2016: We Blinked and it's Gone!

Wow! 2016 is over. Like that! *snaps* How did it turn on the hyperdrive engines anyway? I mean...seriously!

I feel like I should have accomplished so much more, but there seemed to be so many stumbling blocks, multiple "I just need to get through this" projects, and mini-catastrophes along the way that my creative time got whittled down to nothing.

Or did it?

I received this saying in an email and it struck a chord with me:

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on,

with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

Hmm, I thought. That's so true. As one year rings out and another rings in, it's really not a ending or a beginning. It's a continuation. Though I may have been short on time and accomplishment in 2016, I realized I had learned so much. These are just a few highlights.

What 2016 Taught Me

I'm free, I'm free! Hey, wait a sec...
Somehow retiring the end of February didn't bring the 50+ hours of productive time per week I was counting on. It's like a quantum theory of its own: The more free time you have the more demands on your time seem to pop up and the less you have to actually work on your To Do list. (Now I ask you, is that fair?)

Having this plethora of leisure actually forced me focus on developing better time management and goal setting skills. Now to put them to good use in 2017!

The Portals Project -- A SFR Gateway

Early in the year, Pauline Baird Jones had a fantastic idea to create several volumes of science fiction romance first chapters as a way of introducing new readers to the genre and to each author's story, style and prose. Each volume would be branded with an identical but color-altered cover, and contain the beginnings of at least ten works by ten different authors plus additional story information and links to purchase the books for readers who wanted more. And they would all be FREE. I signed on to help with the project, and we quickly had plenty of SFR Brigade authors interested in participating.

My part was not only to contribute the first chapter of Inherit the Stars, but also to act as one of the coordinators, along with Pauline and Veronica Scott. As part of it, I learned how to create a central Portals Project site to provide information and make announcements about each volume as it released or hit a high mark on Amazon (there were many). Co-blogger Pippa Jay also taught me the technique for including links under image for each volume and how to add social media buttons to blog posts. Great for Portals, but even better for my blogging education overall.

The initial volumes were so successful that three more were added to the line-up, resulting in seven volumes with over 70 different SFR story introductions by nearly 70 different authors. We even named our Portal Keeper and wrote an introduction for readers in his POV. (Thanks to author Lea Kirk for creating the original draft.)

The Portals volumes are still doing well on Amazon and continuing to carry out the mission to transport new readers "through the portal" to the wonderful universe of Science Fiction Romance as a free offering. And what a wonderful way of supporting the SFR Brigade's motto: Conquering the Universe...One Story at a Time. You can find the complete list of Portals volumes on AMAZON or links to all of the various booksellers on the PORTALS SITE.

Pets in Spaaaaaaace
In the early spring of 2016, Pauline Baird Jones (yes, again--she's a powerhouse of great ideas!) mentioned an idea she had for doing an anthology centered around pets....in space. Now I love-love-love pets and I love space, and the two combined just seemed like an idea that shouted *ding, ding, ding* WINNER! But I told Pauline I just didn't have a story idea that included a pet. Hey, wait! < lightbulb > Did I?

I'd been kicking around the idea of giving the captain of a future novel a sort of working mascot for her ship--basically an evolved mongoose. Could it work? I told Pauline, "You know, I think I just may have an idea for the pet anthology after all. Let's call it Space Weasel for now. And I'm in."

When I started doing research, my "space weasel" quickly evolved into a StarDog--a genetically engineered dog/cat/weasel/mongoose--and a star navigator and spaceport street vendor took the stage as the hero and heroine, with my future captain becoming a central character in the story. Then I found out who some of the other authors were, and I literally panicked. NY Times and USA Today bestselling author S. E. Smith? Bestselling author Cara Bristol? O!M!G! Bestselling author, RITA winner, and personal idol Susan Grant? Monkey brain ensued. What if my story wasn't good enough? What if it didn't measure up? What if I couldn't even finish it?

Not to worry, Grasshopper, my muse told me. You can do this. And so I did. A new novelette was born. After input from trusted critique partners and multiple editing passes by the amazing Danielle Fine, StarDog took shape as a story I was not only confident to submit, but darned proud of. It was also a perfect addition to my Inherited Stars universe, and an introduction to both Inherit the Stars and future novel Inherit the Vengeance.

