This is another opportunity for me to introduce another Rave Reviews Book Club author and his book. This sounds like an interesting experience, and Fred is here to share it with us.
Background to Fred’s Diary 1981
Fred was a nickname that Robert Fear was given while at school. It became his travel name and he is still known as Fred to this day.
Fred’s Diary 1981 is the edited version of a handwritten diary that I kept during my travels in Asia between February and July 1981. I had never committed any of my previous travels to paper in the way I did for this long awaited journey into the unknown. The final collection ran to 600 pages of closely written detail.
When I landed in Hong Kong in that February I had two small carbon copy books of 100 pages each and started writing everything…
Thank you, Chris, for allowing me to be on your blog. I’m a new author and this is all new to me. I’m not very good talking about myself but here it goes.
I started dating my husband three months after my father died. It still makes me sad that they never got to meet. I was sixteen, my dad was just forty-six. I was a junior in high school and a mutual friend decided to play match maker. Cemohn told me he wanted to go to Junior Prom with me and told him the same was true of me. Both were outright lies. Up to this point we were friends. I should have been suspicious, it wasn’t the first time she tried to set me up. We both believed her and the date was set.
One date turned into a four year relationship before we were married. After graduating…
Eve Adams first full length Romance novel is available free on Amazon Saturday 1st July and Sunday 2nd July. This is the first book in the ‘Pine Point’ series. Also available in paperback.
Description:
“Brute,” by Eve Adams is the first steamy romance novel in the “Pine Point” series.
Welcome to Pine Point, North Carolina, where the summers aren’t the only thing that are too hot to handle.
Heathe Campbell is a sexy, hardworking mountain man. Good with his hands, bad with his manners—at least in the beginning.
Bianca Stone is a big city girl from Los Angeles, with a quick tongue and a no-nonsense attitude.
When she comes to Pine Point to help her very pregnant sister get ready for the baby’s arrival, she will get more than she bargained for. Surely this thing she has for Heathe is just a passing attraction, they’re like night and day. How…
I should just pick topics out of a hat for this week because it was a whirlwind. Let’s do the section titles and I hope people check out each one.
Ichabod Brooks & the Broken Laptop
I’m combining these two because I want to assure everyone that The Life & Times of Icahbod Brooks will be live by Monday. For all of my volunteers, I promise to get the email out with the HTML file out by the morning. Promoting will be simple this time and I’ll be behind the 8 ball on it for the following reason:
I HAVE NO LAPTOP FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS!!!!!
That sound issue came back with a vengeance on Wednesday. So, I online chatted with Microsoft to see if there was a software problem. They said it was hardware, so I called Dell and spent the night with them remote accessing the computer. Not hardware, but they needed me to send it in to either get fixed or be wiped clean then rebuilt. They paid for shipping though . . . FedEx Ground that takes 3-5 business days. Don’t forget that we have a holiday, so the laptop won’t arrive until Wednesday. I might get it a week later if they decide to simply wipe and rebuild instead of trying to find the problem. For some reason, people don’t try to think of any sources of the problem besides the drivers. I think another program is causing trouble.
Anyway, I’ll be using the desktop until the laptop returns. This means not much weekend work and no night work. I was going to start Quest of the Broken-Hearted on Wednesday when the kid goes back to school. My math had it at a 17 day project, but that was if I could do nights. Looking at 25 now unless I slip a few weekends in and start while somebody watches the kid. Not holding my breath. While I’m here, it looks like I’m going to be pushing myself insanely hard. Basically:
Quest of the Broken-Hearted
One week off
War of Nyt Book 1 (Dawn Fangs. Cooler title than War of Nightfall? Nyt is the vampire capital.)
One week off
Derailing Bedlam
One week off
War of Nyt Book 2
That’s being very optimistic for this year. More than likely, I won’t hit that last one until January. Thankfully, I did all of my edits on the Legends of Windemere stuff, so those only need outside editing and cover art. I’m also starting to rethink that order because Bedlam and Nyt come out before Broken-Hearted. Might want to switch Bedlam and Broken-Hearted to make sure I have enough time for all of them.
Medical Devices
Anybody remember when I did a sleep apnea home test? Well, I went to talk about the results. It’s never good when an experienced doctor talks as if you’re one of the more memorable cases. I snore 500 times an hour and shift position like I’m covered in ants. Does seem like the sleep apnea could be the root of a lot of my health problems too. I have to go back in 3-4 weeks to put up the oral appliance, which is like a retainer. This is supposed to pull my mandible forward and prevent my tongue from sliding into my throat. You see, my mouth isn’t big enough for my tongue, so it bunches up or moves to the back when I sleep with my mouth closed. On the plus side, insurance is supposed to cover the whole thing.
Summer Fun
It has been a busy week with the munchkin. Saturday was the Prospect Zoo. Sunday was the Bronx Zoo. Monday was grocery shopping and playing around the house. Tuesday was my doctor appointment, so he went to an animal rescue place with the grandparents. Wednesday was the Long Island Game Farm . . . the big story from that below. Thursday was house cleaning and he was happy to get at the places the rest of us were too big to fit into. Friday was playground, duck pond, and ice cream for lunch. We still have block parties, fireworks, and a few other things. It’s been fun though. Exhausting too. Let me get into the next one with three pics:
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When a Giraffe want you to move then MOVE
For a little extra, my son got to feed carrots and lettuce to a giraffe named Clifford. He was excited, especially since he was the first one on line. Clifford was excited too, but more for the food. I was told to go into a corner to get a good video. Things went smoothly with the munchkin shouting how cool it was. Clifford moved his head toward me in search of food, but I had nothing. So, he went back to my son. Should have known that was a sign that I needed to move. When the food ran out, he swung his head over me then gently came back to shove me away. I was still looking through my phone to get the video and hadn’t realized the food ran out. So, I was tracking him and suddenly felt his hand pushing me toward the stairs. Oddly soft, but I could feel there was solid bone that would hurt if he got angry and did an actual swing. When a fully grown giraffe tries to move you with his head, don’t argue.
