There is no "I" in writing.
Okay, so maybe there is...technically, but I'm talking about that old adage "There is no "I" in Team."
Today, I attended my weekly writers group where we struck up the conversation about editing. Sure, we've said it before, but another member and I were discussing how vital it is to have other eyes look at your work.
I take pride in my editing skills. I'm decent at grammar and can pinpoint some issues with a storyline or character in my own work, but despite any skills I may have or may think I have, I depend on others to make my writing better.
My process goes something like this:
1. Write rough draft.
2. Begin adding deeper story elements, add chapters where I think there should be.
3. Do point 2 again.
4. Do point 2 a couple more times until it feels finished.
5. Do another pass or two to focus on grammar and wording/phrasing.
6. Give the manuscript to my first round betas. These include: my sister-in-law, Jeanine; my good friend and English teacher, Bri; my librarian friend, Tracy; and a former member of my teen writers group, Danielle, who focus on big picture/content edits.
7. Insert/decide upon all suggested edits.
8. Send it out to round 2 betas, including fellow authors, Penelope King and Celeste Holloway, who help me with phrasing and grammar.
9. When it's finally ready, I send it to Mr. Agent Man and get more edits!
This doesn't include the newer betas I'm acquiring through my writers group (Rell), nor does it include all the readers who've given me over all feedback or the crew of encouragers and cheerleaders in my family, church and community.
Without these people, my writing is nothing. So I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to all of you.
I must ask, who is your writing team? Is there a bevy of people who encourage you? Do you have people tucked in your back pocket to use for specific jobs?
Lastly, I want you all to remember, there is no "I" in writing...oh, wait...maybe... OH nevermind!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Black Hellebore--Nicole Zoltack
Hello all! Would you please welcome Nicole Zoltack to RBTL today.
Nicole has a new book coming out October 21, and it sounds awesome! She's here today to tell us all about it.
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Jessie!
BLACK HELLEBORE is a superhero romance. Nicholas
Adams loved Justina Paige more than anything else in the world. When she died,
he basically ruined his life. Every year, he returned to her grave and place a black
hellebore flower on her grave. A decade later, Justina’s twin, Julianna, finds
him at her sister’s grave.
Now the twins may have looked identical – blond
hair, blue eyes, slender builds, five foot seven – but the similarities ended
there.
Justina was the more adventurous one out of the two,
striving to have fun at all costs. She had a tendency to be reckless and never
followed the rules. She never knew what she wanted to be when she grew up and
thought the world was gray. Or rainbow colored. Justina and Nick constantly got
into trouble, and she loved him.
Julianna was more studious. She always followed the
rules…until Nick shows back up in Falledge. She grew up wanting to be a
reporter and viewed the world in black and white. Justine and Nick were her
best friends. Now, she’s trying to get Nick and the straight and narrow. And
trying not to fall for someone she’ll always consider her sister’s.
Nicholas never thought he’d be able to move on past
Justina’s death. And he definitely didn’t intend to start thinking of Julianna
as more than a friend. He’s stuck and doesn’t know what to do.
Are you more like Julianna or Justina?
Book and Author Information for Nicole
Zoltack
Author
Information:
Author website: http://www.nicolezoltack.com
Twitter @nicolezoltack: https://twitter.com/NicoleZoltack
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolezoltack
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nicolezoltack
Bio:
Nicole Zoltack loves to write fantasy/paranormal, romances,
horror, historical, for adults and young adults, novels, short stories, and
flash pieces. She doesn't want to get boxed in by genre -- she might be
claustrophobic! She's also an editor for MuseItUp Publishing and
works as a freelance editor.
When
she isn't writing about girls wanting to be knights, talking unicorns, and zombies,
she spends time with her loving family. She loves to ride horses (pretending
they're unicorns, of course!) and going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire,
dressed in period garb. Her favorite current TV show is The Walking Dead.
To
learn more about Nicole and her work, visit her website at www.NicoleZoltack.com
or her blog at http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com.
Book
Information:
Coming Soon:
Black Hellebore, first in a new superhero romance trilogy - Heroes
of Falledge
Release in ebook format: October 21st
2013
Release in print: January 2014
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
ISBN 10: 1-61252-363-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-61252-363-7
Blurb:
Once a year for the past decade, Nicholas Adams returns to
Falledge and leaves a black hellebore on his girlfriend's grave. While
departing Falledge, he chases after a man sneaking into the laboratory and dies
for his trouble. A witch brings him back to life, but Nicholas soon realizes
he's not the same man. Turns out, magic combined with a black hellebore in his
pocket changed him into a kind of a super man.
His girlfriend's twin, Julianna Paige, is Falledge's deputy,
struggling to solve several murders. Nicholas, and his alter ego the Black
Hellebore, helps her, even as she helps him move on and even start to love again.
Unfortunately, Nicholas wasn't the only
one changed in the laboratory explosion, and now there's a supervillain bent on
destroying Falledge, and killing the Black Hellebore. But falling in love might
prove more dangerous than any supervillain.
Woman of Honor (Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, book 1)
Available formats: ebook and paperback
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
ISBN-10: 1-936000-03-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-936000-03-6
Blurb:
Aislinn of Bairbhe dreams of becoming a lady knight to honor the death of her fallen brother. To her mother's horror, King Patrick grants Aislinn's wish and she begins her long years of training.
Despite the mockery of the other pages, and the disdain of Prince Caelan who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her dreams and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. Through the years, Aislinn and Caelan grow from sparring classmates to good friends. They both know that someday Caelan will marry for the sake of the kingdom, but even that cannot keep them from falling in love.
