Guest Post by Janice Hardy

Hello Bloggy Friends!! ^_^

I know it's been a while since I posted last.  It's been a while since I've had any extra time!  But at long last I'm here to post again.  And today is special, because today marks the P&P's first Guest Post! :)

My guest today is Janice Hardy, author of "The Healing Wars" trilogy. You can read my review of her first book, "The Shifter" here: http://theravenquill.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-day-feels-untitled.html

Janice also runs a blog that is very informative as far as the writing process goes.  I often find her posts very inspiring.

So without further delay, I give you Janice Hardy!! :D

Going Both Ways: Outlines for Plot, Pantser for Character

I realized something recently. I’m an outliner all the way when it comes to crafting the plots in my stories. But for my character arcs, I’m a total pantser. I always know where my characters are going, but rarely how they’ll get there.

To me, this is the best of both worlds, especially since I write science fiction and fantasy, which tends to be fairly plot-focused. I can devote as much time as I need prepping my story framework, then turn my characters loose and see what happens. Not only does it allow me to spend more time developing those characters as I write, it keeps the story fresh for me. I never know how things are going to unfold.

Sometimes this does get me into trouble, but that’s half the fun. In my recent teen fantasy, Darkfall, I knew my heroine Nya had to somehow become the leader of a rebellion. The problem? It just didn’t seem plausible for a 15-year-old-girl to find herself in such a position of power and authority. Being part of a rebellion, sure, but leading it? How could I make that plausible?

The plot needed this, so I took a hard look at Nya and tried to figure out what she would do in this situation. The answer was pretty easy—I told her what to do and turned her loose. She’d figure out how to get there.

For three books, Nya has always done what she felt was right to protect those she loves. She’s also quick to jump into trouble, and has one or two hot-button issues that steal all reason right out of her head. So…

Nya’s loved ones in trouble + hot-button issue = Nya acting without thinking.

If she had to end up leading a rebellion, she just had to find herself in a situation that made her act without thinking to save those she loves. I had to put the pressure on her and see how long it took her to crack and try to take over. Because she would do that eventually. That’s just who she is. She’s learned to rely on no one but herself.

Naturally, I finagled a little with the meaning of “leader” to fit the story better and still fulfill my plot vision. Nya as a general in an army didn’t work, but she could very easily be the driving force behind a rebellion, or be the inspiration for one. And considering how much Nya hates to be the center of attention, putting her in the spotlight made for a lot of writing fun for me.

If you’re an outlining panster, (or think you might be) here are some tips on crafting a story with the best of both worlds:

1. Outliner: Pick a few goals for your characters that set the direction you want the story to go in. That’ll give you a framework in which to write.

Pantser: Think about the motives or emotional states of your characters and why they might go after those goals. How a character feels about something will determine how they approach a problem or how they might go about getting what they want.

2. Outliner: Look for the big turning points in the story. Where do your characters need to be when those moments happen? Where do they need to be going forward after that?

Pantser: Look at where your character has come from, who they are at that point in the story, and who they might become in the near future? How might their past affect how they act? What past fears might be affected (or affect) what’s to come in the plot?

3. Outliner: What are the major surprises in the story? The big reveals or secrets? When are they revealed?

Pantser: How blindsided might your characters be? Do they spot the hints or do they miss them? How do they react to the surprises that surprise you? Is there anything in their past that can shake things up even further?

For the pantser half, most of these things you probably won’t know until you get there, but they’re fun things to think about as you write or after you’ve gotten that first rough draft down on paper.  And one last extra outliner/panster tip:

4. Keep asking yourself how your character feels about what’s going on. Where are they at emotionally and mental when they start a scene? Where are they during the scene? Where do they end up at the end of the scene, and how does that affect their choices moving on? You might be following the plot, but it’ll help you develop rich characters to go with that plot.

If you like a little structure to keep you on track, but relish the discovery of an unfolding story, a combo outline/pantser style might be for you.

What’s your style? Why does that style appeal to you? Is there anything about it you’d like to change?

Janice Hardy always wondered about the darker side of healing. For her fantasy trilogy THE HEALING WARS, she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her books include THE SHIFTER, BLUE FIRE, and DARKFALL from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins.  You can visit her online at www.janicehardy.com or chat with her about writing on her blog, The Other Side of the Story. blog.janicehardy.com.

About Darkfall

War has come.

Nya’s the one who brought it. And the people love her for it.

With Baseer in shambles and Geveg now an impenetrable military stronghold, Nya and the Underground have fled to a safer location—without Tali. Nya is guilt-ridden over leaving her sister behind and vows to find her, but with the rebellion in full swing and refugees flooding the Three Territories, she fears she never will.

The Duke, desperate to reclaim the throne as his own, has rallied his powerful army. And they are on the move, destroying anyone who gets in the way.

To save her sister, her family, and her people, Nya needs to stay ahead of the Duke’s army and find a way to build one of her own. Past hurts must be healed, past wrongs must be righted, and Nya must decide: Is she merely a pawn in the rebellion, a symbol of hope—or is she ready to be a hero?

The Importance of Branding

Hello blogging friends.

In my last post I mentioned that I was reading some interesting articles and that I hoped to be able to post on a few of them soon.  Well, it would seem that I’ve come to a point of inspiration.  Not that it’s a point that hasn’t been covered well before by other writers, but I want to write about this particular point now because of the fact that for independent companies as well as aspiring authors and artists by themselves, this is a most important subject.

It is the subject of branding.

Look around you.  Check out your favorite websites or blogs online.  Look into your most well-known local businesses.  Everywhere you turn you will see an example of branding.  Every entrepreneurial spirit, every college kid out trying to make a name for themselves, and every person looking for a job in this economy is actually trying to sell themselves off of some type of brand… their own.

Their names.  Their records.  Their accomplishments.

They put these into a bundle of information that they present to the public.  And it would seem that the more the public sees the good in that information and the more people look into that person’s or company’s accomplishments and decide to buy from them or follow them, the better known their “branding” becomes.

Think of it this way: consider your favorite brand of clothing, or your favorite type of cereal, or even your favorite publishing company.  Now ask yourselves the question, why is it your favorite?  Chances are that for the reason you buy that particular product from that particular company, other people are buying the same product for the same reasons from the same company.

Branding.  The company is making its mark.  People notice them because of their products.  They are getting seen, they are getting attention, and they are growing a reputation as they sell their products.

That’s why I think that one of the hardest parts of starting a new company is creating and marketing a brand for your company.  Whether you are starting out as an independent author, as many people have (consider Joe Konrath or Rachael Starr Thompson) or you are creating a brand spankin’ new company (Like Marcher Lord Press, Flaming Pen Press, and the Spearhead Guild), good branding becomes the life blood of your establishment.  Good branding comes with/from a good reputation, which means people looking at your product, which means people buying your product.  On the other hand branding that comes with/from a bad reputation means people passing over a product and the company ultimately drowning.

You’ll notice I mention reputation a lot.  It’s true that reputation and branding walk hand in hand in this world of business. People trust brands because of good reputations, and likewise, they shun brands because of bad ones.  If you wanted to get technical, you could say that reputation is everything… it’s even more important than branding is, which is true to a degree.  However, one has to think of how they present their reputation to the public, and that’s where branding comes in. 

Let’s look up the definition of branding, shall we?  The very definition of branding is:

1) commerce product or manufacturer: a name, usually a trademark, of a product or manufacturer, or the product identified by this name

2.  recognizable type of something: a distinctive type of something.

So there you go.  A lot is said within the definition of a word.  A brand is ultimately a product or company that is identified (for good or ill) by its name.