The Pets in Space authors also committed to donating a percent of the books' first month profits to the amazing Hero-Dogs, an organization that provides service dogs to veterans. That donation was tallied at approximately $2000. I was also very proud of that. *beams*

During the process I learned galaxies about marketing, marketing plans and book promotion from the amazing Narelle Todd of GetMyBookOutThere.com who'd been brought on to advise the team. Pets in Space went on to make the Amazon Hot New Releases list, become a Top Ten Seller on three lists and as high as #2 on Amazon Romance > Science Fiction list. It garnered 75 reviews and was named one of the Best Books of 2016: E-Originals Fiction by LibraryJournal.com. All-in-all, the project turned out to be a huge win-win and a major contributor to my "edumacation." Not to mention an incredible experience!

Newsletter 101
One of the many educational side benefits of Pets in Space is that I created a Mail Chimp account and began learning how to author my own newsletter. I've now sent seven different issues--both regular and special news mailings--and my subscribers have grown from a handful to nearly 1,500. Each new issue grew a little more sophisticated as I built on a skill set of how to format and populate each issue and created my theme--Escape to the Stars. Because, hey, isn't escaping to the stars (or other dimensions or other times) one of the great things about science fiction romance? I also read that it's important to include something of value to readers in each edition, so I try to do that, whether it's a fun recipe, an excerpt, exclusive news, a freebie or a drawing. If you're interested in getting my newsletters, you can sign up on my Author Laurie A. Green website or by clicking the following link > Escape to the Stars Newsletter Request

My Old Kentucky Home

The Saddling Paddock at Churchill Downs

I also got some education in the non-writing arena. I'm a huge fan of Thoroughbred horseracing and my husband and I even are in the business of raising Thoroughbreds on a very small scale. So usually the first question out of everyone's mouth is, "Have you been to the Kentucky Derby?" No. And to be honest, I'd never even had the pleasure of visiting Louisville or Churchill Downs. Until October.

Tagging along for a few days of David's week-long business trip gave me a whole new insight into the capital of the Sport of Kings. We went to the races at Churchill Downs--and even got to see retired-then-unretired multiple Derby-winning jockey Calvin "Bo-rail" Borel ride in a race...and win it! We visited the Kentucky Derby Museum, rewatched "New Mexico's" Mine That Bird (with Calvin "Bo-rail" up) win his historic Run for the Roses, again witnessed the near miss by Lion Heart (2004) who is the sire of our mare Soulful, saw the fabulous new American Pharoah exhibit, rode mounts in a couple of virtual races, visited Barbaro's gravesite and memorial, and learned SO much about the industry and the wonderful, lively, historic town of Louisville. (Like, for instance, everything I ever wanted to know about Bourbon!) Fantastic trip. We'll definitely be back.

The Outer Planets
My second novel turned into a major learning experience. Although the story won several competitions and was a Golden Heart finalist, commercially...there were issues. My editors explained how the various plots and subplots were too long, complex and convoluted, there were too many POV characters (seven!), plus a major character arc that didn't work, and the timeline (five years) resulted in terminal pacing issues. I first had to devote a couple of months just to rethinking the plot and character arc before I got to work. It's been a huge undertaking finding ways to address each issue, cut nearly 10,000 words from the manuscript and basically rewrite three quarters of the novel, but it's also been a tremendous learning experience. Look for The Outer Planets later in 2017.

Me and....well, Me, Against the World
So as I close out this year, I have a big change to announce. After more than four years, my agent and I have decided--very amicably--to part company. I'm extremely grateful to her for helping me get my start in the publishing world and handling all the chores and details that I just didn't have time or patience to deal with while holding a more than full-time job. Though we have been mulling this over for well over a year, we both agreed it seemed a good move. And the New Year was probably as good a time as any to make the change. So as of 12:01 AM on January 1st, I officially became a fully independent author. Is it scary? Yes. Rattling? You bet. But since I've learned so much this year, now I can put that knowledge to work for me and expand on it. I'll get by with a little help from my friends. Seriously, they're telling me I can do this ~ and I'm really starting to believe them.

So bring it on, 2017!

