Book Review: The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy by Greta van der Rol

Today, I finished reading Greta van der Rol's The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy and I have to admit that I am seriously displeased that I finished it because I wanted to jump straight from it into the next one (which comes out October 4th!). Yes, it is that good.

The quick version: If you're a Star Wars/Star Trek/Battlestar Gallactica/science-fiction fan in general, this book is for you. If you've ever read a sci-fi book and thought, "Man, I really wish the Hero and the Heroine would get it on," this book is for you. If you like really good stories with lots of danger, twists, action, and politics, this book is for you.

I. Loved. It. 

I loved Allysha, who is smart and strong and capable and has the very believable flaw of falling for shady men. I loved her mad computer skills and her humanity and her compassion and her stubbornness and her practicality. I loved her special skills (I'm not giving it away, but it is super cool) and I loved her morality. 

I loved Saahren. I loved him in his Brad Stone guise and I loved him as an Admiral. He's hot. He's smart. He's practical. He's thoughtful and he's good at thinking on his feet. He's a bit of a caveman--he has decided that Allysha will be his wife and he can get bossy at times--but it totally works for him. I may or may not have a huge just a wee bit of a crush on him and want to see him naked. 

I loved the plot. I loved all the supporting characters--Allysha's husband, his problems, the gangsters. I loved the ptorix. Okay, I really loved the ptorix. The anthropologist in me wants an entire book on ptorix culture, art, society, history, and myth. I am absolutely fascinated by them. I loved the politics and the political tension. In my opinion, good sci-fi requires good political tension. Ms. van der Rol delivers. 

The only thing about the book that I didn't like is that it cuts off right when things are picking up again! I understand that the author made that choice deliberately, but it still gave me the same feeling I had at the end of A Tale of Two Cities the first time I read it. (Namely, "Where is the rest?!"). But it's okay, because the next book comes out in just a few days. 

I guess I can survive until then. 

If you're looking for some good science fiction, go get this book. It's available at Amazon as an ebook and as a print book. It's at Smashwords. It's at OmniLit. And it's at B&N for the NOOK and paperback.

Don't Be A Twit When You Tweet

After reading about automated Tweets and Facebook status updates, and deciding that I'd like to have a few days off from maintaining my online presence, I looked up automation software. What I found first was Hootsuite, so I signed up and I haven't looked back.

It took me several days to learn how to use it, but once I figured out the basics, it was very easy. It makes scheduling tweets and status updates so very easy. This came in especially useful in the last few days before my coupon for Cass Gets Her Kicks expired. I scheduled promotional tweets to post every few hours and it worked beautifully.

Here are three of my tips for using Hootsuite, or any other automated posting software, effectively.

All promotion all the time is a good way to get yourself unliked and unfollowed.
Seriously, no one wants to see their news feed full of "Buy my book! Read my blog!" No one wants "Hello, buy my book/read my blog/check out my website" messages when they first like or follow you. Whenever I schedule tweets, I schedule one "human" tweet for every promotional tweet. I don't want to spam my followers' timeline with buy buy buy. My eyes skate right over most promo tweets, especially when they come from Twits who rarely, if ever, post anything else. I want eyes to see my tweets and brains to read them.

You're human, so act like it.
Whenever I decide to follow someone, I read through a bit of their timeline first. If every single tweet is a link to their book, blog, or site, I skip it. I follow people because I find them interesting or useful or both. Both is the best. I also like to talk to the people I follow. I like to know there's a human on the other end of our exchange. Don't be a bot. Bots are everyone's least favorite thing (except for maybe those trending topics that sometimes rise to the top ten or whatever, like #youshouldbeembarrassedif and #wifeymaterial and BS like that). Make sure you actually visit your home feed and mentions screens. You should also check on the "your tweets, retweeted" screen. Say thanks. Acknowledge your followers. Have conversations. If you're going to automate, say so, and let people know when you'll be back "in the flesh," so to speak.

