The Long Hard Road to Reunion #amediting #scifirom

Jasmine: I help you, Hand that Feeds!
I do tappity tap on keys, you fetch me treats, yes?

It. Is. Done. The edits on Reunion at Kasha-Asor. I finished last Thursday, despite Jasmine's attempts to help and even though I dropped my laptop on the floor and had nothing but a black screen for a heart-stopping two minutes. I sent it off to my trusty proof reader for a check over.

This has taken an eternity to complete - well, it feels like it, lol. The original story is ancient, and mostly written as notes to myself about what happened in the year between books one and two of my Redemption series.

It was never intended to be a published piece...until my editor proposed starting her own publishing house and offered to publish book two - at that point rejected by then my publisher (Lyrical Press) who had published book one - as part of the launch. Since she was planning to use crowdfunding, I offered up Reunion as something to add to the bonus material for donors. Unfortunately the publishing house had to close due to personal reasons before the launch had really got off the ground, but by this point I figured maybe it was worth continuing with Reunion. I'd got the rights back to book one during a buy out of Lyrical Press which gave me the option to leave, and had decided to go ahead with self publishing both books. Reunion would be an added bonus...or so I thought. Checking back through my emails, the first correspondence I have with myeditor Dani on Reunion asks for more content. That was the 22nd of October 2015, so four months shy of THREE YEARS! Three years for a novella!

So maybe you can understand the overriding relief to have it done. Reunion has changed a lot from those sketchy notes to a story that, while not as tumultuous in the telling as the two main books, has certainly been traumatic on my side of it! And my poor, poor editor too. At 39K it's not the short bonus story it started out as, and I hope it'll satisfy those readers who have had to wait for more books, since I originally promised book three by 2017. Ooops?

Reunion was originally due for publication in May last year on the five year anniversary of Keir: Book One of Redemption. Now I'm thinking of an autumn release, to tie in with the season the book is set in. Being as it's already more than two years overdue I figure two more months won't make much odds. It'll be there for when everyone is back from their summer holidays and the monsters are back to school. ;) And since I know for sure it'll be releasing this year, I'm going to share a little teaser (this has kept me going with Reunion on the days when I just wanted to chuck it in the virtual bin. Which was most days).

And that's all you get. Bwahahaa!

Writing Update
And there's more. Not only is Reunion done, but I've set my Christmas short story off to my editor. A Very Merry-traxian Christmas is going to get a proper edit and an official release instead of being a winter freebie as it has been for the last two years. Hopefully it'll be ready for release at the start of December, but I'm not promising. I hate breaking promises...

Chook Update
The chicks will be eight weeks old tomorrow. Already! They're so big and fully feathered, and a right bunch of mischief! I am both happy and sad to say I have already found homes for four of them, with a lovely lady who adores the d'uccle breed and that I got talking to about them through a mutual group on Facebook. Knowing that they're going to a fabulous and caring home with a real enthusiast makes letting them go a bit easier, though not completely. The runt of the hatch - currently called Tiny Two-Toes because she has two toes fused together on one foot, though it doesn't stop her giving me the runaround - will be staying with us. I didn't want to sell on a bird with a deformity, or let all of my babies go. I've been so lucky that all of them were female!

With the roasting weather, I felt safe enough
giving two of the chicks a bath for their yucky mucky feet.
Not only do my girls sound and run like velociraptors -
get them wet and they look like them too!

Mama Firefly with her babies 

Tiny Two-Toes, venturing off alone again!

I spy...

...a feather out of place on my foot!

Littlies out with the big girls!

Quick preen

Backdate
I've missed posting about a few things. One was the first Colchester Geek Con, a new event to our town and hopefully one that will return. I got a selfie with the lovely Hattie Hayridge, who played the female AI Holly in the long-running UK comedy scifi series, Red Dwarf.

What a pair of Hollies!

Eldest got a shot with the chatty James MacKenzie, who played magical warrior Raven in the CBBC adventure game series of the same name.

13yo finally found a chair worthy of him, bwahahaa!

