Excerpts From My Life

Hello friends,


This post is sort of a mix of an update and a mix of something else - I'm not exactly sure what. :P


On the "Update" side, I have some exciting news. ^_^  If you've been reading my posts, and you've read through the comments on the post "Updates on my life... and no, I'm not dead yet", then you might have noticed that I've mentioned I was in the middle of an experimental project in which I prepare several of my short stories for publications through Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.

Well, step one in said experiment is now complete... which means, in essence, that the first of a set of my short stories is now available on Amazon for Kindle. ^_^  The first object of the experiment is to test my text formatting and type setting skills when it comes to digital publication, so that I'm 100% prepared for Magpie Eclectic Press' first title.  Well, according to my kindle, I have a good handle on the type setting and formatting for amazon.  Now I just have to prepare the book for Smashwords and B&N.


The second (and currently less important) object (which I will explain about in a moment), is to test my online marketing skills.  The book just went live a little over 12 hours ago, and the story is only 4k long.  It's also one of my older pieces, but it's one that I still really like and I've been "tweaking" it. :D


Here is the cover and the blurb:


(Note about the cover: My name is really dim on purpose, because I didn't want the extra words to take away from the picture's effect.  However, if you find this troublesome, please let me know. :D)

ZI Mara is an elite soldier in the F.A.H (that's Faeries Among Humans for those of you without fae blood).  When an enraged male ghoul escapes the faerie realms and begins on a rampage for Chicago, Mara and her friend, Officer Lee Moker, are the only ones who can stop the monster and save the humans from disaster.  However, the ghoul has already taken a large bite out of Mara's shoulder and its venom is slowly rendering her immobile.  The only hope for the people of Chicago rests in Mara's hands... and that hope could cost her her life.

(A disclaimer for those of you who are a bit more sensitive, the word "heck" is used several times throughout the story.)

The book is now available for $0.99 on Kindle. ^_^  It was not released under Magpie Eclectic Press, as it is more of an experimental personal project.

As the story is only 4k, and hasn't been previously advertised before release (which would be standard procedure with a novel), I don't expect the story to really "take off", but I still hope it does well.  I don't write short stories very often, and this is definitely one of my better pieces.  Hopefully it will help me gain a few new readers and maybe even a couple of fans... which, of course, would be nice and encouraging. :)

Here's the Amazon link:

"Blue Moon" by Nichole White

In other news, school is going well and so is the progress on Magpie's new site. :D  It's not live yet, but it's coming.  In the mean time I've been working on a new writing post called "The Delicate Art of Torture", which is about conflict and torturing your characters... *evil look*

I've also been working on more jewelry... really fun pieces which are all twisty and beaded. :)  I've created an FB page for them, and I'm working to set up an etsy shop. Here's the FB page if any of you are interested:

Handmade wire wrapped jewelry

And in between that, music theory homework, and life in general, I've also found some time to squeeze writing in through the cracks of my crazy, wonderful life.  I have a few more book reviews due to be up within a couple of weeks, and I'm really, REALLY hoping that this will be the last "update" post in a while (meaning that instead, I will be posting more book reviews, writing posts, and perhaps even hosting a contest in the near future... ^_^)

In the mean time, how about a giveaway... The prize is either a PDF or Kindle Formated author review copy of my short story "Blue Moon" (which is exactly the same as the published version, only you will be getting it for free. :D)

To join, you must:
1) follow this blog (1 pnt)

2) Post a comment (1)

To earn more points, you can:

1) Post to FB (1) 

2) Tweet about it (1)

3) blog about it (something thoughtful if possible) and post the link in the comments (2)

4) get a friend to follow the P&P (and for this to count, your friend must post a comment saying who it was that referred them) (3)

I wonder who will win this contest. :D  I've never hosted one like this before, so it should be interesting... good luck to you all! 

In Honor of C.S. Lewis: a short story contest

While I was online the other day I ran across an article on the blog News from the Realm of Narnia about a college that is being built in honor of one of the greatest Christian authors of all time: C.S. Lewis. According to the article, it’s still a work in progress and the school probably won’t open until 2012, but I was immediately fascinated. Lewis’ books (including my favorites The Chronicles of Narnia and The space Trilogy) have touched the lives of several generations of children since and before his death. As many of us know, the entire Chronicles of Narnia are being made into major motions pictures, the latest of which The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is scheduled to come out this December in digital 3-D. (Those, in my opinion, are some very great accomplishments for a man who is no longer living.) I am just one of the authors who claim his works as my original inspiration to become a writer.


So, in honor of C.S. Lewis, I propose a short story contest: The rules?

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1) The work should be no longer than 5k

2) It should use some form of mythology, since Lewis, as I learned, was a professor of mythology and used it in his writings.

3) It should have some sort of underlying allegorical theme (preferably Christian)

4) Submissions start May 1rst (that should give us all some time). All submissions must be sent in by the deadline of May 31rst. (if for some reason you can’t get the story to me by then, there will be a mercy deadline of June 1rst) Polls for judging will open June 5th and close on June 30th.

***

The winner of the contest will get their winning story posted on a new page on my blog dedicated to their story, and may also advertise their own blog on that page if they wish. The page will be allowed to stay up for three months.

When you’ve finished your story, you may send it to me at silverdreams3@gmail.com. On May 31rst, I’ll start compiling all the submissions to post on a page on my blog. By the 5th of June they should all be up, and I’ll have a poll set up as well.

Just to let you all know, I will not be the only one judging the stories. I will set up a poll and you, my readers, will be the ones judging this contest, not me. Also, I will not be entering a submission (to keep everything fair). I’m still planning on writing a piece, but it will be posted in the regular section of my blog and not eligible for judging.



With all that said, I hope you all have fun with this. I’m really excited and can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! :)