Remember that you're a professional.
It's okay to get a little bit personal, but remember that your image is first and foremost one of a professional. Try to check your spelling (everyone is going to make typos), keep your tweets and status updates consistent with the image you are trying to cultivate, and if you're going to share anything personal, make sure it's consistent, too. I talk about my daughter and my husband sometimes and even my fannish interests. I feel that adding personal updates gives followers and friends some insight. I know that when the people I follow share something personal--a story about a husband, a mention of a kid, capslock of doom over something exciting--I like them a little more. Your professional Twitter and Facebook are probably not the places for your five-thousand-word-rant on people who can't park. 

Monday Miscellany

Last night, I finished my "last" round of edits on The Cowboy Next Door. I then transferred the text to a new document and started the formatting process. I'm still waiting on four betas to get back to me with their notes, so I'll make changes once I get that crit; I'll also read it out loud one last time and make final line edits and change anything that sounds awkward. Right now, I'm pretty proud of it.

This article on Facebook statuses do-and-don't is pretty good. I think it goes along with something I tweeted last night. There's an author on Twitter--there may be more than one, but I have only encountered the one--who tweets at me with a link to his book. We've never interacted in any other way. That just seems like a huge NO to me.

I am so excited! Next Wednesday, September 28, I'm going to post an interview with the fantastic Ms. Greta van der Rol to help celebrate the release of her new book, The Iron Admiral: Deception. Here's what you should do to prepare: go download The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy, read it, and fangirl (or boy).

In my quest to incorporate new dishes into our dinner menu, I made beef fajita soup last night. It actually turned out pretty well. I winged it, but here's a recipe that looks pretty easy if you're interested.

This week, look for another post on writer's resources and one on Hootsuite. I'm still trying to decide what the others should be.

Blog Roundup: September 12 - 18, 2011

Chuck Wendig made another "25" post, this time on plotting, planning, and prepping your story. He says he's a pantser. I'm beginning to understand his crazy.

This week, I discovered a thoughtful, interesting blog called Read, React, Review. The blogger teaches an ethics in fiction course and in her posts displays an insight and curiosity I find absolutely fascinating.

Thanks to a link from someone I follow on Twitter, I came across Aimee Salter's blog and this post on self-publishers and value pricing. I also read this post and this post on why she doesn't believe self-publishing works yet. I think these sorts of posts are extremely important for self-publishing authors--or writers considering self-publication--to read. I think it's important to know what you're up against and to think about your business model. I think it's important to remember to think like a reader and blog posts like these help remind you to do that. As a bonus, check out this post of hers on self-editing.

Isis Rushdan posted on the four essential elements of good storytelling. It's a good read, especially if you're struggling with your story's direction.

Stella Deleuze has some sound advice on the "never give up" advice. Sometimes, you have to give up. She also has some sound advice regarding conflicting advice. I think confidence and humility are key to a healthy attitude about writing. Confidence because you need to trust yourself and your voice. Humility because you need to learn to accept criticism. Constructive criticism can only make you a better writer. Criticism that offers nothing else at least helps you grow a thicker skin.

SitRep Saturday: The Cowboy Next Door

I'm still in the process of making the last round of self-edits while I wait for my beta readers to get back to me with their comments. Right now, I'm looking at a release date between September 23 and September 30.

However, you can now read an excerpt from chapter one here at my website... or click below and read it here on my blog!

On Writing: Resources To Help You Plot

Piggybacking on yesterday's post, I thought I'd offer up some resources for the plotter. (You pantsers are on your own. I have no idea how your brain works, so I don't understand what kind of resources you'd want. Well, I can at least direct you toward Bad Ass Coffee and Gentleman Jack, because I'm pretty sure you all drink a lot of coffee and a lot of booze, but that's it.)

Brainstorming is an excellent way to begin work on your novel. Or novella, or novelette, or short story, or comic book, or whatever. Have a seat, pull up a cup of coffee or a glass of whiskey (or a cup of coffee made with whiskey), and just start writing things down. Character names. Settings. Bits of dialogue. Events. Worry about making it coherent later. For now, just write.