And yesterday I met my Doctor - at least, the one I grew up with - and one of my two favourite companions of that era (the marvellous Liz Sladen has sadly passed on): Tom Baker (4) and Louise Jameson (Leela) at London Film Fair. I've now met all four of the remaining Classic Who Doctors, but unfortunately it looks like my plan to meet Eccleston and Capaldi won't be happening after all, as will my hope to have met Jewel Staite (Kayleigh) to increase my Firefly cast collection. I just can't afford it. O well!

MEET ME AT THE (BOOK) FAIR

I’m on the road again today, back to my old home town of Fredericksburg, Virginia to try and sell a few books.

This is Fredericksburg’s first such book fair, and I’m grateful to my friends at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library for letting me know about it so I could participate. Steve Watkins, a good friend of mine from the old days, will be a featured speaker, holding forth on his successful career as a writer of award-winning young adult fiction. And my kids (and grandkids) will be there to help me set up, take down, and attract folks to my table in between. So this will be a homecoming in more ways than one.

The helpful folks at FIBF sent the authors this great article on “Selling at Conventions” by Travis Heermann, author of Spirit of the Ronin. Travis has some terrific advice for anyone who has never done something like this before (which also serves as a reminder for those of us who are returning to the trenches).

This is what I can add, based on two years at the Shore Leave STAR TREK con and various library and coffeehouse signings:

--Don’t sit down. The table is barrier enough between you and your potential reader/buyers. Don’t increase the distance by sitting and getting engrossed in your own favorite book or what’s happening on Facebook. Keep to your feet where you can greet everyone who comes by. (I know—seven hours of this? You are allowed to take an occasional break.)

--Don’t become a circus barker. That doesn’t mean you hassle everyone who passes with, “Hey, you really need to read this book!” Just say hello. Maybe comment on a neat cosplay outfit or tee-shirt. If they slow down, ask how their con or book fair is going.

--Take time with your table display. Make it attractive and eye-catching with lots of color and something unique to draw attention. I’ve invested in a professional bookrack and signage. But I’m lamenting the fact that my cut-out of Captain James T. Kirk can’t be with me this time, since it’s an outdoor show. He’s an instant draw with an Interstellar Rescue tee-shirt on.

--Make it easy for folks to buy. I have Square now, which allows people to pay with credit cards directly into my bank account, using my iPad. (I pay a very small fee.) Post prices so people don’t have to ask you. Offer discounts for multiple buys.

--Capture readers even if they don’t buy. I offer giveaways (tee-shirts, signed copies, Amazon gift cards) as an incentive for folks to sign up for my Interstellar Rescue Squad Facebook group (my version of a mailing list). Some of them turn into my biggest fans.

--Tag team it. My daughter Jessie is my convention selling partner. She’s young, she’s attractive and she’s very outgoing. She’s not afraid to engage folks on just about any level. Let me tell you, it’s fantastic having her around! But there are other advantages to working with a partner. You can relieve each other for breaks, or to go get food. More books to sell always means more interest from the crowd. And if you know each other well, the very fact that you play off each other is a draw.

--Keep smiling! No matter what happens. This is the equivalent of Travis Heermann’s “don’t be a dick” admonition. Misunderstandings occur; space is at a premium; oddballs attach themselves to you for no clear reason; undisciplined children grab handfuls of freebies meant for adults; it’s hot (or cold); you get hungry and thirsty and tired. But people will remember how you treated them that one time FOREVER. God knows I may never be famous, but if I ever do breathe that rarefied air, I hope folks remember they met me one time in Fredericksburg (or at Shore Leave) and I was not some kind of ogre.

So wish me and the folks at the Fredericksburg Independent Book Fair well. And if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and visit!

Cheers, Donna

THE 5 BEST AND WORST THINGS ABOUT STAR TREK

Daughter Jessie hangs with the Klingons

I had a blast last weekend playing the part of Big Time Author at the Shore Leave Science Fiction Convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland. I signed books at the Meet the Pros event and in the Dealers’ Room, geeked out at a session with DEFIANCE stars Jaime Murray, Tony Curran and Jesse Rath (the love-to-hate-’em Tarr family) and sat on three pro panels with other authors.

