Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel #1
Upon first seeing the cover of this book, I had to smile at the two MC's names - Agents Books and Braun! :-D Ok, I thought, I have to give this a chance.
Eliza D. Braun is a field agent for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, working to preserve order under the reign of "Queen Vic." Wellington Thornhill Books, Esquire, is the head of the Ministry's archives - he is NOT a librarian, but an archivist (as he so often reminds Eliza).
When Agent Braun brings too much attention to the existence of the clandestine Ministry, she is reassigned to the Archives. But, that doesn't keep her confined to the stuffy basement for long. Her former partner, Harrison Thorne, was driven mad after going missing for a week while investigating the newest in a series of gruesome murders. Upon discovering the evidence Thorne collected in the Ministry’s unsolved cases, Braun takes action. She intends to find answers, and assuage her guilt over Harrison’s madness – with or without Agent Books' help.
As they begin to connect the murders to one another, Books and Braun find themselves involved in something much more dangerous than they expected. When the clues lead them to the mysterious Phoenix Society, fighting for “Queen and country” takes on a whole new meaning. Going undercover, Wellington and Eliza discover what the Phoenix Society members are up to in their secluded country estate. But when their cover is blown, how will they escape the dungeons of the nefarious Phoenix Society’s leader and see justice done?
Philippa (Pip) Ballantine and Tee Morris have created a fun, witty and adventure-filled steampunk novel. It is the first steampunk book I've read, but if I can find more with this level of writing and entertainment value – I'm officially a fan! I'll be keeping an eye out for book two in this series.
“Welly,” as Eliza insists on calling Agent Books, is fascinated with technology and creates some of the cool steampunk gadgets in the book. Eliza, on the other hand, prefers dynamite to steam power. They’re a classic “odd couple” somewhat reminiscent of Mulder and Scully in the early seasons of X-files.
A couple of the scenes felt a bit forced just so the authors could include more cool gadgets. But, since I love a good fight scene, I forgive them. A really enjoyable read that I had a hard time putting down. :-)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Round One Edits - Mission Accomplished?
Well, after spending my spare moments for the majority of the past 10 days on my first round edits, I just emailed the "new and expanded" version to Gypsy Shadow Publishing's editor.
Everything went smoothly, at first. I typed up a rough draft of a new ending in just a few hours. Then - the obsessing began. :-O I read it through and thought, "That's not too bad, but it could be better." So, I wrote a new scene and let it sit for a couple days. I wanted to come back to it fresh.
When I read it the second time I thought, "That is the worst piece of crap ever to pollute my computer hard drive, it must die!" But, I refrained from complete execution and only axed about a third of it. :-)
At least six versions later, I realized the scene I added wasn't working. Yeah, I know, I'm brilliant. ;-) So, I cut that scene and wrote a completely new one, which is now my new "the end." I had been wanting to include an element that I couldn't figure out how to add, but felt it was important to have in order to wrap up all the sub-plots and give the characters a sense of closure.
I hope to hear back soon and have some more news for you all about the next step in my publishing journey.
Everything went smoothly, at first. I typed up a rough draft of a new ending in just a few hours. Then - the obsessing began. :-O I read it through and thought, "That's not too bad, but it could be better." So, I wrote a new scene and let it sit for a couple days. I wanted to come back to it fresh.
When I read it the second time I thought, "That is the worst piece of crap ever to pollute my computer hard drive, it must die!" But, I refrained from complete execution and only axed about a third of it. :-)
At least six versions later, I realized the scene I added wasn't working. Yeah, I know, I'm brilliant. ;-) So, I cut that scene and wrote a completely new one, which is now my new "the end." I had been wanting to include an element that I couldn't figure out how to add, but felt it was important to have in order to wrap up all the sub-plots and give the characters a sense of closure.
I hope to hear back soon and have some more news for you all about the next step in my publishing journey.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Round One Edits; Realizing Your Story Isn’t “Perfect.”