Now, as far as building a brand that people trust… that’s the hard part.  That’s the trouble that most companies have when they first get started.  And that’s where most companies either succeed at the beginning of their journey and thrive, or fail, struggle, and possibly drown in the end.

Consider Marcher Lord Press, now a company whose list is large and still growing, and whose books have won awards in the past.  By the time Jeff Gerke decided to take on his project, he already had some experience in the market.  His brand was there as his name and his reputation as an editor was already solid.  All he had to do was get the word out and his company thrived.  Now, I’m sure that’s not exactly what he felt would happen at the time of opening.  I’m sure he had his doubts, and I’m sure MLP might have struggled right up front.  But main point to consider is the fact that MLP is no longer struggling like they might have been at the beginning.  They’ve gone from being an idea, to being a small company, to growing into the premier Indie Christian Speculative Fiction company out there.  

Why?  How has this happened?

It all came about through persistence, growing a good reputation, and marketing a solid and trust worthy brand.

Now we have Spearhead coming out: a collaborative project put together by Christian Authors whom many Christian readers already know, trust, and love.  Spearhead plans to bring its own brand into the mix by combining author brands that have been made and have thrived over the years.  The Guild will draw in readers through the four separate brands of their founders’ names, and in return, readers will be introduced to Spearhead as its own brand or publisher.

Branding is everything.

But, you say, these are all examples taken from people who have already been in the publishing business for several years at the very least.  How does this apply to authors who have not been published, or who have not worked in the publishing industry before?  How does this apply to those High-schoolers and college students just starting into their careers who want to make a name for themselves?  How does it all come together? 

Well, first of all, I’m not going to say that giving Magpie Publications a good reputation and brand won’t take work.  It will.  Whether you want to be published traditionally, self publish, start your own company, or be hired on by an established company as an intern or editor, it’s always going to take work and lots of it.  It will take research.  It will take time.  It will take persistence when the going gets tough, because I can assure you, the going WILL get tough… there will be times when you think that your dream will never find wings and will sit in a desk drawer and gather dust for the rest of your life.  I guarantee there will be moments when you want to quit… but you can’t.  Not if you want to see your dream actually fly.  It’s going to take studying and interviews and passion.  Oh, but it will be well worth it in the end!!!  If you are determined not to see your dream fall and fail, then you will find ways to make it thrive.

You want an example?

The first one that comes to mind is Flaming Pen Press.  As I understand it, Scott Appleton had been a writer for several years and had some of his short stories published in online magazines.  He’d been working on the Song of the Dragon series for several years as well, and had tried to sub it to several different publishers, all of which answered his query with rejections.  He kept seeking advice, he kept working to improve, and he kept trying.  At long last he decided that it was time to take his book public, and he created Flaming Pen Press… a small company on which to establish a big dream.  With persistence and drive, he managed to sell over 3,000 copies of his book in one year, and the first book in his series, “Swords of the Six”, was picked up and published through AMG publishers.  Now AMG has contracted him for the rest of his series.  And as far as Flaming Pen Press goes, it went on to sell over 3,000 copies of 19 year old Jacob Parker’s award winning book, “Kestrel’s Midnight Song” since its release date in September of 2010.  Now it’s taking on another young author’s project, “Out of Darkness Rising” by Gillian Adams, and I have no doubt that it will continue to succeed with this book as well as with others.

Other examples of note within the Christian Fiction field are Port Yonder Press and Splashdown Books.  As this post is getting rather long, I won’t go into a whole lot of detail about them here and now, but those presses and brands have similar stories… starting out small and unknown, slowly growing into a brand recognized by a few, and their recognition is spreading.  Hopefully in future days I will be able to do blog posts on these as well as other small companies as my research progresses.

Why am I talking about brands today?

Well, with the work and research I’m doing for Magpie Publications, I started to realize the influence that branding has on people and how it affects the market.  Good branding could make the company into a success, while bad branding could plunge the company to its death.  However, because I am a relative “unknown”, and because my foundation is not based on past work records in the industry but instead is based on a dream, ambitions, some passion, and the college degree and career choice that I’m currently still working towards, what Magpie really needs at its starting point is a solid (if small) foundation to launch from.  With God’s help, I plan to give this company everything I have.  I absolutely plan to pour myself into it, and I know that, with help, it will be a success.  And if it’s going to succeed, it’s going to need a good brand name and a good preceding reputation that moves it forward.

My good friend and writing buddy, Adele Treskillard and I were talking about how this might be accomplished in a community sort of fashion.  Since nothing is set in stone as of yet, I won’t go into detail about our ideas at this moment.  When things become more clear and solid, then I might write an informative post on the matter.  For right now, continue to keep this idea in your prayers.  It won’t drown, by God’s grace.  He doesn’t just put an idea or thought on someone’s heart to have it fall apart entirely.  I’m just so grateful to Him that He has given me the opportunity to meet and get to know so many young writers out there whose ambitions and dreams parallel my own.  Honestly, it’s a pleasure and an honor to know you all, even it’s only online.  Without your support in this idea, it might never have gone beyond the dream stage to the stage of ambition.  It might never have become a goal.  I thank you all!  Thank you so much! ^_^

(Stay tuned for a Guest Post by Janice Hardy to be up within the next week. :D)

The Dual Aspects of an Euntrepreneurial Spirit... God Help Me!!!

Hello my dear bloggy friends. I’m sorry that it’s taken me so very long to post anything new.

Many of you dropped in for the post I did in August that highlighted the idea I’ve been harboring over several years of launching a new independent Christian Press for Speculative Fiction. (If you haven’t read it yet, you can read it here: http://theravenquill.blogspot.com/2011/08/which-way-should-we-turn-ushering-in.html ) In that article I gave my reasons and passions for taking on such a project and how I would strive to make it grow.

Since then, I’ve started researching the process of starting a company, and looking into possible avenues of printing. I’ve been looking for and comparing marketing strategies and the ins and outs of print distribution vs. digital distribution. I’ve been narrowing down my options for a mission statement and have been considering values and principles on which to build this company’s morals. I’ve been considering the cost and preparation time involved with publishing a quality product, marketing it, and actually selling it. I’ve also been talking to friends of mine who are or have studied certain aspects of the publishing world, who are in the publishing world already, and who are working towards careers that could parallel with book publication. And in between all of that, I’m planning out how I will take a business class (hopefully next semester) to help me better understand the business and financial needs of such a company.

This is a dream, yes… but it’s one dream that (along with eventually having SOTD and Eldrei published) I plan to see into its reality (by God’s grace).

The scariest part of all? I have NEVER done anything like this before. :P My experience level in this area is basically zilch, and besides that I’m still pretty young. Twenty-three is not that impressive a number when it comes to age, and it seems that the older you are, the more experience you have. All I have right now is my dream, my research, a bit of passion, and a dash of drive/motivation. Is that enough? I have no idea.

Truthfully, people, I’m terrified. What does this mean, to take on such a large responsibility and see it into fruitarian? I’m only one person… one small dreamer in a vast sea of dreamers. I try desperately not to look at the impossible, but it seems to be staring me right in the face. How can I do this? How can I even try? It seems almost unattainable, yet I feel completely, utterly drawn and bound to the idea; I can’t fight it and I can’t shake it. Eventually something will need to be done.

I guess I’m writing this blog post as a sort of therapy. In truth, I feel like I’m trying to boost my own courage… trying to tell myself that “hey, it’s ok; you know you can do this with God’s help,” when half the time my mind is telling my mouth that those words are bold-faced lies. How can I really do this? It’s so BIG! I’m so small. Can I really pull it off?

