Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo 2016

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is upon us, so get ready. It runs the month of November and starts on All Saints Day, right after Halloween. The goal: Write 50,000 words toward a novel.

Sure, go trick-or-treating and have some fun the night before, but then throw out the junk candy (okay, pick out the good stuff), and clean the coffee maker. Sharpen your pencils even if its simply to tuck behind your ear. Set your alarm...hit snooze. Whatever. Just put your butt in the chair and clickety clack every day for thirty days. Create a habit. Cry. Try. Do it. Be proud.

If not for you, do it for the dogs. Do it for Tilly Bean. I mean, really...look at that face!

Wonder Underbite

Tilly Bean

But for some reason, the official NaNoWriMo web banner wasn't doing it for me. I put it up on Facebook, but my portrait covers the 2016. Poor design, peeps. The Dudess can't abide ;)

NanoWrimo 2016 Participant Web Banner

Sorry, but no.

So I made my own Facebook banner. I pulled up my Destination Moon illustration from long, long ago, the one inspired by the song of the same name, sung by the awesome Dinah Washington.

My Version: Destination Moon
Feel free to share!

Hell, Yeah!

My November Facebook Portrait

Moon Faced

YA Romance #3 in the Works

I'm in between a pantser--some one who writes by the seat of their pants, guided by inspiration and caffeine--and someone whose a planner, one who writes an outline, character sheets, knows their plot points and when the starter pistol goes off, they've got a stack of notes to boost their confidence. So does that make me a plantser?

Yes, I like it :)

So my temporary cover is done. I've researched my character portraits on Pinterest. I've written up some bullet points on character development sheets, and this time, I even wrote a synopsis. I'm sort of ready. I'll sit in the basement with my computer, my cup of coffee, my dogs, and my space heater...stare at the screen...and wish I'd planned a little bit more.

Fun! Join me! My username is EspialDesign.

Currently: Celebrating Formatting Success!

With my personal tech guru, Gosho, by my side, I downloaded my Riding with the Hides of Hell* files from Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in HTML format. We reviewed the KDP supported formats section and got to work.

Gosho downloaded HTML Tidy (Google says: "HTML Tidy is a web browser application whose purpose is to fix invalid web code, beautify the layout and formatting of the incorrect markup. The user interface is composed of two main editors where you can edit your content in a visual and a source editor.") and "we" got busy eliminating unnecessary code as per KDP's HTML guidelines. Basically, I watched while Gosho did all the heavy lifting (and swearing, etc)...

...and my loyal companions were equally helpful, offering up their morale support...

Tilly Bean and Tango "The Rug"

Heat-Bathing and Dreaming of Mexico

"How could I be so blind? He's in love--with a machine!"

"Let's plan a weekend getaway in the basement on our computers."

"Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant." ~ Mitchell Kapor

"Tech Support Made Easy"

Hello? Can you hear me now?

Gosho...are we done yet?

__________________________________

After getting KDP confirmation (after a 5-hour wait) Gosho and I eagerly checked the "Look Inside The Book" previewer and nearly cried. The spacing was off just like before and where the hell did my image go? Well...after another hour of research, Gosho found this on the KDP site: "That's it -- the new file will overwrite the old file within 24-48 hours. The 'Look Inside' sample will update within a week."

Maybe all this fuss was for nothing? More wait-and-see? I think Gosho needs a drink.

Well...in a week, I hope it all turns out so readers will have confidence in the ebooks they're buying.

* Riding with the Hides of Hell has a new title: Burnout.

Still in Formatting Hell

I posted a big ol' whine fest earlier about my formatting woes with regards to the Holy Mess Fest that is Amazon's "Look Inside The Book" feature. My .mobi files look pristine in the Kindle Previewer and on Calibre. So without taking hours, days, weeks of my time to shoot in the dark, I chose to start over.

I took my formatted text and exported it into TextEdit. Then I copied and pasted this "cleansed" version back into a brand new Pages document and went about reformatting the whole damn (pardon my swearing) thing again...with italics, bold, indents, justification, table of contents, and inserting my image.

Here's what I got after the eight hour turn around from the time I uploaded the new file onto KDP to the time it's published and visible to the public and moi (ahem - it was actually four hours of waiting this time):

_________________________

"What's with the spacing, yo?"

"Look Inside The Book" (LITB) on Amazon

Riding with the Hides of Hell* - first page

Now, I'm wondering if the image could be causing the problem? It's my next attempt at fixing this dismal rendering of my ebook! When I published Dealing with Blue, I did not have these problems (tired of me grumbling yet?)--I set up the manuscripts in the same way, so I'm confused at what the problem could be. Is it me? Or is it Mac Pages? Or is it Amazon?

