Merry Christmas from Windemere

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Luke– How are we supposed to do this?

Kira– I think we all say ‘Merry Christmas’ at the same time.

Sari–  Okay!  One the count of-

Fizzle– What Chr . . . is it?

Aedyn– It is an important religious, cultural, social, and economic holiday from Earth.  I have to admit that I feel awkward doing this.

Luke– Is it because the author doesn’t understand the holiday or because you follow a different religion?

Aedyn– No.  I respect all paths.  I am uncomfortable doing this with them here.  *jerks finger at the Lich, Hellfire Elf, and Trinity*

The Lich– We are just as confused as you are, Karwyn.  Joyous events should be left to you people.

Hellfire Elf– The author told us that we have no choice because we apparently have something called fans.

The Lich–  We made an appearance.  Let’s leave.

Trinity– Speak for yourselves.  I smell something delicious.  Uh, where’s Nyx?

Nyx– *incoherent mumbling from mouthful of gingerbread*

Fritz– Wait!  I heard something about mistletoe and I have some here.  *pulls out a fishing pole with mistletoe on the end*  It’s said that a man and woman must kiss if they are standing underneath this.

Nimby– No wonder Bessaria looks worried.  You might want to want where you aim that thing, Fritz.

Fritz– I’m being careful.  *mistletoe passes over Luke and he’s tackled by Sari and Kira*  Oops.  Forgot about that.  Lucky bastard.

Trinity– Guess it’s the season.  *grabs Fritz and kisses him*  There.  Now, what are we supposed to do?

Fritz– I think you put a spell on that.  I can’t feel my lips.

Trinity– Because I did it right.

Luke– We say Merry Christmas to everyone.

Nyx– On the count of three!

One

Two

Three

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM WINDEMERE

Nimby– Isn’t the author Jewish?

Luke– I don’t know.  We’re not from around here.  I had enough trouble trying to figure out that holiday where you’re thankful for your stomach not exploding from overeating.

Fritz– Do you two have to ruin this?

Nimby & Luke– Sorry.  Everyone have fun!

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Morality and Fiction

Good Vs Evil (Homer Simpson)

Good Vs Evil (Homer Simpson)

I might run the risk of getting into trouble here, but it’s something that I want to write about.  Morals and ethics within a fantasy setting are an interesting pitfall.  The nuances of these categories differ among groups and individuals.  So, the actions of one character might be good for one and sinful for another.  Makes me wonder how people can openly grade fictional characters on their morality.

I bring this up because the appearance of Sari in Legends of Windemere has thrown off a few people.  Not going to go into details, but my own morality has been brought into question here.  Sari is a sexually open individual and is going to get a little worse because she loves kissing . . . even women.  This is how she delivers some of her spells and she’s overall flirty.  One scene in the book takes place where she relieves pressure by sleeping with a character’s fiancee.  That part is far in the background with noises, but nothing graphic.  Yet, it seems this offends some people and I’m confused on that.  It’s been established that Sari has no qualms about sex or nudity.  Nobody seemed to have an issue with the graphic violence that ensued a few times.

Another issue that has been picked at for lack of morality is the culture of Bor’daruk where Kira Grasdon is from.  This is a culture that was nearly destroyed by adultery and divorce.  To combat this, they made laws that allow a person to test their relationship before marriage with multiple partners.  The main partner must give permission and meet the secondary.  This isn’t only sexual, which is where I think people get tripped up.  The thing is that once married in Bor’daruk, you stay married until death.  Divorce results in exile and only your children can return to the culture.  Anyway, this is the relationship that Luke Callindor is in and people have pointed out how much they dislike the open relationships on a moral grounds.

My thing is that this makes sense for the culture and is morally right to them.  So, how does one deal with a person trying to input their own moral code into what you’re trying to create?  Do you keep going and let people deal with it?  That seems like the best bet, but it makes me worried about a few future events in the series.

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Creative Marketing Ideas for Books

Looking for some creative ideas to market your book?

chrismcmullen's avatarchrismcmullen

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Imagination. Authors use it to write books. Readers look for books that apply it effectively. So why not use that creativity in marketing, too?

Here are some creative marketing ideas for generating book publicity:

  • Small stickers with your book cover on them. Use them to seal envelopes and the recipient will surely see your book cover when opening your mail. An alternative is to print your book cover directly onto the envelope. Stickers can also be applied to many other items besides envelopes.
  • How about a nice tattoo of your book cover on a visible body part? What more could an author do to show how much he or she believes in his or her book?
  • But you can achieve a similar effect without the pain or a permanent mark on your body. It’s called a t-shirt. If it looks nice, other people might even wear them. It doesn’t quite…

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A Few Author Databases

This is going to be quick:

I recently began registering with a few Indie Author databases.  Two so far that I feel like mentioning.  I’ll get to the specific after I mention how they work.  You register with your author information and get a profile.  Then you register your books along with your social media links.  The services vary with some sites being free and others having a pay option for some extra.

