Novel News: Book Blurb

Wanderers 8 - Small CopyIf you’ve been following the progress of my soon-to-be-published novel, then you probably already saw the cover. If you’ve been wondering just what the story (and maybe that cat) is actually about–I have finally finished writing the official blurb for the back of the book.  As a writing friend observed, that’s even harder than the novel!

Well, maybe not, but it probably did go through just as many drafts. 🙂

So today, here’s some hint of what goes on behind that cover…

Any wandering adventurer hoping to survive needs rules—and Jasper has many.  There’s Rule #2: Never make plans; Rule #20: Never make a Good Fairy angry; and the surprisingly challenging Rule #18: Always travel alone.

The talking cat breaks Rule #18 badly enough.  The witch’s daughter, desperate to escape her horrible mother, is even worse.  Between them, they up-end Jasper’s previously simple life (when all he had to worry about was an occasional giant or dragon), and prove that sometimes, rules are no help at all.

You might recognize the countryside and you may think you know what to expect.  But whether it’s a refined ogre, a youngest son in need of lots of questing help or a very dangerous Good Fairy, things here rarely go quite as the Brothers Grimm would tell it.  You’ve strayed beyond the tales.

Cover Designing – and a Request

Last week I announced that in November I’m publishing my YA Fantasy novel, The Wanderers.  I also promised to share the fun parts of the process!  So far, I’ve been having lots of fun playing with images to create my cover.  I’m almost done–but I want some opinions.  I’ve already run some versions past my writing group for very helpful feedback, and now I also want to hear what you lovely readers think.

Here are my two (admittedly similar) cover images:

Wanderers 4Wanderers 5Thoughts on your preferred font?  On your preferred placement for the cat?  On anything else?  Opinions greatly appreciated!  And keep an eye on the Novel News page, where I’ll be posting the finalized cover soon.

So I Wrote a Novel…

Part of the revision process...
Part of the revision process…

If you’ve read my bio or happened on a Fiction Friday post, then you know that I write novels.  I finished final-final revisions of my most recent novel draft over the summer–and I’ve decided that I’m going to take the plunge and self-publish.

So today I’m announcing that this November I will be publishing The Wanderers in ebook and paperback.  And now that I’ve told all of you, I really have to do it!

I’m setting my goal for November to give myself plenty of time to work out all the details–it’s a bit more complicated then hitting “Publish” for a blog post!  And, of course, it also gives everyone time to tell their friends… 😉

The Wanderers is a Young Adult Fantasy novel about a wandering adventurer, a talking cat, and a witch’s daughter.  Monsters, fairies and princes abound, with the occasional familiar fairy tale element–with a twist.  If you enjoy the kind of books I read, I like to think you’ll also enjoy the book I wrote.

Mostly this is a head’s-up, just-letting-you-know kind of post.  I’ll be sharing a bit more about the publishing process as I go along through it–but don’t worry, I’ll tell you about the fun parts like cover design, not the dull things like getting an ISBN number!  I added a new page at the top of the blog that I’ll keep updated with novel news, including the first page.

So stick around…more to come soon!

Breaking the 1st Rule of Writing

Stonehenge 2It doesn’t take much looking to know that there are many, many rules of writing.  Part of the trick is not only knowing the rules, but knowing when not to follow them.  For my writing group’s blog, Stonehenge Writers, I have a post today discussing the times to break even the most perennial of rules: show don’t tell.  (And featuring an example from The Princess Bride.)  I hope you’ll take a look!

Stonehenge Post: Revising Writing Goals

Stonehenge 2New post up today for my writing group blog, Stonehenge Writers!  You may remember at the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about setting writing goals.  Well, we’re almost five months along, and it’s a good time to take a look at goals and make some reassessments…  Come read the post: “Revising My Revising Goals.”