* Riding with the Hides of Hell had a title change and is now called Burnout.

In Formatting Hell

I was so excited to push that button! Voila! Everything looked perfect when I converted my .ePub file for Riding with the Hides of Hell* to a .mobi one via the Kindle Previewer ("Kindle Previewer is a graphical user interface tool that emulates how books display across Kindle devices and apps,"~ says Google).

____________________________

A Thing of Beauty

View on Kindle Previewer

Riding with the Hides of Hell - first page

So I hastily blogged about my new book release, shared the news with my friends on Facebook and then immediately regretted it when I checked the "Look Inside The Book" (LITB) on Amazon. What the hell?

What a hot mess!

Apparently, even though the .mobi file looks good in the Kindle Previewer, the LITB is another ball of wax...reading HTML and Cascading Style Sheets and all that mumbo-jumbo that I can't see using Mac Pages. How to fix it, if it's fine everywhere else?

_________________________

An Unholy Mess

"Look Inside The Book" on Amazon

Riding with the Hides of Hell - first page

So I did a little search and found this program called Calibre. Writers use this to reveal the code in their .ePub files, and they can manually fix it. I opened it and was immediately overwhelmed by the interface. I poked around, but realized very quickly, I had no idea what I was doing, and it would take me forever to figure it out. I don't want to code, I want to write. I don't want to learn a new program. I want to hit the publish button and have everything work. Is that too much to ask?

_________________________

Back to a Thing of Beauty

Calibre eBook Management

Riding with the Hides of Hell* - first page

Plus, when I opened my .mobi file in Calibre, it shows up all formatted and pretty like it's supposed to look. How can I fix something if it's correct?

The turn around from uploading my file on Kindle Direct Press (KDP) and it going live to the public is about eight hours, making it very difficult to trouble shoot and keep the "Look Inside The Book" problems under the veil of magic. Anyone who opens Amazon's LITB feature will have been turned off immediately, thinking...assuming that the ebook will look just as dismal.

C'mon Amazon! Get with the program and fix the "Look Inside The Book" feature so its user-friendly to indie authors like me. I like doing things myself, but the next stop is paying someone to do my formatting. I found these three suggested formatters in the KDP forum:
Polgarus Studio 
Booknook.biz
Ebook Pioneers

I'll keep you posted, but right now I'm waiting for my eight hours to go byto see if my complete manuscript overhaul worked. If not, it's eeney-meeney-miney-moe from the list above.

However, if Kindle Previewer and Calibre are worth their salt, then the ebook is in working order. Forget the "Look Inside The Book" preview for now and just sit back and enjoy the read :) I'll get it handled, don't you worry.

"Technology makes it possible for people to gain control

over everything, except over technology."~ John Tudor

* Riding with the Hides of Hell has a new title: Burnout!

Currently: Enjoying a New Book Release!

Riding with the Hides of Hell*

Bouncing Book Baby #2

An ebook was born today! I woke up and said, "What the hell. Why not?" and I hit the publish button. It's available on Amazon as I write this, and it's up for grabs on Kindle Unlimited, too. And... as if it's kismet, the paperback proof arrived today. Thank you, Mr. Mailman! I've only been waiting for FOREVER.

Squeee! I'm so excited to share this with the world. It was a fun one to write. What you say? You don't like adventure? You don't like a kickass heroine? Then this might not be your cup of tea.

For everyone else...enjoy!

Warning!

Danger up ahead.

* Riding with the Hides of Hell has a new title: Burnout!

October's Reading Challenge: Skinny Books

Don't judge a book by its cover, but how about by its size? My Goodreads reading challenge says I'm eleven books behind schedule, and this bothers me.

I perused my TBR pile and cobbled together a nice mix of skinny books that should be quick reads to get me back on track. So, my October challenge is to finish reading my current ebook: 1.) Double Clutch: A Brenna Blixen Novel by Liz Reinhardt, then start on these thin mints:

A 4.75" Short Stack

2.) The Giver by Lois Lowry* - Middle Grade (179 pages)
3.)  Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead* - Middle Grade (180 pages)
4.) The 48-Hour Hook Up by Sarah Ballance - Contemporary Romance (188 pages)
5.) Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl - Childrens (81 pages)
6.) The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams* - Childrens (44 pages)
7.) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson* - Middle Grade (163 pages)
8.) Trouble in Paradise by Carolyn Brown - Romance (182 pages)
9.) Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli - Middle Grade (184 pages)

10.) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson* - Young Adult (198 pages)

11.) My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather* - Classic (85 pages)

Eleven books to read for the remainder of October! Can I do it?

