than by creating. Maybe someday it will pay the bills, but even if I never publish another work of fiction again in my life I’ll always know that it wasn’t impossible. I worked hard and reached my goal.

If I, a girl who grew up in a tiny speck of a town in Southeast Alaska, can make one of her dreams come true then there is never any reason to doubt life’s possibilities. :-)

Calliope update.

Have you ever had a piece come to a screeching halt because you just couldn't track down that one tiny piece of information you were searching for? That little extra something that would make a good plotline great?

Well, Calli didn't exactly come to a screeching halt, but the book was limping along with a large piece missing. I had to skip over the entire voyage from Greece to Rome because I had no idea how long it would take to get there, etc.

But yesterday my mom saved me. Yup, you heard me right. My mom. She got an email, from AARP of all places, containing a link to free online courses taught by MIT. MIT? The MIT? Yup again. So I followed the link. ** Ok, here it is, I know you're wondering - http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/courses/index.htm 

Aaanyway, there are some really interesting sounding courses on there. One in particular that I thought would be helpful with Calli - The Ancient City. I wasn't expecting it to solve my particular problem of sea travel during ancient times, but it has a website listed in the syllabus that did just that. (http://www.ostia-antica.org/)  (On an aside, every time I see Ostia, I laugh to myself. I was an exchange student in Malta. Ostia means sh*t in Maltese.) :-O

So, now I can go back and fill in the HUGE gap that was just sitting there mocking me. Of course that will mean changing some of what I've already written because there will be some things that have to be adjusted about Calli's attempted escape from Zeno, etc. But I finally have the knowledge to write it.

And today I got a pretty good start. I was working down in our bargain store (cool books, cheap prices - but dead as far as customers go once Christmas passes by) so I grabbed one of our mark down journals and started scribbling. I haven't typed it up yet, but I got a pretty good chunk of it written!

**SIGH** That's a sigh of relief all. Pure, sweet relief. I can now finish the rough draft of Calli by April as I've recently set that goal for myself. The final draft however, well . . .

P.S. Thanks Mom!!

Welcome to 2010.

Well, now that the new year has begun, I must make good on my promise to update and "revamp" this blog. While I have decided to keep posting writing samples on occasion, I will also be adding some new content.

There are a lot of web sites and blogs out there that offer advice to new and/or aspiring writers. But with so many people out there giving opinions and advice you often run into conflicting information. What I propose to do here is to choose one site a week to peruse and then offer my conclusions/findings about each site. I'll be giving each a rating as to how helpful (or not) I found the content. Take these ratings with a grain of salt. I don't pretend to be an expert. What I am offering is another aspiring writer's viewpoint in hopes that I might help one of you find a venue to becoming the next big thing in the writing world.

Because my work schedule changes weekly, I do not have a set day of the week upon which I will be posting. However, I will have a new post up by Sunday each week before 12:00am, Pacific Time.

In addition to these site reviews, I will also be posting the occasional writing prompt or discussion topic.

I will begin 2010 with a discussion topic.     

In recent years, self-publishing has become a more respected form of getting your book into the hands of readers. (Look at Christopher Paolini, for example. He began as a self-published auther at the age of 15.) Have you, or would you, consider self-publishing your novel as a way to get noticed by a large publishing house? Or would you consider self-publishing as a lucrative business without a "real publisher" coming in with an offer?

I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

K. Looney(writer)

Survived Christmas Shopping Season - Check.

Well, now that the Christmas shopping rush is over, I have more time for writing. I've been nibbling away on Calli and completely avoiding my synopsis of Aria. :-O Bad, Kaycee, bad.

But now that the season of resolutions is upon us, I have made a committment to myself and to this blog. New year, new dedication. I'm going to be giving "The Musings" an overhaul. I will still include writing samples but will bring in some different concepts to the blog. More when I have the details smoothed out. :-)

On a similar note. I have been invited to do an interview on Lydia and Joe Sharp's blog "The Sharp Angle" in January. They have chosen some writers they believe in to feature and I am very excited to participate. I'll post a link when the interview is up.  :-D

Happy New Year to All! Stay safe during this winter storm season.