The Independent Author Network

This has a one time fee of $24.95, but I’m not sure if that’s only to register your books as well as yourself.  I went for this because I registered the Legends of Windemere series.  Now, a big thing with this site is that it has its own Twitter hashtag of #IAN1.  For those that don’t know how this works, it’s something you can use to search Twitter for associated tweets.  Sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.  Register and put this hashtag on to find fellow members.  Retweet when you can and the favor is usually returned.  I’ve seen a major rise in retweets, which would be higher if I didn’t keep forgetting this thing.  I see the site itself tweet about me and one of my books from time to time.

AuthorsDB

I just joined this one and it’s free.  So, I’m not really sure what it’s all about yet.  They have it that you can make a detailed page for your books and there’s nothing about a posting limit, so those with a lot of published books can get more up there.

It doesn’t hurt to register and see if it helps.  At least I don’t think it does, but be careful and research the databases to be safe.

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Allure of the Gypsies Blog Tour Volunteer of Today: Olivia Stocum

Click for Amazon Page

Click for Amazon Page

Today’s volunteer is a hard-working indie author who has seen a lot of success with her debut novel.  She has done a lot for her book from bookmarks to e-signings to a book trailer you can find on Youtube and her blog.  So, swing by her world and say hi.

A big thank you to:

OLIVIA STOCUM!

Check out her part of the blog tour HERE!

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Allure of the Gypsies Blog Tour Volunteer of Today: Bastet

Yahoo Image Search

Yahoo Image Search

This volunteer is one of the hardest working bloggers I know.  She writes poetry, participates in prompts, posts phenomenal photographs, and helps run We Drink Because We’re Poets.  Go to her blog and see her amazing works.  You won’t be disappointed.

A big thank you to:

BASTET!

Check out her part of the blog tour HERE!

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Captive at Christmas, now available…everywhere!

Captive at Christmas. A fun erotic romance for the holidays.

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Allure of the Gypsies Blog Tour Volunteer of Today: Jacob Holo

The Dragons of Jupiter

The Dragons of Jupiter

Today’s volunteer is a lover of fantasy, sci-fi, gaming, and reading.  His blog is fully of great articles and fascinating projects.  If you love fantasy and science fiction then I suggest giving his blog and the writer’s blog and book a look.

A big thank you to:

JACOB HOLO!

Check out his part of the blog tour and my Guest Post on his blog HERE!

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Do You Have Hidden Themes in Your Stories?

Yahoo Image Search

Yahoo Image Search

One of the things I noticed when preparing Allure of the Gypsies for publishing that there was a theme.  It wasn’t intentional.  In fact, I realized each of the main characters had their own theme.  At least so far because one of the new heroes is so laid back that I’m not sure what his personal goal is.  Well, I know one, but he’s the only character comfortable in his own skin and role so far.  Anyway, a theme may appear by accident through plot progression and character development.

It’s fun when these are unintentional and then you can run with them.  They can be more interesting than the main plot and give your story some depth.  With these themes, your story can prompt discussions among readers because the topics tend to have different meanings for everyone.  I’m not talking the deciphering of the theme is different, but everyone has their own thoughts on certain areas like family and friendship.  Those play big roles in the Legends of Windemere series even among the villains.

One challenge is when you’re working with an ensemble cast for your books.  People will perceive one character as the main and focus on their themes.  That theme might even be misunderstood when compared to a character with a stronger theme or power.  For example, take Luke and Nyx with part of their themes.  Contrary to what some people think, Luke Callindor isn’t the only main hero of Legends of Windemere.  Part of his theme is courage and determination in the face of superior strength and odds.  This makes him a reckless character who takes a beating to win and will never go very high in terms of open power.  Nyx will always appear to be the more powerful character because part of her theme is controlling incredible magic.  This isn’t to say Luke is weak.  His theme simply requires that he be strong in a different, less obvious way.

I’m considering spending a week or two in January do a post each day that involves the theme of a character and a book.  It’s simply too much to work on here because it involves character analysis and opinions.  I can think of 14 characters/books already that would make interesting posts.  Two of those haven’t appeared yet, but they have amazing themes that I want to investigate.

So, do any other authors read their finished books and realize that a character or the overall story has a theme they never intended?

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Retail Memories: When Customers Attack Is Live!

Retail Memories: When Customers Attack is now available for 99 cents!

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