I had the most fun at one of those panels: The Best and Worst of STAR TREK and STAR WARS. The panel was originally supposed to be a Battle Royale between fans of the various TREK incarnations, in which I am always prepared to defend The Original Series above all others. But an overabundance of panels meant we had to combine ours with one about the best and worst of STAR WARS. Which meant we ended up with  fans of the two largest franchises in SF history in the same room. Anyone unfamiliar with SF might be naïve enough to ask why that is a problem. (Mundanes often confuse  the two anyway.)  Anyone else knows to batten the hatches.

Well, it’s not like the old days. Everyone played nice and left the bat’leths and light sabers at home. Many of the writers on the panel had written pro novels in both universes. But it did give me an idea for this blog.

So, here, IMHO, are my five best and worst things about TREK:

BEST

--Characterization. In particular, Kirk, Spock and McCoy are the Holy Trinity of characters, representing, depending on your perspective, Mind, Body, Spirit; Id, Ego, Superego; Thesis, Argument, Synthesis; Physical, Emotional, Rational. Need I go on?

--Technology. The special effects might have been less than stellar in the early going, but you can’t discount the inspirational effect of TREK’s tech. The communicator is now in everyone’s hands because a guy who watched that show wanted to make it happen and invented the cell phone. NASA, computer labs, biotech firms and engineering companies everywhere are full of people who grew up on TREK and want to see that stuff become reality.

--Vision. And talk about inspiration. Not just the tech, but the kind of world we want to create, with a bridge full of diversity and a mission to explore, not dominate. 

--Adult Perspective. This may seem a strange quality to praise in a show that has spawned generations of cosplaying, action-figure-collecting fans, but the concerns of TREK are not coming-of-age, finding our true roles in life, accepting/rejecting our fathers’ choices or any of the other concerns of young adults. They are more about accepting the “evil” that may be part of us, negotiating difficult relationships with others, leading men and women through impossible hardships, the immediacy of war vs. the delicacy of diplomacy, the nature of love, responsibility, duty, friendship. (Let’s hope J.J. Abrams remembers this before it’s too late.)

Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel

--“Darmok”.  One of the best episodes in TREK comes not from TOS, but from NEXT GENERATION in “Darmok.” Captain Picard and the Enterprise encounter an alien culture that communicates entirely in allegorical phrases, negating the ability of the translator to help them bridge the communication gap. This episode stands out because the aliens in it truly think differently. And for once, TREK’s tech is of no use; only the human ability to make an intuitive leap saves the day. Kirk would have been proud. 

WORST

--Wesley Crusher. See “Adult Perspective” above. The presence of Wesley on the bridge seriously disrupted the TREK force. Chekov came close to this annoying role in TOS, but he was older, and everyone had permission to ignore or abuse him.

--Similarly, anytime there were children on TOS Enterprise, trouble—and bad acting--ensued. “And The Children Shall Lead” comes to mind.

--Cheesy effects. We all know they did the best they could on TOS, but sometimes you just have to close your eyes and ears. And, seriously, if the turbulence is that bad, couldn’t you just install seat belts? So many bodies on the bridge!

--ENTERPRISE. Almost everything about it. I love Scott Bakula, but he was seriously miscast in this murky “prequel” to TOS. We went nowhere and we did it tentatively, hounded by Starfleet Command back home and the interfering Vulcans along the way.

--Hippies in space. (“Journey to Paradise” TOS) Abuse of the holodeck (multiple epidsodes TNG,VOY). Ferengies. (DS9) Impenetrable politics. (DS9) Sorry, I couldn’t decide which was worse.

So, what do YOU say? What are the best and worst of TREK in your opinion?

And, since I’m not a huge STAR WARS fan, I leave it up to our resident STAR WARrior, Laurie, to give us her list of the best and worst of SW.  I can just kick it off by offering my best—Han Solo—and worst—JarJar Binks—may he be encased in carbon forever.

Cheers, Donna