It's a pile of good stuff to read, so...definitely worth the try ;)

* A recommended read!

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"I've found that worry and irritation vanish into thin air 

the moment I open my mind 

to the many blessings I possess." ~ Dale Carnegie

Nerd Night: BrickCon 2016

Swamp Creature with Kelp'cicle

Mini Fig Necklace

Went to BrickCon 2016 in Seattle's Exhibition Center today, and talk about packed! This hermit and her little hermitses wore down pretty quickly. There was a lot of cool stuff to see and a lot of people to contend with. Cool thing? Everyone there had something in common; they love Legos!

BrickCon 2016

Seattle Exhibition Center

Talent was in every corner...the replica of Multnomah Falls in Oregon was phenomenal, as was the Game of Thrones "Ice Wall." So many bricks and time and structural know-how--not to mention creativity--all of it fabulous. There were also boxes of Legos to buy, bricks in bulk, jewelry (see above) and t-shirts. There was a lot of other stuff, too. Into bricks and blocks? Worth a vista at $12 a ticket.

Yes, Please!

Each Letter Represents a Word

Mini Fig Alphabet

Cool Water

Apartment Building

My Favorite!

High on bricks and Mini Figs, we decided to stop in Bricks & Wheels in Factoria to check things out. What a cool store! The guys there buy old Legos and sell new and used bricks, including bulk and out of date Mini Figs. We wanted the Genie Girl so bad...but since I'd been throwing $20s around on plastic, I put my brakes on. It'll have to wait. But I know where I'll be visiting come Christmas.

Bricks & Wheels

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"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." ~ Milton Berle

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Fabulous Five: Evidence of Autumn

Last week, September 22, was the official start of fall with crisp mornings, sparkling dew drops, and breath hanging in the air. No rain yet, so the mutts are still eager for their walks. My vintage iPhone 4S may be clunky and slow, but it takes great pictures. Even with Tilly and Tango pulling impatiently on their leashes, a poop bag swinging to and fro, and my shaking while trying to take a one-handed close up...I manage all right. It's definitely an art, getting everything lined up for the perfect shot. "Places, people!"

Fern Fronds

New Salal Leaves...

...Mixed with Old Salal Leaves

A Treasure Map

An Orb Spider Wrapping Up Breakfast...

...for Chow Time

Yesterday, I printed my character photos and pinned them to my story wall. I vacuumed my stairs. I wrote up character sheets to get to know the people in my head. I actually dusted. Now, with picture-taking and walks and coffee out of the way and with procrastination aside, I can get back to book #3. Everything's in its place...no more excuses. I have focus.

Today, I write.

__________________________________

"Procrastination is your body telling you you need to back off a bit

and think more about what you are doing." ~ James Altucher

Friday Fives: Game Night

Friday Night, Game Night!

I grab at any chance I can to make a list, and a giant pile of games is a good place to start. For this family, the best games are the ones that are lively and unique. Sometimes space is a factor and other times it's how much time is left on the clock. So here it goes. Five lists of five...

Fast and Fun

1.) Spot It!

2.) Exploding Kittens

3.) Square Off

4.) Forbidden Island or Forbidden Desert

5.) Sushi Go!

Unique

1.) Catan Junior

2.) DiXit

3.) Carcassonne

4.) Blokus

5.) Splendor

Old School Favorites

1.) Stratego

2.) Clue

3.) Sequence

4.) Memory

5.) Pictionary

Games I Dread

1.) Candy Land

2.) Monopoly

3.) Sorry!

4.) Trivial Pursuit

5.) Life

Alone Time

1.) Rush Hour

2.) Sudoku

3.) Solitaire

4.) Pajaggle!

5.) Katamino

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"They'll either want to kill you, kiss you, or be you." ~ Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

Updated Cover Alert

Dealing with Blue - New Cover for Print!

It came to my attention that I should not use lyrics in my work without getting written permission. I spent a couple hours searching the internet for who wrote the song I'd used, who owned the song, and what is in the public domain. Color me stupid, but I couldn't tell who I should ask, or how I would find the right contact information. What if I asked the wrong person, thinking they were the right one, and they thought they were the right one, but in fact, were wrong, and...and...