I received my round one edits from Gypsy Shadow Publishing yesterday morning. I opened the email with a mixture of excitement and dread. Excitement for moving one step closer to the publication of “Honor the Pack” and dread of what changes might be asked of me.
Would the editor want to rearrange my story? Or change the names of major characters? Would I see more corrections than original text?
I need not have worried so much. There are corrections to make, but the majority of those are minor technical errors. And yes, some of those are embarrassingly obvious. For example: I changed “in spite of” to “despite” but forgot to delete “of” leaving behind this gem “Despite of …" – oops. :-o
However, that is nothing compared to the glaring error in my time line concerning some of the characters’ ages. I edited this story more times than I can count (but it was at least five). I had beta readers who gave me excellent suggestions and feedback. I wanted the novella to be perfect before I sent it out for publication. I thought it was perfect.
It wasn’t.
Do you know what I’ve learned from that? I had a strong story that the editor liked and the small errors were just that – small. Easy to correct. This is NOT an endorsement to send out a sloppy manuscript with an “it’s good enough” attitude. I worked very hard on making this novella the best it could be before I sent it out. Yes, I made mistakes. I’m human. So are editors. They understand a minor mistake here and there. It is their job to recognize a diamond in the rough and help a writer polish it before the world admires its brilliant gleam.
But don’t waste their time. Edit extensively before you submit. Have beta readers go over your work, they will notice inconsistencies and errors you don’t. It's important to be as professional as possible.
After I read through the edits, I understood what the editor meant with her corrections and I agreed with them. So I replied to her email, letting her know that I would have the edits back to her as soon as possible. I was a bit surprised by her reply. She asked if I could add to the ending because it felt a bit abrupt.
I’ll let you in on a little secret here. I ended the story where I did because I was afraid it would be too long for any publisher to accept from an “unknown” writer if I kept going. And now I not only have the opportunity to expand it – the editor requested it of me! :-) It won’t be a huge addition, maybe just a couple of pages, but I’m excited about the scene I have planned.
Another step closer to my first publication and it feels awesome!! I can’t wait to have a release date to share with everyone. :-)
Next Installment: (To be determined.)
Would the editor want to rearrange my story? Or change the names of major characters? Would I see more corrections than original text?
I need not have worried so much. There are corrections to make, but the majority of those are minor technical errors. And yes, some of those are embarrassingly obvious. For example: I changed “in spite of” to “despite” but forgot to delete “of” leaving behind this gem “Despite of …" – oops. :-o
However, that is nothing compared to the glaring error in my time line concerning some of the characters’ ages. I edited this story more times than I can count (but it was at least five). I had beta readers who gave me excellent suggestions and feedback. I wanted the novella to be perfect before I sent it out for publication. I thought it was perfect.
It wasn’t.
Do you know what I’ve learned from that? I had a strong story that the editor liked and the small errors were just that – small. Easy to correct. This is NOT an endorsement to send out a sloppy manuscript with an “it’s good enough” attitude. I worked very hard on making this novella the best it could be before I sent it out. Yes, I made mistakes. I’m human. So are editors. They understand a minor mistake here and there. It is their job to recognize a diamond in the rough and help a writer polish it before the world admires its brilliant gleam.
But don’t waste their time. Edit extensively before you submit. Have beta readers go over your work, they will notice inconsistencies and errors you don’t. It's important to be as professional as possible.
After I read through the edits, I understood what the editor meant with her corrections and I agreed with them. So I replied to her email, letting her know that I would have the edits back to her as soon as possible. I was a bit surprised by her reply. She asked if I could add to the ending because it felt a bit abrupt.
I’ll let you in on a little secret here. I ended the story where I did because I was afraid it would be too long for any publisher to accept from an “unknown” writer if I kept going. And now I not only have the opportunity to expand it – the editor requested it of me! :-) It won’t be a huge addition, maybe just a couple of pages, but I’m excited about the scene I have planned.
Another step closer to my first publication and it feels awesome!! I can’t wait to have a release date to share with everyone. :-)
Next Installment: (To be determined.)
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