Well, not right now and not by myself. “As iron sharpens iron(…)” so the Bible says, and the story of David and Goliath comes to mind. The publishing world is often times cruel and harsh… like a gigantic evil Philistine that wants to rip the heads off of unsuspecting writers. :P I haven’t been around too awful long, but I’ve seen a few small publishers come and go, many dashed to pieces by financial troubles. I don’t plan for Magpie Publications to be one of those… this venture must last and must grow; it’s not just a onetime thing that some upstart girl decides to tackle on her own just because she can. However, the publishing world is now changing: expanding. It’s not as cruel as it used to be, but it’s still a tough little nut to crack. It’s still a rock that stands in the doorway and breaks many young, noble writers who deserve better. I don’t know how one company can make that much of a difference, but there’s no hurt in trying. The more opportunities there are out there for writer’s who deserve them, the better chances those writers’ stories will have of finding a home.

But you see, that’s one of the reasons why I can’t start Magpie Publications right now, and why I can’t handle it alone. Strong businesses last; strong strategies endure; strong missions bring aid. The idea needs time to mature, to grow legs and learn to stand… It’s sort of like giving birth, only in a backwards sort of fashion (in the metaphorical sense, of course). Instead of the baby being born and then learning to stand, I sort of want to make sure that my baby will be able to stand before I give birth to it. Make sense?

The biggest part of the whole idea is that I know that this is not just my dream. I don’t even want it to be ‘just my dream’. Magpie Publications is not an endeavor I’m willing to undergo only for myself; if it were, I’m sure it would never get off the ground. There are so many people out there who have similar ambitions, who strive for parallel goals. I even know some people like this, but I also know that there is strength in numbers. I don’t want to be a single parent!!! I will need help… I will need support and I will need a team. Only then, when there is a group of us working together, can Magpie Publications actually be made into a success. Only then can one dream see the birth of its reality.

So, in keeping with this post’s title, what exactly are the duel aspects of an entrepreneurial spirit? Quite easily enough, “dread” and “drive”. I know lots of people who think I’m crazy for wanting to do this. (Come on writers, how many people do you know who think the same thing about your status as an aspiring author? It’s not such a new thing. ;D) There are plenty who think that I’m way too young to even attempt handling something this big, and I don’t doubt them. Right now I know that I am too young… too young to do everything I want to do, and too young to make this company a reality. I’m scared stiff (there’s your ‘dread’, people) but I’m absolutely determined (and there’s your ‘drive’. :P) In a couple of years, I will hopefully be better prepared. By 2013 or 2014 I will have much more research under my belt than I do now along with the tools I need to see this dream take flight. And hopefully I will have the right people alongside me willing to help.

Though nothing is set in stone just yet, I’m thinking to set the company launch date sometime in late 2013 to early 2014. That gives me around two years to prepare. I can’t explain the feeling very well, but there is an urge in me warning that I shouldn’t delay too long or the opportune moment will be missed and the door closed. At the moment, I believe that two years is a good amount of time to wait. I would be almost 25 by then… still rather young, but hopefully old enough that it matters. And I would have more education and experience under my belt while (hopefully) shopping around a few manuscripts as well.

In the meantime, I will try to keep everything updated around here while I’m working to gather a team and learning all I can about the business. I want to do more author interviews, and hopefully start some publisher interviews as well, both of which will be posted on the P&P, of course (starting with a guest post from Janice Hardy, author of “The Healing War” trilogy, which will be posted within the next couple of weeks, followed by an interview with Port Yonder Press.)

And book reviews!!! Lots of book reviews. After all, one must study the industry in order to join it… right? Right?

Ok, I admit, that may just be my way of saying, “I love to read”. *shrugs* The new CSFF blog tour is on Stephan Lawhead’s “The Bone House”, and I’m also reading through several other good books including Ross Lawhead’s “The Realms Thereunder,” Rick Riordine’s “The Son of Neptune”, and Jill Williamson’s “To Darkness Fled”. That’s not even touching the books I’ve read but have yet to report on. ;)

The main point being, this is no longer just an idea that I’m playing around with… now it’s turning into a goal, which is much more tangible and less fleeting. As I learn things, I will post about them. I’m currently reading several interesting articles and surfing through publishing interviews as well. As always, thoughts and advice from readers are welcomed. Never ever think that what you have to say is not valuable; sometimes its comments on blog posts that I learn the most from. I’m always curious about what readers think of the mad ramblings I sometimes post here. I’m sure that half of the time I must sound like a lunatic. Lol!

God Bless,
Nichole

CSFF Blog Tour Day 3: Book Review -- "The Monster in the Hollows" by Andrew Peterson

Well I did it folks!  I actually blogged for all three days during the book tour!!! *does a happy dance*  Usually I end up blogging on the first and third days.  Sometimes just on the third day.  But this time I really did it and made it all the way to the end. ^_^  Perhaps it's because it's about books that I truly am inspired by, not to mention the absolutely epic music that's written and sung by the author... or perhaps it's just the illustrations. *shrugs*

You know, when I first heard about Andrew Peterson the author, I didn't realize that he was also the song writer that I loved to listen to.  And when I finally made that connection, then I was astounded by the fact that he was also an artist.  This just blew me away.

I'm not trying to blow my own horn or anything, but I know that I can write well and I love Christian fantasy (you can read a sample of my writing on the "read an excerpt" page of my blog); I know that I can sing well and I am fairly adept at playing the guitar (I'm now learning the piano) and I've written quite a few songs of my own (started working on an album but had to stop when the guy who was helping me moved out of town;  I'm also an artist (check out the links to my art galleries at the top of the page).  I do all of these things (and several others) and I know that I'm good at them because I love them so very very much.  I know this sounds like I'm trying to be proud, but honestly I'm not.  I'm just stating facts.

But here's another fact for you: there just aren't that many people out there who can do all three of these things at the same time and be good at them... and many of the people who can do all of these things only focus on one of them.

However, I don't want to focus on just one of my favorite pastimes; I want to expound on all of my talents and succeed at the same time... not just at one of them, but at every one of them.

So just for one moment, imagine the thrill I got when I realized that my new favorite author was also a singer/songwriter who played guitar and drew gorgeous illustrations for his own books.  Not to mention the fact that he published his last book "The Monster in the Hollows" through Rabbit Room Press which is his own company!  Not only were there others like me out there, but those others like me were making money and getting known for what they did, while at the same time (and most importantly) turning out genuine exemplary products in all three areas!!

Do you hear me?!  I'm not a freak of nature!!!  And I'm not alone!!!  ^_^  *does another happy dance.*

So now I'm going to post a review of "The Monster in the Hollows", since I've finally gotten that out of my system. lol!


Janner Igiby has always wanted to sail over the Dark Sea of Darkness... ever since he found that old drawing of his father standing in the prow of a ship, he's wanted to know what it feels like to roll over the waves of the sea.  He used to dream about it, looking out over the cliffs of his home on Dragon Day, but it just wasn't quite the same thing as doing it.

Now however he gets his wish... he's on a ship sailing far over the Dark Sea of Darkness... and he can't even get out of bed to see the waves!!!

Of course it's all Tink's fault.  If his little brother hadn't decided to go off and grow a tail... not to mention grey fur all over his body and long, vicious canines... Janner wouldn't be in this position.  But then again, perhaps Tink's change is partly Janner's fault... after all, if he had been looking out for his little brother like he was supposed to, Tink probably wouldn't have run away and gotten himself in trouble in the first place.