At least Clifford was nicer than a deer near the end. I had the cup of feed while my son would take handfuls. This deer realized that I had more food than my son, so he followed me around. Took a nip to the back, which didn’t hurt or leave a mark. It was more a ‘did I just get nipped by that deer?’ thing.
Minor Successes
This will be quick. I scheduled all of the posts for August, all of Protecting Bedlam, and even Raven’s Dream for October. So, these are off my plate while I don’t have a laptop and that makes it a little easier to deal with. With any luck, I can get back to my usual speed. I should really sit down and look at the 3 main books that I need to get ready for the first half of next year. Just to see how long it will take.
Plan for the Week?
Laundry
Staring blankly at where my laptop used to sit.
Do the tournament brackets for my fighting series. It’s fun because I don’t plan the winners. I pick names from a hat and roll dice for winning. The kid may help with that.
Start writing Quest of the Broken-Hearted. Still not sure how to talk about this one since it holds a few Legends of Windemere finale spoilers. It’ll be released next summer in place of an Ichabod Brooks story though. 2018 is all about getting a new series started.
Tinker with the next Sin story at night since I can’t do computer work.
So, we asked various characters what they thought of Bards. Let’s see what they said:
Luke Callindor– Entertaining and they seem to like me. Probably because of the last name and my adventures help them get money.
Nyx– Nice way to end a rough day, especially when you have a drink with you. Although, some can be a bit too charming.
Fizzle– Love pretty music!
Sari– Competition and fun allies. Depends on our moods.
Timoran Wrath– They are very important because they help history and knowledge survive. Every person who hears their tales can share their words and carry the information to another set of ears. That is how cultures, societies, and people survive beyond death.
Delvin Cunningham– Great sources of information when you’re on a job. They can be a little pricey at times, but it’s worth it to keep my people safe.
Dariana– I never really thought about them. Good music, but most of their stories get the facts wrong. I’m sorry. Having lived through much of what they sing about, I get hung up on the details.
Trinity– Be nice for some of my people to follow that path. For now, I’m not a fan because they always make us the villains.
Baron Kernaghan– Useful tools for spreading misinformation and learning about my enemies. Pays to have a few Bards on my side as spies.
Yola Biggs– They go great with red wine and a side salad.
Kira Grasdon– Some of the best Bards are the ones that work cheap and don’t promote themselves. I’ve found that those who specialize in elegant parties are lacking in fire and energy.
Cassidy– Don’t look at me. We have a CD player.
Lloyd Tenay– I have been told beforehand that I’m not to speak on this subject. So I will sing my *stun gun going off* The uncultured maniac I call a partner has a CD player. You never let me have any fun, kid.
Ichabod Brooks– Constant thorns in my side and pains in my butt.
So, you want to add some local flavor and history without an info dump done by a spectral narrator. Nothing too much, but you have some stories to tell. The heroes have no idea since they never studied and the villains aren’t interested. Why not create a Bard to do the teaching deed? Well, here are some things to consider.
Know when to flash the charm and know when to blend in. Bards need to get attention when performing because that’s how they make money. Physical appearance and clothing are a big factor, but don’t forget about verbal charm and manners. They need to be approachable to get new information. Yet, there are times when they can blend into the crowd and listen for rumors. Find the proper balance, but you can shift it depending on the situation.
Research the Bard’s instrument of choice to give them some level of expertise. You can get away with knowing the basics and a little maintenance, so don’t worry about specific songs and the finer details. That is unless the Bard is one to talk about such things because then it makes sense. Repair is an important factor here because you never know when a drunk will use your lute as a weapon. Takes more than a few extra strings to fix that.
Put some flash and flowers into that description because nobody is going to pay for a dull Bard. Remember that they’re telling a story and these crowds want to be entertained by the words. It’s a difficult balance to pull off since you have the audience in the book that wants flowing language about their world and readers that might want to the scene to move on. Be poetic in your display to satisfy both and show that the Bard is worthy of his next meal.
Never be afraid to add a little magic to your new character even if they’re only going to be in one scene. Bards can use tiny incantations to create tiny flames, colored lights, project their voices, and do any number of performance enhancements. That didn’t come out right, but I don’t feel like deleting. Keep in mind that you need magic in the world to make this one work. Another option is non-magical special effects like specifically placed lanterns that bounce off colored prisms on the clothes. I have no idea if that’s a thing.
Audience reaction is important to a Bard’s line of work. It doesn’t always have to be cheering because that can drown out a song in a tavern. Celebrate certain phrases like the name of a local hero or somebody’s birthday. On the other hand, never ignore the power of enamored silence. Tears welling in the eyes, drinks frozen in mid-lift, and other signs that the Bard’s song is mesmerizing. Remember it isn’t just the song that’s important, but it’s impact on those listening. Not like the reader can hear how beautiful it is and simply saying ‘he played a beautiful song’ doesn’t cut it.
Animals aren’t always a great way to go with performances. Seriously, you don’t want to unleash a monkey on a tavern. Doesn’t matter how cute the hat is.
Traveling is very important to a Bard because you can’t get new material by staying in the same spot. This can range from moving around a large city to wandering the countryside. Some may even do both depending on the rumors they have. This creates an explanation for why the Bard has so much more information than the protagonists and your average secondary character.
Legends of Windemere 