Personally, I am a fan of what I have recently discovered is called the "snowflake method." (I use it in conjunction with outlining.) Start with one sentence, then one paragraph, then one page. Keep building until you have what you want. I keep the original single sentences to help me keep my focus. Whenever I feel like I'm losing sight of the point of whatever scene I'm writing, I refer back to that single sentence. As a bonus, by the time I'm done, the summaries are already written.

Plot points are another way to go. These can be written on index cards and then rearranged until you have a progressive, cohesive plot progression. If you don't want to use index cards, a spreadsheet or possibly FreeMind might work well.

Remember outlines from school papers? Of course you do. Those suckers are useful. I love outlining. I break out the college-rule notebook paper and a bunch of colored pens and I scribble until I have several pages of bare bones storytelling.

Quick Google searches for phrases like "how to plot a novel" and "how to write a novel" will return a wealth of sites, posts, and book suggestions. Wade through them if you must (if you're stuck, it certainly may help to see how other writers plot) but remember that no one knows how you write better than you do. Go with your own instincts.

Or scoot on over to Terrible Minds and pick one of Chuck Wendig's 25 suggestions.

On Writing: Pants or Plots or Both, Oh My!

There are two types of writers: pantsers and plotters.

Pantsers sit down and start writing. They may have an idea for a story, they may even have some kind of plan for it, or characters or a setting or situations or a line of dialogue or something, but for the most part, they write like they fly: by the seat of their pants.

Plotters don't sit down to write until they've finished plotting. They have an idea, a plan, characters, settings, situations, dialogue, an outline. These people probably map out their road trips and stick to itineraries and only shop with grocery lists. Dweebs.

I'm a plotter.

Each method has its merits. Pantsers get all the excitement of being a reader with all the power of being God. Plotters don't end up in the ER with heart palpitations because some new character popped out of the snow and scared them into a heart attack. Each method has drawbacks. Pantsers don't always know when and where to end a story and plotters get sick-to-death of the painstaking attention to minutiae required from the very beginning. 

Of course, most writers probably incorporate a little of both into how they write. Pantsers start off with vague ideas of what happens when and to whom and plotters allow new characters and situations they didn't originally plan for.

Regardless of what type of writer you are, you absolutely must have a clear idea of the story you're telling. If you don't know what you're trying to say, your writing won't be clear. If your writing isn't clear, your readers end up confused. Confused readers are unhappy readers. Unhappy readers are not regular readers.

You probably want regular readers.

One thing to keep in mind is that clarity of prose can be achieved in editing. So write, and be as messy and verbose as you need to be, but always always write toward the point.

And always edit.

Free Alternatives to MS Word

In the years I spent as a student monkey and as a corporate monkey, MS Word was the go-to word processing software. Before that, from when I was about eleven, I used MS Works, or Notepad or WordPad. After my first couple of laptops crashed and died on me, I decided that I needed a cheaper alternative to Word that would still give me more features and better control than Works. I hadn't even started looking for word-processing software when I stumbled across a link for OpenOffice.org.

I love it. When I did my initial research on self-publishing, I thought that I would have to shell out for a new copy of Word, or at the very least dig out my old copy. But once I carefully read the Smashwords Style Guide and used OpenOffice to implement the instructions successfully, I realized that I didn't need Word at all. 

When I format The Cowboy Next Door, I'll be sure to do screenshots so I can share how to format in OpenOffice. It's so easy that I got it right in one try.

There is another free alternative out there called LibreOffice. I've read some good things about it but I haven't switched.

OpenOffice and LibreOffice are both Mac-compatible. I've never used them on a Mac, but I have a friend (and phenomenal beta reader) who has; she has never reported any problems.

Documents can be saved in Word's .doc and .docx formats and you can create HTML and XML files, which makes them easier to share. You can do almost everything in these programs that you can do in Word, they're free, they're easy to download, and they have tons of excellent reviews. If you're programming-inclined, you can even help to update it.

If you're wanting to self-publish with little-to-no startup cost and you don't have Word already, these programs are worth downloading and learning to use. 

Self-Publishing: Why And How You Should Start Marketing Yourself First

If you have something to sell, you have to be aggressive about your marketing and promotion. By "aggressive" I don't mean "launch full scale promotion attack on unsuspecting customers," I mean that you have to be proactive, have a plan, and follow through.