Anyway the whole thing made me nervous. So I simply rewrote the first two chapters, which worked out well for me. Dealing with Blue lost a couple pages, which made for a smoother introduction. So I'm happy to report, I have finished my first for a second time. It's been "new and improved" as an ebook (still available on Kindle Unlimited) but now it's "new and improved" in print, too!

It's all coming together, slow but sure.

"When things aren't adding up in your life, start subtracting." ~ Anon

From Legos to Roller Girl

This is going to sound crazy, but I like Legos. It's sort of a love/hate relationship, really. They're all over my house, little 1x1s in the carpet, dumped piles in the middle of the living room, and Lego tracks on every surface. I feel like I need a snow shovel to clean this stuff up! After another big box enters the house, and I find pieces erupting all over the place, I inevitably howl at the moon, "NOOooo! This is the last time I'm buying little plastic blocks!"

Yet, the mini-figures are ingenious and tap into my monkey brain. Different. Cute. Must. Collect. And I love standing in the toy aisle trying to figure out what I'm feeling through the wrapper...not in a creepy way, mind you. In a...wait. Is that a...? (crinkle-crinkle) No...a penguin, maybe? That's a camera...already have it. I'm pretty sure this is the Ice Queen! Squee!

Ice Queen

Mini Figure Series 16

The worst part is I'm pretty organized and can't stand to see the sets all messed up and co-mingling with other loose bricks. I told my kids, "Hey. Great idea, here. Let's print off the pick list in the back of the directions and re-package the sets...then you can put them together all over again! Fun, right?"

I tried it, and it went over like a lead balloon. Why are there missing pieces? Where do they go?

Believe it or not, this story is moving toward a graphic novel I just read...bear with me. The book is called Roller Girl by Victoria "Winnie the Pow" Jamieson and is a Newberry Honor book.

While out celebrating a birthday, and as per usual we ended up at the Lego store, we started building roller derby girls from the mini-fig station. Of course, once you start building, it's hard to stop and even harder to walk away. Needless to say, more Legos entered the building...my building, my house. But they're so dang cute!

We created two teams...

The Blazies: Banana Splat, Winning Cup, Fruit Punch

Versus

The Cracken Skulls: Go-Go-Grizzly, Chompanzie, Bam-Bam

Game on! The only thing missing were the roller skates. No problem. The helpful Lego guy told me if I knew the part number, I could order individual brick pieces online at Lego.com. I quickly discovered Brickowl.com for an organized list of all kinds of Lego-y plastic bits: wigs, bodies, blocks...you name it. So I ordered the roller skates and the missing pieces from the set I was trying to package last summer, and...behold. Even I know I've entered dangerous territory.

So there it is. Legos and Roller Girl, a book we're still thinking about. It's a great graphic novel for kids!

Fabulous Five: Spiders!

While in my garden, pulling weeds, trimming lavender, and wiping spider webs off my face, I happened across some eight-legged critters. I don't mind arachnids...no phobia here. But if they jump at me, like the over-confident zebra jumper (below), then I check out. I'm not sure about calling spiders cute...but the jumper had four pairs of eyes. I mean, how cute is that?

Cross Orbweaver Spider

Goldenrod Crab Spider

Common House Spider

Common House Spiderlings

Zebra Jumper Spider

New Book on Kindle Scout!

Welcome, bouncing baby book! Riding with the Hides of Hell has been born.

It's done. The scrub and polish, the fresh cover, a succinct back blurb...finally, it's done. (whimpers)

Riding with the Hides of Hell* A Love Story

Now, why don't you head over to Kindle Scout and give it a gander? I'd appreciate a nomination, although I don't really know if it matters...but, hell! I'm game. It's available from September 9 through October 9 until midnight. If Amazon Publishing doesn't pick it up, then it will be independently published and available after that date.

Here's the back blurb I painfully eked out:

"It's always trouble with you."
Will Sullivan, sixteen, lost his mom in a tragic accident one year ago and has turned to drinking and driving, which lands him in the hospital, lucky to be alive. Enter his dad’s “brothers” from the Hides of Hell Motorcycle Club, a motley group Will used to consider family. They’ve got big ideas about biker therapy, and Will remaining in his comfort zone isn’t one of ‘em. Get ready to ride. Unfortunately, Will is teamed up with the prez’s daughter, the troublesome Miki, and playing passenger on her bike, holding onto her at every curve, is gearing up to be the ultimate nightmare.

