Vacation!

Every year, for the past 5 years, a certain portion of female family members get together at my house for a week of play time, gossip and relaxation. Lovely. That week has arrived.

It is a time of grounding for me. I reconnect with sisters and nieces and the occasional cousin or old friend. We go out on the town and I rediscover how much I enjoy the area where I'm living. Beautiful mountains, fun shops downtown, great restaurants, all remind me why I moved here in the first place.

It is also a time to get out of my head and into the present. Writing is a solitary occupation that involves the imagination. I spend hours every day thinking and plotting and basically day-dreaming my story on to the computer. Being with people, out doing things in the real world is rejuvenating to that process.

Besides being just flat out fun. We chat and snack and stroll and gossip. We catch up on each other's lives and trials and joys. We play games. We go out to eat. And best of all is Spa Day. Ahh, spa day.

So I am taking a small time away from the rewrite of Scattered Seeds. When I return to work, I expect to do so with great gusto!

Dark Deeds Ebook in all formats

 

Dark Deeds is coming out on Smashwords this weekend. That means it should be available on Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and a variety of other retailers within the week. I will have links up here under the Asher Blaine Mysteries tab and on the IAN website as soon as they are available.

To Each Their Own

There is a lot of talk about knowing your target audience and marketing to them. But last week I read two books that were on opposite sides of my range of favorites. One book was a sort of paranormal - urban fantasy with a touch of romance. The other book was pure fantasy with battles and gods, quests and betrayals. I don't think those authors would be considered in the same subgenre -- but I really liked them both.

I also like coming of age and its opposite, stories of the crone. But again, I bet people don't think that is the same market.

I like quiet thoughtful bucolic fantasy and wild-ride urban fantasy.

So I'd like to twist that advice a little and say know your genre or subgenre and be aware of the expectations. Let the reader know up front what the story entails, be it ogres, werewolves, telepaths, aliens, space battles, quests, whatever. If it's clear what the story will contain, it will attract willing readers. Provided, of course, that you write the very best story you can.