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Don Massenzio This week, I have the pleasure of featuring Author Robert Eggleton on this edition of A Perfect 10. Please enjoy this week’s installment of A Perfect 10 If you want to check out past interviews, you can find … Continue reading
I love having audio books, and I love listening to audio books. Recently I was helping another author with advice on getting her books converted to audio. I thought I’d share my notes.
A quick guide on turning your book into an audio book with ACX – part 1
Audio books are very popular – they are great for the commute to work (which is usually when I listen to them), around the house, in bed or just about anywhere. Many people don’t have the time to sit and read, but as an audio book can be playing whilst you do other things a listener can hear and appreciate the story and not need to put time aside to look at a book. They are also, of course, a great format for people with restricted sight, who might find it…
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First, I just realized that goal posts like these never show the music video in Twitter. It takes a picture if I put one in the post or my black & white author photo from a few years ago. Learn something new every day.
So, this week came and went fairly quickly. Maybe not that quickly, but my brain is a slight blur. I’m still getting used to the oral appliance, so my sleeping isn’t improved by much. I think last night was the first one where I felt like things were getting better. The problem is that the top still hurts and I think one side of the bottom part needs to be tightened. The other is on there good, but it feels like I can wiggle the other like it’s a loose tooth. Tuesday is adjustment day, so we’ll see what happens.
Writing-wise, I made some major progress on Derailing Bedlam. I could feasibly finish it by the end of next week if nothing goes wrong. That and I get to write a section tonight and tomorrow night. Even if I don’t finish, I’ll get it by the following Monday or next weekend. Then I have a week and a half to prep the September posts and start working on the December guest posts. Can’t believe the summer school is already down to 2.5 weeks left. I don’t know what I’ll be working on between that and the first day of regular school, which is another 2.5 week span. Maybe outlining? All I need for Path of Traitors is one more piece and then I’ll have a September release. I’ll only have nights, so outlining will probably win unless I still have guest posts to write up. When the kid is home, parenting takes the lead. Speaking of parenthood:
I no longer have a 7-year-old. He’s 8 and we had his bowling birthday party today, which is why this post is late. Wanted to have the real fun to talk about. All of the kids had a blast bowling and my son even got a few strikes. This is very impressive considering he never aims and is too busy jumping in place out of excitement. There was no stopping this, but why would you? We spend so much time trying to get him to act calm that one day of letting him give in to his hyperactivity isn’t bad. He even got to wear the crown his teacher made for him.
Here is where the writing and parenting collide a bit. I’m going to have to type with really sore thumbs. Partially self-inflicted. My son is big into superheroes and asked for a lot of superhero Lego sets. Also, an ultra-soft Batman plush blanket that makes me wish for colder weather, so we can share it. Seriously, it’s one of those blankets that cause you to get drowsy just by putting it to your cheek. Where was I? Ah . . . Here is the Lego haul that we’ve yet to tackle:
It doesn’t end there. He got enough gift cards and a check to cover one that I’ll admit to wanting myself. You see, I only get to put these together with him. Once the sets are complete, I can’t touch them without permission. So, building is fun for daddy. We’re heading out tomorrow to get:
7. Lego Batman Movie Batcave (1,047 pieces)
Spaceship, Spaceship, Spaceship was 940 pieces. That took 4 hours and an entire morning. We’re thinking of getting this in the morning and tackling it all afternoon. I’ll admit that I mentioned getting a small 8th one just because it feels weird stopping at 7 when he turned 8. Might be a little masochism at work here too.
My hope is to get all of these built by next weekend and do a post with all of them. Figure that would be more interesting than me talking about writing a bit more of Bedlam and the oral appliance. Not unless something amazing happens at his first swimming class, which is going to make the Lego Bonanza difficult to maintain. Maybe I’ll do a goal post and Lego post on Sunday. Anyway, let’s look at the goals:
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Ichabod Brooks has had a long and exciting life that could fill many books with adventures. His youthful years were reckless, but he survived and gained the skills that would make him a legend. The middle of his career showed that he had no fear and he developed his reputation with a little help from bards. Now, he’s a seasoned veteran who is mellow and hard to truly surprise.