So with all the "on the job training" I received in 2016, here are just a few items on my "Plan of Attack" for next year:

• Publish at least four new titles
• Take online courses to learn the skills necessary for an indie author
• Learn more about SEO
• Acquire more promotion and marketing savvy
• Begin building an Inherited Stars Series website or page
• Learn more about developing marketing plans and book launches

Have a wonderful week and a great start to your New Year!

New signature image. Check it out! :)

The Good, The Sad, and the Awesome #publishing #cosplay #TheForceAwakens

I came back to work last Tuesday, and boy did I have a lot to catch up on. Still working on the backlog. And it's been a real mixed bag. I've not done any writing, reading, or editing in two weeks (although I've immersed myself in some Terry Pratchett rereads as a comfort thing). I've been busy finishing up cosplay, there's too much real life stuff as we enter the last half term before the big summer break and big changes for my two eldest monsters, and doing my part in the Portals project. So...

The Good
It's the official release day for Portals: Volume Three (which features the first chapter of my time travel romance Keir as one of the ten samples)! It's up at most reputable online retailers for free including Amazon US, UK and Canada (I can't vouch for the other Amazon sites at this time).
Volume Four is also up for pre-order at All Romance ebooks here:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-portalsvolumefour-2057186-153.html
This has been a fabulous project to be part of, with so many SFR Brigade members pulling together and using their differing skills to contribute. And there are whispers of another two volumes to come!

Webpage | Goodreads
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords | Google Play

Pre-order at
All Romance eBooks

If you've missed either of the previous volumes, you can find them at all reputable online retailers - just click the appropriate retailer link beneath the covers and enjoy!

Webpage | Goodreads
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords | Google Play

Webpage | Goodreads
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords | Google Play

Also, while I was on my break, I got to go to the London ComicCon. It's a few years since I've been (more than a decade in fact), and wow! Was it huge!! I felt a bit like a rabbit trapped in headlights wandering around. There was sooooo much to look at. A fantastic amount of stalls, artwork, geek t-shirts, guest stars, panels, cosplay...oh, the cosplay! It's given me high hopes for the Star Wars Experience in July, where I'll be meeting fellow Brigader and fangirl Patty Hammond, and attending in cosplay myself with equally Star Wars mad 11yo.

Random photos coming up!

Super rare selfie in front of the ComicCon sign

Um, no idea who/what this is, I just took a photo because it was HUGE!

Gorgeous sculptures

Huge steampunk themed zone

I also bumped into Andrew Lee Potts (Connor from Primeval) and picked up a signed photo for my eldest and a photo opp for myself. ^-^ He even called me sweetheart! *squee* Okay, so he was calling everyone sweetheart... :P

You should go check out his latest project - Wireless - a current day/very near future scifi/cyberpunk kind of thriller that he's producing himself and uploading to youtube, starring as disgraced police officer Jacob Crow. The episodes so far are HERE and the website HERE.

I also met my name twinsie and fellow Brigader Pippa DaCosta and TOTALLY FAILED TO TAKE A PHOTO! *dies* How did I miss that?! Anyway, it was awesome fun and the universe didn't explode or anything (although that might have looked kind of amazing, right?). I did, however, exchange autographs. This is mine from Pippa (gosh, that sounds weird)...

The Sad

You might have noticed something missing from the right hand side bar (though I'll forgive you if you don't know what). After a slight delay (no surprise in the often slow moving wheels of publishing, and not one that overly concerned me) I received the rights reversion document for Gethyon as it started to come down from retailers. It may be down completely when this post goes live. It's a sad occasion, even though I'm happy to have my last contracted book back in my hands to do with as I will (bwahahaa!), especially as it's part of the same universe as my Keir series and a kind of prequel. Still, after receiving four books back on the closure of my main publisher last year, it's not quite so traumatic. :-P

Bye, bye!

What will happen next? Well, Gethyon has actually been in edits for the past three months as my 'June project'. I had thought to re-release it as soon as I got the rights back, but like so much else lately I've struggled with it and my imagined release date has slipped into a wormhole. With the long summer break just six weeks away and much real life stuff to focus on, I'm thinking a late September release date. Maybe. My plan is to have print copies in time for BristolCon at the end of October at the latest. Oh, yes. PRINT! It'll also include my original short story The Bones of the Sea as bonus material, since both mention the same planet.