But what does it matter now?  What's done is done, and the Igiby family is sailing away from Skree far over to the Green Hollows where Nia's mother came from, hoping to escape Skree and Gnag the nameless' awful namelessness.  Not to mention the Fangs of Dang.  The Hollows folk are said to be a simple people but harsh fighters, and they've driven off Gnag's armies several times in the past.  Surely they will take in Nia, who is of their own kin, and her family.

But the Hollows aren't entirely safe in themselves.  There is a dark forest there where many evil creatures are said to reside... monsters, the Hollow's folk call them.  To the simple folk of the hollows, Tink's change makes him looks like a monster too.  And monsters must be killed.

While Tink works to prove himself to the hollows folk, something else is as at work.  Creatures from the forest are coming out and wondering through the hollows.  Livestock stalk starts going missing, and strange tracks are left near houses and barns.  There is definitely a monster in the Hollows... but who is it really?

My Thoughts:

Ok, let me just pause a moment to catch my breath.  *catches breath*

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK.  It's the best one in the entire series, in my opinion.  Tink's change challenges not only him but his entire family, as the Hollow's folk are suspicious of him and anyone who would bring such a creature with them.  Tink tries to keep his new self in check and prove that he is not the monster everyone believes him to be, while all around him things seem to be falling apart.  The dynamics in this book are far more engaging in my opinion than the other two books (although I can't complain too much about the dynamics of any of these books... I can only say that the ones in TMITH are stronger than the other books.)

AND THE ENDING!!!

*gasps again*

I had to catch my breath on that one.  It totally caught me by surprise!  I absolutely refuse to give out spoilers (and some of the blog tour participants may have notices that I have left out one specific surprise that happens in the first book every single time I write a review... but you see, the surprise is very powerful and important to all three books and I don't want to ruin it's epicness for anyone who hasn't read the series. ^_^)  However, let me just say that my heart literally skipped a beat when I read the end (or almost the end) and I jumped up and shouted "YES!!!" in the middle of the second to last chapter (I believe it was).  And then I cried in the last chapter.  Couldn't help it.  If you read the book you will totally understand.

The characters in these books definitely change over the course of the series.  It's like you can actually see the kids mature... grow up and become young men and women who understand responsibility and consequences.  It's not just that they are kids anymore... they actually have to learn about their world and the important roll that they play in it, and it effects them... deeply.  It makes me think that as a father, Andrew almost wrote his books to help his own kids learn valuable lessons for life and about their faith... and in doing that, he's also teaching those lessons to every kid who reads his books.

I admire him for that.  I want to write like that.  I definitely aspire to accomplish that with everything that I attempt to do.

For those of you who are interested in his music, first of all, you must know that I absolutely ADORE his music.  It's just as simple as that.  In fact, the first time I listened to his album "Far Country" I was like, "OH MY WORD!!!  This guy writes songs like I write.  Wow!!"  I mean, the subject matter... the genre... the type... it's all there!  I love Christian contemporary music, but I'm also a huge fan of folk music with a celtic taste thrown in.  And lyrics... lyrics are so, so, SO important to me.  If the lyrics are strange or just seem meaningless, I'll usually end up hating the song.

Well, while I didn't notice any real celtic flair to these songs, they are all definitely Christian contemporary with a sort of folk-like twist.  They are write up my alley... just what I like to write and sing.  A friend of mine calls them "mellow".  I'm not sure if that's how I would title them, but I guess the word does fit.

If you are interested in this album, check out this page: https://store.rabbitroom.com/music/the-far-country

AND

(this is important)

READ THROUGH THE PAGE BEFORE YOU BUY THE ALBUM.

While I'm absolutely 100% for supporting this amazing and talented man and artist, I also know that if you read closely you'll notice that you can actually download the album for free if you want to.  Andrew even provides a link.  But if you are anything like me, once you listen to his music, you'll be back for more.  In this way, he's not actually loosing money but gaining money... because the free album is only a sample - a small taste - of the rest of his work.

Now, in other news, I noticed that Andrew recently posted this video on Facebook and it's totally epic!! ^_^  It really reminds me of myself in many ways.  Fantasy writers can TOTALLY relate.  I was laughing through the entire thing!!

And at long last I'll close out this Review with three new pictures of the man himself. :)  If you haven't been able to tell up to this point, I'll be blunt: I am a huge fan of his.  But if you check out the other blogs on the CSFF Blog Tour (linked to below), you can find out more about why I admire him so much.  ^_^

Goodbye!!!  And I hope you enjoyed the tour!  Check out Andrew Peterson's website at http://www.andrew-peterson.com  HAPPY READING!


Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Amber French
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
* Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

CSFF Blog Tour Day 2: Book Review -- "North! Or Be Eaten" by Andrew Peterson

Ok, I started reading the Wingfeather Saga with the second book.  I know that this is normally not the "accepted" thing to do... you start a series with the first book and work your way up.  However, I can't say that it was a bad thing that I started "late" as one might say.  In fact, I believe starting with the second book influenced my outlook on the first book for the better.

At the end of the first book in the series, Janner Igiby and his family are forced to leave their beloved town of Glipwood and hide out out in the dangerous forest where their half demented protector, Peet the Sock Man, has made his home.  Janner finally has found out the truth about his family -- and his father -- and there is far more to their family history than Janner every thought even possible!  Now the fun and games have ended and the adventure truly begins.  Gnag the Nameless is still determined to find the Jewels of Anniera, and he has reason to believe that they are being hidden in Glipwood.  With the furious Fangs of Dang pouring into the little town in search of the jewels, Janner and his family leave Glipwood behind in a desperate attempt to reach the Ice Praries before Gnag can find them and discover the powerful secret of their family line -- a secret that could do more than help Gnag take over the world... it could help destroy the world as well.

As they travel they are constantly in danger.  Pursued by Fangs with every step,  Janner and his family must escape the jaws of the dreaded Gargun Rock Roach, evade the knives of Stranders, hide out in hidden tunnels, avoid the terrible teeth (not to mention the awful breath) of Bomnibles, and out run the unbearable beaks of the hideous flesh-eating Snickbuzzards.  It's going to take a lot of courage to get them to the ice prairies... all in one piece, that is.

And with Tink thrown into the mix, one can never be too grateful for the words "all in one piece".  Who would have thought that little brothers could be so much trouble?  Who would have thought that Tink's protection would fall squarely on Janner's shoulders, or that Tink would go off and grow a tale?  Literally?  And who would have thought that a Quilldiggle could taste so good, or that a Fork Factory could be so dreaded?

Besides that, Grandpa is hiding yet another secret... a secret that he's never even told his daughter Nia... a secret that just might have the whole family in pieces by the end after all.

My Thoughts:

I will never forget the day I first started reading this book.  I was sitting in my bedroom, talking to my little sister, and telling her about this book I just borrowed that I was excited about reading.  She asked me to read a bit to her.  So I flipped open the first cover, admired the hand drawn maps, and then went to read the first chapter...

"Toothy Cows!!"

No, literally... those are the first words.

My sister and I both fell into hysterical laughing.  "What did that just say?"  She asked me.  So I read it again and we both doubled over.

Wow.  Now that's one way to draw a reader's attention.  Especially if that particular reader hasn't read the first book in the series  yet.

It didn't take me long after that to understand the seriousness behind the words "Toothy Cow".  I shall never look at a toothy cow the same way again.  Don't be fooled by their similar appearance to normal cows... while it would seem the toothy variety taste just as good as the normal variety (ask the stranders, if you don't believe me) they also tend to think that people taste good. 