"Hop on!"
Miki Holtz isn’t some bubblegum chewing high schooler who only cares about her blue hair and the chips in her pink nails. She wants to be a mechanic, to fit into her dad’s way of life, and to make a love connection with her soul crush, Will Sullivan. Yeah, her speed is fast, and his is slow. She’s a mover and a shaker while he’s oddly attached to his peach floral couch. But things are about to change.  She might be riding the tail pipes of the pack, but she’ll be on her bike, her wheels. Will had better hang on, and the tighter the better. Boom, boom. Hell, yeah!

"I don't like the way you like me."
However, the ride gets off to a tenuous start when one bad decision follows another, and a rival club takes notice from the shadows. Nothing good will come of it. Boom, boom.


Riding with the Hides of Hell*: A Love Story is a gritty young adult romance set in fictional towns peppered throughout the Pacific Northwest. It’s about a strong girl and a moody grump finding love on a road trip from hell.

**Young Adult FINALIST in the 2016 PNWA Literary Contest**


* Riding with the Hides of Hell has a new title: Burnout!

Time for Some Fair Use

I was just typing along--la, la, la--throwing lyrics around like candy and thinking: Oh the beauty of the words...oh, to connect with people through music...oh, to create mood in my story.

Wrong!

In my first book, Dealing with Blue, I peppered lyrics from The Great Pretender by the Platters in my first chapter since it seemed appropriate, pairing nicely with the theme of the story: fake it 'til you make it.

No one said a thing.

In my second book, RHOH, I had written that a ring tone blared, "I am iron man." My copy editor jumped on it, saying I couldn't use even a single line from Iron Man by Black Sabbath unless I had permission. I could use the title of the song and the artist without repercussion.

That's it!

At the PNWA conference I attended a session called Legal Issues for Writers led by an attorney, Jason Cruz, and he pretty much agreed. Don't take any chances. Be sure if you're borrowing you have the legal right to do so or check that it's in the public domain.

Good luck!

I immediately rewrote the first chapter in Dealing with Blue to get rid of the lyrics and, fortunately for me, I think my story was better for it.

Here are a couple helpful links:

The Book Designer -- "...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

Jane Friedman -- "Because songs and poems are so short, it’s dangerous to use even 1 line without asking for permission, even if you think the use could be considered fair."

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"Only those who are asleep make no mistakes." ~Ingvar Kamprad

Wiling Away at Awhile

Oh the joys of writing and English grammar! It's a rat-hole, folks.

Here's one piece of advice I received from an editor: be consistent with my use of "awhile" or "a while." So I picked one, did a search and changed them all to the one word "awhile." Nice and easy, right?

Not until another editor looked at it and pointed me in the opposite direction: "awhile" should be "a while."

Color me confused.

R-i-i-i-ght.

The online dictionary says "awhile" means: for a short time or period as in stay for awhile. When I typed in "a while" there was no definition...BUT, I did find two valuable resources on this topic of Awhile vs. A While:  Grammarly Blog and Grammarist.com.

Essentially, "awhile" is an adverb replacing the phrase "for a while." If you can't replace it, then it's probably a noun and should be written as "a while." The Grammarist says, "[If you] are unsure if you’re using it correctly, making it two words is always safe because no one will consider it wrong."

Forget Me Nots

Okay...so what about "alright" and "all right," another one these two editors differ on? Or how about "altogether" and "all together," or "already" and "all ready?" Too much for me...ugh! But check out Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips on the subject and be sure to read people's comments...I always (or is it "all ways") glean a more rounded understanding or at least get a good laugh.

Renewing Creative Energy with Vitamin D

It's hard to write in the summer, and here's why: the sun is shining, yo! And if there's one thing I've learned while living in Seattle...get it while it's hot. Otherwise it's not hot because it's either raining, overcast, cold or foggy; perfect days for writing, then.

Fresh Kayaks

Captain Tilly Bean and Her Crew

 I may not be writing, but sometimes "one" needs to exercise out in nature to juice the brain. Give the poor thing some vitamin D, some oxygen, and some fresh ideas. Experience life and use the head for something more than a cool-hat rack. Speaking of...

Me in My New Montana Hat: "Just a Small Town Girl"

and Bee in Her Bonnet

Tango Pining for The Captain

Even my writing team, Tango and Tilly Bean, joined in the fun. In fact, I bought my kayak with them in mind, an 8-foot sit-in kayak with lots of space for the little ones. Both were with me for awhile until they started jumping overboard, making their rounds from boat to boat. Eventually they realized I'm the fun factor and dog paddled their way back to me. Ahh...loyal to the bone.

Snooze-fest

____________________________

"Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air."

 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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