Reading on my Kindle, editing on my computer
Lessons learned from editing my novel...
Write a timeline.
Print a timeline.
Post the timeline next to my computer.
Check the timeline.
Double-check the timeline.
Print it out again whenever it changes.
My editor wasn't sure how the timeline worked in my novel, so I've been checking and fixing it. Events that took two years in the original draft clearly happen in one year now, which means the girl driving to the Christmas dance is only 15, which means I have to move her birthday back from January to November... Arhghghgh! So many mistakes! But it's coming together and I hope to meet my deadline--the end of this week. If I meet it by Thursday I'll have something extra to be thankful for. But I'm certainly thankful for a good editor who spotted the problem and gave me the confidence to believe I can fix it.
Lessons learned from reading on my kindle...
pdfs can be a pain when the fonts keep changing size.
New reading glasses help.
Here are the ebooks I've read this week. I'll post reviews of paper books later, when I've finished writing them. And meanwhile, I'll edit.
A light fun flight of paranormal fancy: No shirt, no shoes, no spells, by Rose Pressey is the first in the Mystic Cafe series--think bewitched with sprinkles of spice instead of wrinkles of the nose. Elly's grandma ups and leaves her with a magical cafe to run and no warnings of what might go wrong. Just don't mix up the spells... right. With threats of closure from the magical police, and a handsome young man suffering under the wrong spell, there's plenty of missteps and confusion in this light happy tale. Enjoy some 2-star bright lively coffee with this bright lively tale.
In a slightly darker paranormal "vein", Subspecies, by Mike Arsuaga is the first of another series, in which the curious subspecies of humankind--vampire and lycan for a start--unite to reduce the destructive nature of their presense and research a way to more safely interact with humans. Of course, eating (and drinking) humans is a bit of a problem, and this book spares no details in diet nor in sexuality. But this is a nicely balanced tale with humor, good timing, well-imagined worldview and interesting storyline. Drink a 5-star bold dark coffee with this bold dark tale.
Even Swamp Creatures get the Blues, by Hilary Goldstein, is fascinating collection of paranormal short stories, each unique with some amazing twists, all very cleverly imagined. Savor these one at a time with a 5-star dark intense coffee and keep the lights on.
Continuing the scary sci-fi theme, the next book is Against Nature, by John G. Nelson, a scary modern tale of science and politics at war, evoking Robin Cooke or Michael Crichton. Definitely dystopian, incisively cynical, and sadly convincing, this novel raises a wealth of disturbing questions replete with detail. Drink a 5-star bold dark coffee and you'll stay up all night reading this.
There's more gritty real-world suspense in Russell Brooks' Chill Run, coming out on December 1st. The underworld of Montreal and the struggles of Canadians from Trinidad and Barbados are brought to vivid life in this exciting adventure with likeably inept heroes chased by violent villains and corrupt cops. Another dark 5-star coffee required.
Finally a short YA novel, Oginalii, by Stephanie M Sellers, prequel to her longer Black Purse, tells of young Exilee as she struggles to reconcile her mixed heritage while her buffalo friend Oginalii struggles to balance a three-legged life. The writing and the ideas are complex but oddly compelling. Drink a 4-star complex coffee with this one.
Write a timeline.
Print a timeline.
Post the timeline next to my computer.
Check the timeline.
Double-check the timeline.
Print it out again whenever it changes.
My editor wasn't sure how the timeline worked in my novel, so I've been checking and fixing it. Events that took two years in the original draft clearly happen in one year now, which means the girl driving to the Christmas dance is only 15, which means I have to move her birthday back from January to November... Arhghghgh! So many mistakes! But it's coming together and I hope to meet my deadline--the end of this week. If I meet it by Thursday I'll have something extra to be thankful for. But I'm certainly thankful for a good editor who spotted the problem and gave me the confidence to believe I can fix it.
Lessons learned from reading on my kindle...
pdfs can be a pain when the fonts keep changing size.
New reading glasses help.
Here are the ebooks I've read this week. I'll post reviews of paper books later, when I've finished writing them. And meanwhile, I'll edit.
A light fun flight of paranormal fancy: No shirt, no shoes, no spells, by Rose Pressey is the first in the Mystic Cafe series--think bewitched with sprinkles of spice instead of wrinkles of the nose. Elly's grandma ups and leaves her with a magical cafe to run and no warnings of what might go wrong. Just don't mix up the spells... right. With threats of closure from the magical police, and a handsome young man suffering under the wrong spell, there's plenty of missteps and confusion in this light happy tale. Enjoy some 2-star bright lively coffee with this bright lively tale.
In a slightly darker paranormal "vein", Subspecies, by Mike Arsuaga is the first of another series, in which the curious subspecies of humankind--vampire and lycan for a start--unite to reduce the destructive nature of their presense and research a way to more safely interact with humans. Of course, eating (and drinking) humans is a bit of a problem, and this book spares no details in diet nor in sexuality. But this is a nicely balanced tale with humor, good timing, well-imagined worldview and interesting storyline. Drink a 5-star bold dark coffee with this bold dark tale.
Even Swamp Creatures get the Blues, by Hilary Goldstein, is fascinating collection of paranormal short stories, each unique with some amazing twists, all very cleverly imagined. Savor these one at a time with a 5-star dark intense coffee and keep the lights on.
Continuing the scary sci-fi theme, the next book is Against Nature, by John G. Nelson, a scary modern tale of science and politics at war, evoking Robin Cooke or Michael Crichton. Definitely dystopian, incisively cynical, and sadly convincing, this novel raises a wealth of disturbing questions replete with detail. Drink a 5-star bold dark coffee and you'll stay up all night reading this.
There's more gritty real-world suspense in Russell Brooks' Chill Run, coming out on December 1st. The underworld of Montreal and the struggles of Canadians from Trinidad and Barbados are brought to vivid life in this exciting adventure with likeably inept heroes chased by violent villains and corrupt cops. Another dark 5-star coffee required.
Finally a short YA novel, Oginalii, by Stephanie M Sellers, prequel to her longer Black Purse, tells of young Exilee as she struggles to reconcile her mixed heritage while her buffalo friend Oginalii struggles to balance a three-legged life. The writing and the ideas are complex but oddly compelling. Drink a 4-star complex coffee with this one.
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