The threat of war with the Speicans is a constant threat, and one that grows more frightening as she and Caelan train toward their eventual knighthood. Aislinn has committed herself to serving Arnhem, and has promised herself as King's Champion when Caelan claims the throne. She is willing to give up everything... her childhood, her life, even her heart for Arnhem. No matter the pain it brings.
Despite the mockery of the other pages, and the disdain of Prince Caelan who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her dreams and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. Through the years, Aislinn and Caelan grow from sparring classmates to good friends. They both know that someday Caelan will marry for the sake of the kingdom, but even that cannot keep them from falling in love.
The threat of war with the Speicans is a constant threat, and one that grows more frightening as she and Caelan train toward their eventual knighthood. Aislinn has committed herself to serving Arnhem, and has promised herself as King's Champion when Caelan claims the throne. She is willing to give up everything... her childhood, her life, even her heart for Arnhem. No matter the pain it brings.
Purchase
links for Woman of Honor:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kingdom-of-arnhem-book-one-nicole-zoltack/1111374792?ean=9781612529905
Knight of Glory (Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, book 2)
Available formats: ebook and paperback
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
ISBN-10: 1-936000-49-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-936000-49-4
Blurb:
Ranulf,
the Speican lord, is dead, and Arnhem is safe, or so the Arnhemians believe.
Sir Geoffrey and his companions have just completed a mission for Queen Aislinn when he receives word of the Speicans attacking Arnhem. Geoffrey and his party, which now includes exile Jenanna, split up and rush to different kingdoms to ask for aid. Even as he fights for his kingdom and his life, Geoffrey finds himself torn between his new friend Jenanna and the mysterious lady Celestia he left behind in Arnhem.
Enlisting help is infinitely more difficult than they anticipated and to make matters worse, rumors abound that the Speicans have enlisted a mage to work unspeakable, forbidden magic. The war between Speica and Arnhem has just begun. Will Geoffrey survive the battle to live another day and discover which woman he truly loves?
Purchase
links for Knight of Glory:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kingdom-of-arnhem-book-two-nicole-zoltack/1111929175?ean=9781612529745
Champion of Valor (Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, book 3)
Available formats: ebook and paperback
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
ISBN-10: 1-61252-035-9
ISBN 13: 978-1-61252-035-3
Blurb:
The war between Specia and Arnhem now reaches the sea after the selkies discover the Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen. Selliki the selkie sets out to find it, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. No union between a selkie and a human has ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is. Add the war, and their love is impossible. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end.
Purchase
links for Champion of Valor:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kingdom-of-arnhem-book-three-nicole-zoltack/1103130624?ean=2940012459756
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Review-- Everbound--Brodi Ashton. Guest blogger: Danielle Raymond.
My good friend Danielle loves to read, and she's incredibly opinionated (I love you, Danielle! :) ), so it's only right that I put her in charge of reviews on RBTL. So, here's one she gave me a while ago. Enjoy.
Everbound
By Brodi Ashton
358 pages
Beneath our
world lies another. It is the Underworld – but not as we know it. Instead, this
is where the immortal live, and where they take their victims – their Forfeits
– to feed on them for a hundred years.
Welcome to
the Everneath.
It is an unforgiving world of madness and brutality – a living world that requires human sacrifice to fuel its existence. These sacrifices generally come in the form of used Forfeits, people who have no loved ones to say goodbye to, who willingly give themselves up to the Tunnels - the Everneath’s energy source. The Tunnels steal a body’s energy until there is none left. Those Forfeits who survive the Feed and return to the surface world only have a few months to make amends and say farewells before the Tunnels come for them.
This is a
world that Nikki Beckett is all too familiar with after being fed on by Cole,
an Everliving who now refuses to leave her alone. He believes she is meant to
rule as the new Queen of the Everneath, with him as her King.
But Nikki
wants nothing to do with Cole, and nothing to do with the Everneath. All she
does want is Jack – the one who helped her survive the Feed by dreaming of her,
and the only boy she’s ever loved.
The whole
process is happening again. Only difference is that now Nikki is the one
keeping Jack alive by dreaming of him.
Because when the Tunnels came, Jack took her place in the Everneath.
And she’s
not sure if she can live with the guilt and the crushing helplessness.
Determined
to get Jack back, Nikki forces Cole’s hand in helping her navigate the
Everneath. Together, they go on an impossible mission to save Jack before it’s
too late. But Cole has betrayed Nikki before, and she is in more danger than
she realizes.
I have to
say, this sequel to Everneath is
almost better than its predecessor. The emotions are just as intense in both of
them, but it’s the ending of Everbound that
really sold me on it. There are twists in this story that I never saw coming.
And the cliffhanger Ashton leaves you with is so much worse than the first book. You will have a serious book hangover
after this.
Not only
that, but I really appreciated the development of Nikki’s character. Before she
seemed kind of flimsy, like a brisk wind might blow her over. In this book, we
see her become determined, brave, angry. She is a heroine doing what she must
to get back the boy she loves – forget the consequences. Nikki literally goes
through Hell and back to rescue Jack. She is a modern day Orpheus – only, a bit
more successful.
And I would
have to say that’s because she knows her stuff. Nikki proves her mettle by
knowing more about the ways of the Everneath than even the Everliving do. I have to respect a girl who does her research. And
there was a lot of research – not only the mythology of Ancient Greece and
Egypt, but the writings of Dante as well. Elements of all these things can be
seen in the series.
Honestly, I
can’t wait to read the next book in the series. The end of Everbound was awash in darkness, deceit, and promises of sweet
revenge.
And there’s
nothing I love more than good old-fashioned revenge.
4/5 stars
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