See what I mean?  Terrifying creatures. :)

Personally I loved this book as well if not more than I loved the first one.  However, starting in the middle of the series was a little difficult, so no... I don't recommend starting with the second book. At first I really didn't understand what was going on (you sort of need to read the first book for that.)  After a while I caught on.  And once I caught on, the pace just picked up.  

Andrew seems to have a way with words and humor that just flows over the page.  And when I say humor, I don't mean like the riddle kind, or like knock-knock jokes. He simply slips every day simple humor into the pages and when you catch it, it's like a little jewel of laughter... or perhaps like an inside joke.  Guys will especially enjoy the humor, but even girls with a few brothers in the family or a silly father could easily catch on and would get a chuckle or two out of it.  It's so worth reading.

I refuse to give away any of the amazing adventure in this book.  You simply have to read it for yourself to understand. :)  But I will say that the ending left me so on edge that first I gasped, then I went back and reread it three times, and then I started to cry and I couldn't pick up the third book for two days until the amazement had finally worn off enough to leave me literate again.  No I'm not joking.  I couldn't even think of starting the first book until my awe of Andrew Peterson's way with words and plot twists came back down to a somewhat normal status.  

I don't think I need to say it again; you should already know by now that you absolutely HAVE to read this book.  If you are Christian and a fantasy lover, then it is practically a required thing. :D (not really... but EXTREMELY recommended.)  Again, this book gets a 5 out of 5 stars.  

But just wait until you read my review on the third book. *rubs hands together gleefully*  That one is by far the best book of the series in my opinion.  At least up to this point.

Now, yesterday I mentioned that I would talk more about Andrew's other amazing talents.  I told you that he was a recording artist, but I forgot to mention that he was also an illustrator.  Illustrations from his own pencil are scattered throughout the book, and (as an artist myself) I just have to say that I love his cartoon animation style.  I could totally see movies being made from these illustrations... perhaps in the style of Focus on the Family's Adventures in Oddesy series.   You just have to love it when you find someone this talented... I mean, seriously... how much more awesome can this man get?

Oh wait... he's a father and a husband as well?  Did I mention that he was born in IL... not too terribly far from my area.  Yeah, my esteem just went up another notch. ^_^

Here's some of his artwork which you can also find here... http://wingfeathersaga.com  

1)  Glipwood Township: 

2) A map of Skree:

3) Peet the Sock Man's Castle:

4) A ferocious Fang of Dang: 

5) A terrible flesh eating Snickbuzzard:

6) A Bomnible:

7) A Chorkney (from the Ice Praries):

And now I shall leave you once again with a picture of Andrew himself.  This time he's playing the guitar. :D  Gotta love it! 

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Amber French
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
* Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nichole White
Rachel Wyant

CSFF Blog Tour Day 1: Review of Andrew Peterson’s “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness”

Wow… *double checks header*  I do believe that that is one of the longest titles I’ve ever had on a blog post. O.o

Today is the first day of the September CSFF Blog Tour and we have been reading through Andrew Peterson’s book “The Monster in the Hollows”.  That book is the 3^rd  book in the Wingfeather saga (originally dubbed “The Wingfeather trilogy”, but that now consists of four books instead of three… thus the change.)

I’ve had the pleasure of reading all three books and of actually getting to meet Mr. Peterson in person (and singing with my church worship band to open his recent concert in IL. ^_^).   However, I haven’t posted any reviews on his books yet.  And so,  I thought I would do something a little different and actually review the whole series during this tour… three days for three books. ^_^  What do you think of that? :)

Janner Igiby is tired of always having to watch over his younger brother and little sister.  After all, he's already 12!  Practically an adult.  He should be able to decide what he wants to do with his own time.


And what he wants is an adventure... the kind he only gets to read about.  The kind in the stories told to him by his ex-pirate grandfather about the sea and foreign lands.  However, in the town of Glipwood which is run by the furious Fangs of Dang -- large lizard-man things with venomous teeth -- who report back to Gnag the Nameless himself, "adventure" often get's one in trouble.

When Janner tussles with a Fang in order to save his little sister and her dog nugget from a toothy and poisonous death, events turn dangerous.  The children get thrown into the jail and are threatened with a trip in the Black Carriage, a nightmare out of fireside tales and children's rhyms about a carriage driver who comes and steals kids from their beds in the night.  However, before the children are sent off, their mother Nia comes to rescue them with some secret jewels she had stashed away.  She manages to bribe the head fang and get her children out of jail, but now Janner is curious where his mother kept the jewels and how come he never knew about them before.

And then there's Janner's brother, Tink.  Tink is always getting into mischief.  When he "borrows" a map from the local book store that leads to an old, abandoned house on the edge of Glipwood forest, Tink and Janner decide to go exploring.  They know that Glipwood forest itself is said to be dangerous, but the house isn't actually in the forest... But instead of the relatively safe adventure they expected, they get chased by the terrible Horned Hounds and discover a hidden weapons chamber filled with all sorts of dangerous objects forbidden since the great war when Gnag the Nameless took over the land of Skree.  What is it doing there?  And what did the owner of the bookstore, the fat old Oskar N. Reateep, have to do with it?

Besides that, why does the local psychopath, Peet the Sock Man, seem so intent on protecting the Igiby children?  And why is Gnag the Nameless suddenly so set on capturing them?

Janner knows that his Mother and Grandfather are hiding something from him -- a secret that probably has to do with his father who was lost in the Great War -- but what could that secret be?  And what about these Jewels of Anniera that Janner keeps hearing about?  There was even something about them written on the map that Tink had borrowed.  Were those the jewels that his mother had given the fangs?  Was that what Gnag really wanted?


My Thoughts:

I actually started reading the series with the second book, but to be quite honest, I think starting that way helped me to appreciate the first book all the more.  

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness pretty much stayed around the small town of Glipwood, which sits right up against the Glipwood forest, up until the very end.  Usually I have some trouble with stories that aren't moving about -- it's not so much the stories fault as my attention span's fault.  I just want to see things change... I want to see dynamics. (I suppose all readers do.)  Well I didn't have those problems with this story.  It had enough going on and it asked enough questions that I was curious and content with staying in one place.

My favorite character by far was Peet the Sock Man.  He's so crazy, but there's something so likable about him.  You just have to pity him, and you wonder constantly about what put him in such a state.  And then of course you have little Leeli's dog, Nugget... if you haven't read the book, I won't try to spoil it for you, but let me just say that something happens to Nugget that, in my own opinion, is totally epic. ^_^

Andrew Peterson writes in a very unique style that utilizes the "story teller" style rather than the "Story shower" style.  I found it a little distracting at first, but by the end of the first chapter, I'd completely forgotten about my distraction.  The rhythm of the writing flows well and keeps the reader engaged.  It's not just what happens in the book but the pacing that counts, and in my opinion this book has just the right mixture of pacing and action.  In fact, Andrew keeps his own unique style very consistent throughout the entire series... even though I did note improvements from one book to the next.  And a reader should take nothing for granted in these books either... even small details may come back throughout later chapters in very big ways.

As far as this book goes, I give it a 5 out of 5.  It's absolutely family friendly, and it's the start of what is now one of my favorite Christian Fantasy series.

Just for fun, here's a picture of another version of the cover: 

And here's a picture of the author himself.  Not only does he look good (I mean, he does look good... his features remind me a bit of Steven Curtis Chapman...) but he seems very kind hearted as well. Also note that Andrew Peterson is a Christian recording artist.  Perhaps I'll devolve more on that later.  Right now I will tell you that his album "Far Country" is one of my absolute favorites. :)  I listen to it all the time as I'm working on homework or commission projects.