And it was only that third stage that I bothered writing about because I liked the idea of a protagonist with a history. The only problem was I didn’t know how much of it I should plan out beforehand. Too much detail would take away from the current story and I didn’t want to have him start at the beginning of his career. It would undo the desire to have a hero who had a family life. Not to mention the amount of time I’d be putting into crafting stories that I didn’t plan on writing. Those days/weeks could have been better spent writing the things I planned on publishing. So, what did I do?
Dug right into the third stage of life stories and crafted pieces of a history as I went along with outlining and writing. Every character he works with brings their own tales to share with Ichabod. Just reminiscing about the old times as they add more adventures under their belts. I like how you get to piece his experience together and it doesn’t take away from what he’s doing. Just like with his wife, Ichabod’s past is a puzzle that you get to discover as you read along. It helps fill out a character who has already lived a good portion of his life too. You don’t so much see him evolve, but see how he did it to become to person you see now.
Maybe I’ve spent so much time writing stories about heroes starting out in their careers, so this still throws me. The champions are all met at the beginning of their grandest adventure. Cassidy and Lloyd are introduced to each other at the same time the readers meet them. Clyde will be met when he becomes the first Dawn Fang and kicks off that event. Ichabod Brooks doesn’t fit with these characters because he’s not on an epic adventure and is older. I don’t need to bother with him training or learning the ropes of adventuring. It’s a little disorienting at times too because it means he keeps a cool head and can connect to a previous experience. As much as I can have Ichabod be surprised, it isn’t the same as someone who is new to the life.
This mystery past of Ichabod is another thing that keeps me coming back to him for more adventures. What I write about him now will reveal where he’s been. It’s almost like two adventures in one, which I hope the readers feel at times too.
Cover Art by Circecorp
Character Name: I am Ser Colin i’Nola, of the Order of the Morning
Which book/world do you live in? I was born and raised in the kingdom of Kholast, and I fight in the service of King Boris III. (In the novella, With a Broken Sword)
Tell us about yourself: I am the newest, and youngest, Knight of the Morning, which none of my fellows will let me forget. I squired for Ser Jane i’Julia for four years. First blooded at the Battle of Winter Creek. Knighted for valor at the Stone Hills Betrayal.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Ser Jane would say my greatest weakness was “exuberance.” Usually, she meant impatience to prove myself.
As for my greatest strength, it feels boastful to answer such a question myself. If I must answer, then determination. Though I am the last knight between the Berledthi invaders and…
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Welcome to this week’s edition of Lisa Burton Radio. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and with me in the studio today is a beautiful Jack Russel, Stafforshire cross known alternately as Buster and Moo. “Welcome to the show, and how would you like me to refer to you?”
“Is it okay to lick you, Lisa? I kind of have this thing about holding out my paw all the time and shaking it. Then if you don’t give me a treat I’m probably going to slobber into the microphone. What was the question? Oh, my name. Currently Moo.”
“How did you come to have two different names? Is one an alias of some kind?”
“Ha! Two names? I’ve had, let me see? Six? Maybe seven. There was the one my mother gave me, the one the guy who brought my dad to meet mum that time – she said…
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, on The Book Designer site:
Some of us are natural born networkers. You know the type . . . they never lunch alone, they seem to specialize in connecting people in ways that benefit both parties, they have no problem promoting themselves or their projects or ideas in ways that aren’t off-putting.
In my experience, most authors aren’t natural born networkers (if you’re an exception, my apologies). We tend to be more of the wallflower types, happy to write and create and let others do the talking and promoting.
But in this day and age, most authors can’t afford to sit on the sidelines and more and more is being demanded of us to actively promote our own work. In fact, when it comes to launching a book, networking—or learning how to best leverage your networks—is perhaps the single most important factor driving your success. As…
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