The Awesome
Okay, a slight boast maybe. However people have used words such as 'awesome', 'stunning', and 'admirable' when referring to my completed General Hux cosplay. Ta dah! (with thanks to 11yo who gave me permission to post). It's not 100% screen accurate, but that's partly down to it being my first full cosplay AND creating the pattern for it myself from scratch, plus 11yo wasn't wild about the 'billows' on Hux's trousers (I quite understand that). It has the look, and I'm especially chuffed with the hat, and it's not one you can just buy in the standard costume shops either. :) I'm afraid my own Jedi outfit will look somewhat less impressive.
Full details on the entire process including links to resources will go up on my tumblr blog HERE over the summer.

















Happenings
Tomorrow is technically the last day of the Let's Eat! Blog Hop, although the giveaway will stay open until the end of June. You can find the first post on the hop HERE or jump straight to my Time Travellers Soup HERE.

In less than a month, the SFRB Summer Blog Hop will take place - and this year I'm not running it. Yay! :P A little later than usual as the previous ones have been midsummer, but otherwise the same gathering of science fiction romance authors sharing posts - this year on the theme of Other Worlds - and, of course, giveaways galore!

And just as that finishes, the SFR Cross Promo group will be running a 99 cents and free books event. If you want to receive details of that please sign up to my newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/IKX7b

Status Update
Gethyon is in edits. Revived is in edits. Reunion is...somewhere. *shoves it under the virtual carpet*
WARNING: Quickshot will be going up from 99 cents/pence etc to $1.50 after the end of June.

A Space Opera Short Story
Goodreads | Webpage
Amazon | ARe | Smashwords
iTunes | Kobo | B&N

Chook Update
There's been no further sign of the fox. The girls are making do with their restricted access to the open garden being watched over by a member of the family. This will not change. So to finish, here's a rare shot of all six of my girls together. Have a good week!

From left to right: Effie, Fizzgig, Pitch, (tucked at the back) Scoop, Kyru and Chiana

Teaser Tuesday - Spooky Scenery Under The Sea #scifi #free

Because my two boys got a bonus day off school yesterday (drat those non-pupil days!) I'm sharing another excerpt for today as I'll only just have got back to work. This week it's the opening of my free scifi short and my first publication, The Bones of the Sea. Enjoy!

The place gave her the creeps. Myasi could admit that to herself now, as she made her third and final survey of the site. The morbid name given to the strange construction by early explorers couldn’t have seemed more apt as she sat in the flattened base and gazed up into the lurid green glow of the water. Above her head, the metallic legs of the structure curved up, round, and then slightly inward, like a twelve-legged spider hunched in on itself. Or a clawed hand clutching at nothing in its final, fatal spasm.

She shivered and checked her wrist display. She’d only been under a few moments, but it felt longer. The water chilled her despite the figure-hugging, bespoke thermal suit that encased her generous curves. Even if corporation regulations had permitted buying one off the peg, no standard suit would’ve fit her. Thanks to her height—above average even for a human male and with the bulk to match—all her equipment had to be made specially to order. A soft collar molded around her neck, its ugly protuberances housing the artificial gills that moved in machine-regular beats and fed modified air to the mask over her mouth and nose.

A visor covered her eyes, and in it, a bright schematic outlined the murk-dimmed pillars of the Bones of the Sea so that she could see her way, despite the gloom. The discoid base of the structure measured a modest ten meters in diameter, matched by the height of the twelve arched legs. Beneath the visible structure, buried in the soft silt of the seabed, the Bones formed a huge teardrop thirty meters long. The overall shape vaguely resembled an old Terran cephalopod—a squid. The klingeln framework, impenetrable to scans, had become encrusted with the native corals and small, static shellfish that summarized the typical level of life on Ulto Marinos—nothing more complex or dangerous than jellyfish and crustaceans. No one knew where it had come from or what it had been intended for…and no one cared. It was an obstruction to the seagrafters, and the corporation wanted it removed. Destroyed. Out of their way.

And so, they had recruited her.

A Scifi Short Story
Goodreads | Webpage
Available from... Amazon
Kobo | Omnilit | iTunes
Smashwords | B&N

Hopefully next week I'll have something more than an excerpt for you *pokes brain* :) In the meantime, the first two Portals volumes are also available to download for FREE.