I shall now leave you with his smiling face. :D

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Amber French
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
* Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

The Confessions of a One-Time Exhausted Procrastinator

Hello Bloggies,

My name is Nichole White and last semester I came down with an ailment known as Exhausted Procrastination.

*cue rehabilitation group welcome*

It started out with just missing a few deadlines I'd set for myself. I was tired, I told myself; I could write later. I could always write later. I could finish reading that book later, because I had other things to do that were more important. I could wash a load of laundry later… right now I just wanted to finish resting.

But "later" never seemed to come. Pretty soon it wasn't just my writing that was behind, but my school work as well, and my room was getting messy because I was avoiding the fact that it needed to be cleaned. Then I started arriving late to meetings, school, and even Church sometimes. I made all sorts of excuses. "I live an hour away from just about everything," I told myself (which is actually true...) "It's ok if I'm late once or twice… people will understand my dilemma."

But "once or twice" grew more frequent. Soon I was skipping classes because I was late enough to them that I didn't want to be embarrassed by walking in. It wasn't that I didn't like the classes… in fact, I enjoyed sitting in and listening to the teacher lecture (for the most part). I just didn't want to walk in so very, very late. "Well, it's ok," I thought to myself. "I'm a good student. I don't miss that many classes… not if I can help it. One miss isn't going to kill me."

But my problem worsened. One miss turned into two, and two multiplied to four. I was getting nowhere in my writing life, my room was now a total disaster, and I was starting to fall behind on homework… mostly because I didn't know what homework I was supposed to be working on. My life grew more and more busy as the semester progressed, I kept insisting on adding projects to my agenda, and there was this big monster load of work to be done that loomed over my shoulder.

And like the good procrastinator that I am, I kept putting it off. The final result was the semester ending with me feeling slightly less than satisfied with my grades, a car-load of things that still needed finishing, and my book staring at me with big, sad eyes every time I turned on my computer.

That was me last semester, in the Spring of 2011.

That is what I'm trying to beat off this semester, fall of 2011. So far so good.

Now I admit that last semester I had really bitten off more than I could chew. I had tried to take on 17 credit hours all at once while also singing back up vocal 1 at my church every Sunday, writing my book, looking for a job, etc, etc… My life was soon disheveled and I was exhausted. My exhaustion is what triggered my procrastination, I know. The truth is, I really WAS tired, and I was at the school (which really is an hour's drive away from me) everyday from 8am to about 10pm. Even staying at school so long, there really wasn't enough hours in the day for me to give my homework the proper attention it needed, so half the time I bluffed my way through a few pages of any given subject and then tried to ignore the rest of it. Of course I wasn't satisfied with my grades… I couldn't even keep up with the homework! The school policy is about 3 hrs of homework to every hr of lecture/class time… more sometimes, depending on which subject we're talking about. Three hours is not enough time when you are taking a foreign language and don't already have a decent general knowledge of the language and/or culture. <_< From there, my exhaustion led to an extreme writer's block which took a little over a year to clear up. It was the most horrible, writing free year of my life (not to mention the only one). Pretty soon, I could just barely get myself up in the morning (waking up at 5:45 am every day is really NOT my thing…) and by the end of the semester, I started to cry every time I thought about all I had to do. It's not the kind of thing I would wish on anyone else. I am not super human, and I don't pretend to be.

That said, I wonder what would have happened if I had simply dropped a few of my classes, refocused my life, and had really gotten down to the nitty gritty with my school work. You see, I even procrastinated on dropping classes… I procrastinated so long that by the time I decided to drop classes and save myself, the option was already moot. I think that might be what REALLY killed me last semester.

This semester is a fresh start. I have a new job and I purposely decided to take only 13 credit hours in order to give myself a much needed break… that's still full time at my school, which means I get all of the benefits of a full time student, but it's also about 4 credit hrs less than last semester, plus my homework is fun and relatively easy. My room is clean and will hopefully stay that way, my closet is cleaned out and all laundry washed, work on my book is now moving forward again, plus I've started to take art commissions while still singing back up vocal 1 at my church. I let procrastination and exhaustion team up to beat me once, but I'm determined to sock them back this semester… hard. Right in the paunch. I haven't missed a class yet and don't plan to start any time soon.

The moral of this blog post? Well, I guess there are two morals really.

1. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today
   

And

1. Don't bite off more than you can chew
   

Trust me on this one: when exhaustion and procrastination decide to team up and jump you, they give you quite a pounding. :P

However, this time I've got them by the tails!! :D

 

More book reviews coming soon! And perhaps some therapeutic rambling. I'm also working on several new commissions, and have recently finished the maps for two of my WIPs that I plan to post about soon.

And I've noticed that I now have 65 followers! Yay!!! ^_^ When I hit 70 I'm thinking about hosting a giveaway, a contest, or some other type of fun, competitive event. So tell your friends about the P&P!! The sooner I hit 70 followers, the sooner you get to find out what amusing and enjoyable mischief I have up my sleeves. ;D

Nichole

Book Review: The Secret of the Indigo Moon by G.P. Taylor

Hello bloggy friends. ^_^

It's been a while since I actually sat down to do a book review, even though I have quite a few books that I need to review.  <_<  So I thought that today, while it's still on my mind, would be as good a time as any to actually put my butt in a chair and write this out! I've been avoiding this for a while now. Here I go! I'm actually going to do this now!! *focuses self* ;)

Erik Morissey Ganger, famed explorer and detective (well, in his dreams), and his mischief-making sidekicks, twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple, didn’t go looking for a secret tunnel beneath the school. They never intended to make the acquaintance of a shifty private eye with a nose for trouble. It wasn’t part of the plan to come face to face with an old enemy, one with an agenda of his own that could destroy them all. And unraveling the “secret of indigo moon” was the farthest thing from their minds.

At Isambard Dunstan’s School for Wayward Children, these things just seem to happen.

In The Secret of Indigo Moon, confirmed troublemakers Erik, Sadie, and Saskia plunge headlong into a new and perilous mystery, one that challenges everything they thought they knew about their lives, themselves, and whom it’s safe to trust.

(Sorry, that summary is basically the blurb on the back of the book, but I was having trouble trying to sum up the story on my own. :P)

My thoughts:

Personally, I had a hard time getting into the book. Perhaps this was because the book is actually meant for a younger audience.  I don't really know. *shrug* I've heard this book being praised because of it's pictures and the mix of text and a sort of comic-book style. I thought that it would be interesting to try this book out mostly because of the reviews that I'd read from so many different readers. However, I found the pictures and the strange fonts to be EXTREMELY distracting.

Not that they might not be interesting and engaging to someone else!!! I'm not saying that.  But I'm one of those readers who picks up a book and immediately starts watching a movie in their head as they go along. The many pictures and the strange fonts scattered throughout the book for apparently no good reason (at least on the parts of the lettering...) kept dragging me out of that movie and making me have to look at something else. Then I'd have to reorient myself in the text again... I just... well, I struggled with it.

Now, as far as the story in itself... well, it wasn't too bad.  I could see that the author was trying to pull out a Christian theme (or perhaps a catholic theme?) but I wasn't sure what I thought about how they went about it. There was this lady in the book who showed up it seemed at random, and Saskia thought she was an Angel, but no one seemed to know for sure. Somehow I didn't feel like this attempt to show a connection to the spiritual was somehow... lacking? I don't know... it didn't really feel connected, and it read rather shallow in my eyes. But, like I said, that could just be because the book was meant for a younger reader.