So you've decided to self-publish. Good for you! The first thing you need to know is that the astounding successes of Amanda Hocking and John Locke are not the norm. The second thing you need to know is that you are solely responsible for all of your marketing and promotion, so if your book doesn't sell, it's your own fault.

Even before you put out your first book, you need to get your name out there. People need to know who you are and what you're offering. By starting your self-promotion early, you'll also have time for trial and error. You'll be able to learn what works and what doesn't. You'll make connections--and in this business, just as in any other, connections can have a huge impact on your success rate. (It certainly doesn't hurt to make new friends, either.)

I suggest starting with a website, a blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

You need a base of operations. A home. Get a domain name and start your website. I like Intuit's website building software. When I worked as a bookkeeper and staff accountant, I used their bookkeeping software QuickBooks. It was so very user-friendly and they had great customer support, so when I decided to get a website--and knowing that I have zero graphic design skill--I went to them. When I signed up, they had a free trial offer. It looks to still be running. Their prices are reasonable, too. I signed up for a business website (which means I can have a store if I want one, which I do plan for) and privacy protection (because I used my parents' address in the States and I didn't want that information to show up on any WHOIS lookups) and it costs me $21 a month. This may not be reasonable for you; a regular personal website is $4.99 a month, and I believe you can upgrade at any time.

But for the sake of argument, let's say that you don't want to pay anything at all. Which is fine, because there are free alternatives!

Get a blog. Services like Blogger and WordPress even allow you to have separate pages in addition to your blog page, so you can set up a book page, a profile page, or anything you want. I think the main difference between the two is that WordPress is easier to customize, but I'm not sure, I don't have a WordPress. (It's on my to-do list.) You could also use LiveJournal or tumblr. Whichever service you choose, make sure you use it. Blogging is one great way to get your name out there and let people know what you're all about. Visitors and readers turn into customers, or they can turn other people into customers. Here on my blog, I try to offer my visitors things they'll find useful, so I typically blog about writing tips and self-publishing tips, and I point toward other blog posts I think are also useful. I also have a regular Monday Miscellany post, which I use for personal updates and non-writing discussion. Try to define what your blog is about and be consistent, both in content and in posting schedule. Also keep in mind that you're unlikely to be an overnight success. Just work to steadily build your readership.

Become a Twit. Twitter is one of the very best marketing tools on the web right now. It's a fantastic way to share information, interact with colleagues and customers, and show off your personality. Messages are limited to 140 characters, so you're forced to be creative and concise. I love it. But don't only use it for outright marketing and self-promotion. Let your followers get to know you. Interact with other authors, with book reviewers, with bloggers. Really use it.

As much as I hate to admit this, Facebook is important. You probably have a personal profile. I do, despite disliking the site (it's so unsafe) because we live so far from our family and friends and they all want pictures of the baby. I also have a public author page. Just type "create page" into the search bar at the top of the site and go from there. Use it. Update your status, share pictures, share links to your blog posts and to your website and to your book when it's for sale.

If this seems overwhelming, pick one thing at a time, get used to it and get good at it, and then incorporate another site. Eventually, you'll become efficient and proficient.

The Cowboy Next Door: "Back Cover" Summary

Last night, I finally drafted the "back cover" summary for The Cowboy Next Door and this morning I polished it. I also discovered that, based on its word count and according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, it is a novelette. 

Lilah Thompson has returned home to Colorado as a Navy widow with an ugly secret. It has been six years since she escaped her parents' expectations and Clay Bradford's hopes. Now, all she wants is to hold it together and bide her time in her father's carpentry workshop until she decides what to do next.

But Clay has other plans. Six years has been time enough as far as he's concerned and Lilah's widowhood is less of an obstacle than she thinks it should be. He wants her back, regardless of her ugly secrets and her aimlessness. He knows exactly what her next move should be.

The Cowboy Next Door is a romance novelette incorporating a little bit of angst and a little bit of erotica for the enjoyment of adults.

I expect to be finished and ready to upload within the next two weeks. This is very exciting!