The First Portal is Opening! #scifi #romance #portals #free

Today sees the launch of an exciting new series of samplers published by the SFR Brigade. It's been a long time since our first publication back in June 2013...

8 free SFR short stories in 1
WEBSITE | GOODREADS
Available for FREE from...
 Amazon | Smashwords 
ARe | B&N |  Kobo
iTunes | Diesel Books

Experience love and adventure among the stars in TALES FROM THE SFR BRIGADE, a free digital anthology of eight Science Fiction Romance stories.

* A space captain discovers the cyborg she loves just might be her greatest enemy.

* A mind-wiped prostitute risks all when she recruits a dangerous stranger to help her escape a terrible fate.

* A prisoner-of-war confronts the comrade who loved her, then left her for dead.

* A space-obsessed physics teacher is kidnapped by a far-too-charming alien.

* An apocalypse survivor battles the biomech-enhanced hunter who seeks to capture her.

* A young artist must choose between her comfortable life on Earth or a war-torn space colony with her beloved.

* A daring thief is on the run from the alien law man who is determined to bring her to justice.

* A widowed rebel leader tries to save the last remnants of humanity, one stranger at a time.

From Earth to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, explore the worlds of Science Fiction Romance with stories from Linnea Sinclair, Marcella Burnard, Erica Hayes, Liana Brooks, Pippa Jay, Berinn Rae, Amy Laurens, and Kyndra Hatch.

###

But now the SFR Brigade brings you the Portals - four free volumes of first chapters from a vast spectrum of stories falling under the science fiction romance umbrella. Volume one releases TODAY, featuring 10 authors whose stories come under the medium heat level. 

"Introducing Portals.

This isn't an anthology, it's a transport to whisk you away to a host of exciting SFR worlds. We know you're going to enjoy the trip, and you're sure to find many amazing adventures you'll want to get lost in."

Visit the Portals website HERE to find out more, and sign up to the newsletter to be among the first to find out when the next volume releases. In the meantime, you can get the first volume by clicking any of the retail links under the cover below.

Available from...
Amazon | iTunes | B&N
Kobo | Google Play | ARe

Status Update
My June project, Revived, and Reunion are still in edits. Eish. However, the June project is going well and both myself and my editor Dani are pleased with the new additions so far. I just need to give it a bit more emotional umph.
The Bones of the Sea re-released at online retailers yesterday, finally including Amazon, and is completely and utterly FREE! Well, mostly. I can only vouch for Amazon US and Amazon UK. If it isn't free at the other Amazon sites I apologize, but there's nothing I can do about it. Amazon doesn't allow publishers to set books to free, and even telling them of a lower price will only work if the competing retailer is in the right region ie if you want it free in Germany, you'll have to find the links to rival German retailers who have it for free and let Amazon know, but I can't even guarantee that'll work. Please go ahead and complain to Amazon.
However, you can get the mobi/Kindle version for free from Omnilit or Smashwords, or get the epub version at Kobo or B&N and use an online converter or Calibre to convert it to mobi. Bones will also be included as a bonus story in the back of my next release, which will hopefully be in the next couple of months.

A Scifi Short Story
Goodreads | Webpage
Available from... Amazon
Kobo | Omnilit | iTunes
Smashwords | B&N

The Blue Moon Blog Hop begins tomorrow! Eight science fiction romance authors will be posting on the blue theme - blue heroes, blue planets, blue anything - and there'll be a rafflecopter giveaway with ebooks and giftcards up for grabs. I'll be trying to sell you the attractions of the tropical planet of Metraxi that features in my time travel series Redemption. 

And for the rest of May, both books in the Redemption series are just 99 cents/pence/Euros!