The story line in and of itself seemed to have a pretty good flow and direction to it.  Obviously there was a mystery and the children were going to work through it. The problem was that I could guess every thing that was going to happen. At one point in the story there was supposed to be this "secret" villain, and the kids kept thinking that it was someone other than the person it actually was. The problem was, all the clues fit together in my head; I guessed who the secret villain was long before she actually entered the text, and it didn't take a whole lot of thinking to do it.

The kids themselves were interesting to follow... I started getting curious about their back story. Some of the back story was provided and other bits were left out on purpose to keep the reader guessing. I liked that; I think that was pretty well thought out on the author's part, and I might take a peek at future books just to find the answers to the questions I have. But who knows...

The villains were relatively "scary" - or perhaps "creepy" would have been a better word - though I really wanted to learn more about the magician... I can't recall his name right now. I also wanted to learn more about his inventions. What on earth did a speeding carousel have to do with the story? Seriously, how was the dangerous and frightening? I guess it was supposed to add tension, but to me, it made no sense; it just seemed pointless. We didn't even get to see the purpose behind the thing. It never really DID anything... the tension (and my respect) dropped when the kids were saved and nothing actually happened.

At one point in the book, I noticed that the dialogue between the magician and the children sounded an awful lot like it had been adapted from Scooby Doo. "And I would have gotten away with it too, if hadn't been for you meddlesome kids!" :P Sorry... not that impressed.

All in all... I wasn't that impressed with this book at all. I'm not very familiar with the author, and I'm more used to reading straight Middle Grade or YA. However, I'm guessing that this book fits on the younger end of the middle grade pool. It DOES say it's children's fiction, so I'll leave room for myself to er.

Conscious-wise, this book is very clean. There's no really bad or super scary stuff in it, and you could definitely read it to a 6 year old and a 12 year old with confidence. (And just in case anyone was wondering, I chose those ages because they are the ages of my little sisters... ;D) However, I can't say that the 12 year old would be super engaged... perhaps if she was reading it for herself... but I don't think she would be all into the story if I was trying to read it to her.

I know this is probably the first time I've ever written a relatively bad review, but I just have to be honest. Even with it's few redeeming qualities, I just couldn't be impressed... and I really, really tried to be. I give this book a 2-3 stars out of five. I'm sorry, but I just can't give it any more than three, as much as I might wish to. :P

(This book was given to me freely by the Tyndale House blogging program. I was not required to give a good review. I was simply required to voice my own opinions about the book.)

Which Way Should We turn? Ushering in the New Publishing Era…

As many of you may know, I've been pretty big on the thought of traditional publishing. I'm a fan of the Big 6, let me tell you! And in all honesty, it would be a total dream come true if I had one of my books published through them. It would be a dream come true if I had one of my books published traditionally, period… through an indie press or otherwise!

But as many of you also know, the publishing world is shifting… sort of tilting on its side right now. Getting "published" is not nearly as hard as it once was. Now we have e-readers that (to my chagrin) pretty much eliminate the need for paper books. (Not that they eliminate the want for paper… I will always be a paper lover, myself. There's nothing quite like opening a brand new, physical book to the smell of freshly printed ink on white or cream paper. Mm-mmm!)

Not only do we have the e-readers, but with the dawn of digitalized books, the way of the indie publisher has become much more traveled than it ever was before. The Self-Published are not as far down the reading list as they used to be. Once at the bottom of the proverbial publishing shark tank, now there are authors out there making more money, selling more books, churning out even more reading material a year, and gaining more fans much faster than they would have if they had gone a Big 6 rout. There're people like Amanda Hockings and Joe Konrath that pretty much make their living on just writing books. (Isn't that where we all want to be someday?) Then there's John Locke, an originally self-pubbed author who just signed with Simon & Schuster, and managed to do the seemingly impossible as well: hold on to his e-book rights. These people and many others have dipped their toes into the waters of Indie Authorship, and they've succeeded. Not only that but they've kept their rights: that's something that all authors wish for, but few actually see happen.

And then we have people closer to the Christian Publishing World and the genre's included in Christian Speculative fiction (the genres that interest me. ;D) . We have Jeff Gerke, who started his indie company Marcher Lord Press around the years of 2007 and 2008 in order to fill a niche market that he saw needed filling. Now his company is topping the list of indie publishers interested in Christian speculative fiction, and several MLP books have won awards in the Christian industry… we're talking the Christy, here, people: the highest award to be offered in Christian Fiction! Author, Jill Williamson, has already won two Christies for her Blood of Kings trilogy, and I know that several other books have been nominated in the past, as well as books that have been nominated for other awards. (I know there was another author that won a Christy, or who was at least nominated for one... hmmm...)

We also have Scott Appleton, who started his Indie Company, Flaming Pen Press, in order to publish his book, Swords of the Six, which sold over 3,000 copies in one year and went on to be picked up by AMG – one of the leading traditional publishers of Christian speculative fiction. He now has a contract through AMG for all seven books in his sword of the dragon series. FPP also published Kestrel's Midnight Song, the amazingly engaging fantasy written by 19 year old Jacob Parker. Kestrel's Midnight Song went on to receive a Children's Moonbeam Award and (if I remember correctly) also sold over 3,000 copies since its release last September. Now FPP is getting ready to release a new novella titled Out of Darkness Rising, written by the talented Gillian Adams. (And I mean talented here, people… I've read some of her work already. It's truly inspiring.) The novella is set to be released in the summer of 2012, and I know that it will be a success.

Next we have Port Yonder Press, run by Chila Woychik (I hope I spelled her name correctly) which strives to appeal to the artful, the literary, and the speculative. PYP is getting ready to release a new speculative work titled Dawnsinger, written by Janalyn Voigt. I've been looking into this book for a while, people… I'm totally stoked about reading it when it finally comes out! PYP has also released the book Sylvari: an Anthology of Elves in which one of our fellow teen writers, Christian Miles, is published and in which our very own Mirriam Neal has some of her beautiful illustrations displayed.

And of course we can't forget this new movement by Bestselling Christian Fiction authors Christopher Hopper, Wayne Thomas Batson, and the brothers Christopher and Allen Miller. They've decided to start a Writing/Publishing Guild titled Spearhead, in order to provide quality Christian Fiction for readers of all ages. They've given new meaning to the words "Indie Publishing" since they've set out to be independent together, and I just have to wonder where this movement will go? Already they are releasing books through their Guild… (I believe that one such book is titled "Mech-Mice" written by the Miller Brothers, and Wayne Thomas Batson's newest work "Ghost" is (or else soon will be) available through the guild as well, as will Christopher Hopper's latest book in his White Lion Chronicles.)

Then last but not least, we have Andrew Peterson and Rabbit Room Press. Andrew Peterson is an award winning Christian Songwriter who also writes Christian Middle-grade Fantasy. (I'm a fan of both his songs and his books!! :D) In the past, the first two books of his Wingfeather Saga have been released through Waterbrook Multnomah, a division of Random House. But just recently, Mr. Peterson released the third book in his series through his own company, Rabbit Room Press, and let me tell you… it's just as good if not better than the first two books! (Expect reviews of all three of his current books in September for the CSFF Blog Tour.) Just within the last month I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Peterson in person and ask him about his books. I said that I saw he had published The Monster in the Hollows through his own company, and I wondered why. His reaction was similar to Mr. Batson's blog post about the new Spearhead Guild: he'd published his book through his own company because he thought he could get it out to his readers faster and more efficiently than if he had to wait for another publisher to do the work. Besides that, he'd come to know the business and had sort of created his own brand, what with his song albums and his books taking over Christian America. Why not publish the book himself? (disclaimer: Those were not his exact words, but you get the gist. I can't remember exactly what he said, word for word… but I can lay down what I remembered of the conversation in my own words.)

Could it be made any clearer? The world of publishing is shifting severely. In my mind it's pretty well balanced out 50/50 at the moment between Indie Presses and other larger companies, where it used to be about 90/10… or perhaps an even smaller percentage for those who took on publishing by themselves. And everything is quickly tilting towards indie publishing and ebooks. Even for those who are opposed to the change, there's no stopping the advance. It's happening… all around us. Constantly. And now Borders, my favorite bookstore, is going out of business… mostly because of the rising success of e-books and the seemingly decreasing need for traditional bookstores. Amazon is taking over everything.

With all that in mind, I've started seriously rethinking some of my previously unwavering notions about becoming published. I'm still a firm believer in traditional publishing, paper-back books, the Big 6, and physical bookstores. But now I'm starting to see Independent publishing as a possible option as well. I've considered it before, of course (who hasn't?) but the idea is starting to grow on me more and more. I am just not sure anymore whether I want to pursue publication through traditional means (with a possible agent, and queries, and lots of waiting involved, and so on…) or whether I want to step up to the task, be the entrepreneur that I've always known myself to be, and start an Indie Press of my own.

I just don't know anymore. *shakes head* And it's quite conflicting.

However, I have been weighing the options. I've been asking myself the questions that need to be asked when it comes down to new businesses … How would I do it? What would it be called? Could I handle it? Who would be willing to step out with me? What about marketing? That sort of stuff.

My dad had his own business since before he married my mom. Granted, he was an artist, but then again, writing is a form of art too. And he became known throughout the states! (but don't look for him on the internet… he never was very web-savvy; his business took off simply through word-of-mouth and personal advertisement. We had rough times, but so does every other business. *shrug*)

I keep wondering that if my dad could do it and succeed, then why couldn't I? My mom and several other respected people that I know have always told me that they think I should go indie as well. I know I have the spirit for it, and the drive. I know that I'm the type of person who strives for success and perfection… and I never stop striving for it. (yes, I do know that about myself… it's a complicated knowledge, but it's what has kept me in Jr. College for 3 years and will keep me in Jr. College for another 2 before I transfer… Double major here. *points to self* <_< It's that drive that has also kept me rewriting my books until I feel that they are perfect… which also tends to drive me crazy. But in a good way. Lol! :D) I'm the type of person who can look at the impossible, see possibilities, and then I will try to make those possibilities happen.

So why couldn't I start an Indie Company? Why not? I've always known I'm supposed to work in publishing… I just KNOW it. So why not?

I don't know the answer to that question yet, but I've decided that while I'm considering the options I will look at the problem through two different perspectives. I'm still rewriting SOTD, and I will continue to work on my query and cover letter as well, while also considering publishers and agents for both of my current WIPs as I work to stay up-to-date on the publishing news, markets, and venues. But I've also decided to think out a few things, just in case I do choose to go Indie. I thought I would post some of these thoughts here, and see what you, my readers, think of them. Perhaps you can give me your input to consider; advice and thoughts are always welcomed. I'm not saying it wouldn't be hard work… in fact, I quite expect it to be hard work. And should I plan to explore this option, I will definitely work hard at it. (And, hopefully, I won't be alone in my endeavor either… but I'll present those thoughts in a later post.) I'm just saying that I'm considering it.

First of all, if I went Indie I would want to publish other books, not just mine. I have a passion for creative writing, especially speculative fiction, and especially for the Middle-grade and YA. I know that this passion is real because every time I start to talk about it, something jerks around in my heart and I just want to start crying. My Grandma says that a person's true passion and calling will make them cry, so I know that this calling is real; I know that God has called me to write, and I know that no matter what, I will strive to keep writing and keep spreading His messages and my passions for as long as He allows. I want to be an encouragement to other writers and I want to spread my passion through my words (and I'm starting to think that my passion would touch more people and spread much farther and faster if it wasn't simply limited to only my writings and perhaps a traditional publisher… What if I could help other writers and authors who aspire for the same passions that I have? Wouldn't that be great?! *looks around, then clears throat* ahem…). I want to help other people understand the wonders that are waiting within the pages of a good book; I want to help people use their words to explore the wonders of the amazing, magnificent, breathtaking, ultimate possibilities revealed in God… because with Him, ALL things are possible! Not just some things, but ALL things. And I know that I could do just this by starting a company whose mission shares my passion. I've been thinking and praying about it a lot lately, and while nothing is really set in stone or decided yet, it's just starting to feel like this might be the right road after all.

Second of all, I've been thinking about branding and names. A company name must symbolize everything that the company represents. I think I would mostly be looking to publish speculative fiction (as that is my preferred genre), but I would also be open to looking at other forms of literary works such as poetry and creative essays and short stories for anthologies. I myself like to write poetry, creative essays, and short stories, so why would I try to exclude them?

But what sort of name can capture all of the eclectic marvels that make up the essence of Christian Speculative Fiction… while at the same time including opportunities for those poets and literary writers out there who share similar passions?

That's when I started to really think about the word "eclectic". When I think of "eclectic", for some strange reason a picture of a Magpie comes to mind. Those birds seem extremely eclectic to me; much like crows or ravens, they are always looking for shiny objects that they can take to their nests and keep as treasures and they are curious and not afraid of humans. But unlike crows and ravens, they don't have the symbol of evil hanging over their heads. Some people call them thieves, but if you really think about it, they are treasure-hunters. And as an Indie Press, that's what I would want my company to represent… not in the money sense, but in the essence of passion and words. There is a richness to a well told story that just cannot be denied. I would want to find those stories, polish them up, and let them shine. The only difference would be that instead of hiding the shinies away in my nest, I would want to spread them out to as many people as possible. It's only then that this zeal can be truly shared… when people are touched by the hand of God through the passion of a writer. And so, I've decided that if I ever do step up and take the mantle of an Indie Press (or perhaps I should say "when", as I would now claim that the idea is becoming more and more set in my heart), I would call my company "Magpie Publications", or something along those lines. It is the only brand name I've ever considered that actually feels right.

Third of all, I've been thinking about marketing. I know it would be a difficult obstacle, and perhaps the biggest hurdle that my company would face. Especially since I have not yet taken business or marketing in college. However, I also know that the resources are out there for those who have the drive to seek them out and use them, and I am willing to do the research. I know that I have that drive. It's what has kept me going as a young writer, it's what has made me look past the hardships of college and see the reward at the end, it's what will continue to drive me in life until my aspirations are appeased and I have created new goals, and then it will help me reach those new goals and beyond. It might be hard, but I already know that; nothing in life is made easy… nothing. And I don't give up easily; I know I have what it takes, and the doubts I might have whispering to my mind are not big enough to sate my thirst for truth, nor chain my dedication or God-given zeal. With God all things are possible; I just have to keep remembering that. Perhaps the marketing plan that I present in my query for SOTD can be built upon in order to create the perfect marketing plan for an Indie Company. *shrugs* Who knows? But the possibilities are limitless!

So what do you guys think? I know this was a pretty long post… one of the longest I think I've ever written… but if you've gotten this far and have any ideas on the subject, please let me know about them. I am very open to ideas right now. I'm not actually saying that I'm going to undertake this project soon… it may not happen for several years yet, (though I think it will happen eventually…). It's just been on my mind a lot lately and I thought I would share. What are your thoughts on the turn in publishing, or perhaps the changing market? What would you think about a new company such as the one I have envisioned above becoming a reality? What would you do? Feel free to share in the comments. :D

Nichole