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Webpage 
Available from... 
Amazon | All Romance eBooks
Kobo | iTunes | B&N 
Smashwords

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Webpage
Available from...
Amazon | ARe
B&N | Kobo | iTunes
Smashwords

Chook Update
Our six remaining girls are now secure in their new, stronger run and are enjoying the new facilities like a pot of grass, bigger perches, and a tray of compost to dig through. They're still getting to enjoy the garden a little, though heavily supervised and with the lower section of the garden out of bounds. Effie and Kyru are fully recovered from the fox attack and just need to regrow their missing feathers. As for the fox...we've seen it once when it tried to dig a hole into the coop, but was thoroughly thwarted by the wire skirt surrounding it. There's a lot of construction work going on in neighbouring gardens, plus the recent burst of hot, sunny weather has meant more people out in their gardens too, which is probably putting off foxy somewhat as well. However, we had weeks of the chooks wandering loose in the garden with no trouble before the attack, so I reckon we'll see it again sometime with some cunning new plan to achieve a chicken dinner...

Effie

Chiana and Pitch

Kyru, with Scoop in the background

Portals Has Launched!

This is another special Saturday post to announce that Volume One of the SFR Brigade's free Portals project has launched!

We're excited that three of the Spacefreighters Lounge crew will be featured in Volume One--Donna S. Frelick, Laurie A. Green and Greta van der Rol.

(Spacefreighters Pippa Jay will be included in Volume Three and Sharon Lynn Fisher will be in Volume Four.)

What is Portals?

1. It's FREE!
2. It's a time-saving way to discover exciting sci-fi romance stories
3. There are ten first chapter story samples per volume, each by a different author
4. There will be four volumes

Click the lines below to be teleported over to the Portals site where you can:

• Comment and enter a Monday, May 16th drawing for two $5 Amazon e-gift cards 
• Learn more about Portals
• Meet our Portal Keeper
• Check out the authors -- all 40 of 'em!

OR...if you want to jump right over and grab your free digital copy, you can find Portals at any of these booksellers:

AMAZON  |  B&N NOOK  |  GOOGLEPLAY  |  KOBO  |  iBOOKS 

and now available at:

ALL ROMANCE e-BOOKS  |  SMASHWORDS

Portals: Gateway to the Worlds of Science Fiction Romance

Out Celebrating

Right now I'm spending some time out with hubs as we celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary and I failed to think up some thing to blog about before the weekend. I also managed to take a chunk out of my right pointing finger on Saturday, so typing is a huge struggle right now - hopefully I'll at least be able to ditch the oversized dressing by tomorrow so I can get back to work...sigh. So just a couple of quick updates this week.

Status Update
Edits on The Bones of the Sea are now done, and I've uploaded the new version. However, I can't find it in the Kobo store despite an email saying it's there, D2D wouldn't allow me to set a pre-order because it's free so I'm going to have to hit publish on the 16th, and right now I'm doing the 'make my book free' tango with Amazon. Sigh. Right now the updated version is only available for free at Smashwords, and free pre-order at Omnilit.
The planned June release is still in edits with me, while the first round of edits on Revived is awaiting my attention.
The first volume of Portals should be releasing next week, with the rest releasing at fortnightly intervals (if all goes to plan). All four will be totally free first chapter samples from right across the spectrum of science fiction romance (and trust me, it's a vast range of sub-genres we'll be crossing!).

The Blue Moon Blog Hop will start next week.

Chook Update
Effie and Kyru now seem fully recovered, though still missing large volumes of their feathers - I'd take a picture of Effie stretching her remnants of wings but she doesn't keep still long enough, lol. I'm still feeling incredibly guilty over the loss of Spaghetti and Rush, especially as Spaghetti was youngest's new chook. And while I can't say I forgive the fox, I know it only did what was in its nature and the fault fully lies with us in failing to safeguard our pets knowing the fox was around. We've learned our lesson. We've built a newer, stronger run (and hence the finger injury, though it wasn't weaknesses in the old one that were at fault, I still think it's a sensible precaution to do it), and though the chooks are begging to be let out, their garden time is now restricted and strictly guarded ie when at least two of us are out in the garden with them AND with the lower end of the garden (where the fox comes in and can hide in undergrowth) strictly off limits with a barricade. So far we've had no sign of the fox, so it's probably off hunting something easier at the moment.


Ping Pong
Last week Donna posted about the five things she wanted from a science fiction romance. So for contrast, here's a post I did last year on the exact same topic over at the RWA FFnP website at the invitation of Cathryn Cade.

Back To The Very Beginning #amediting

A long time ago in a blog post far, far away...

Well, the 14th of June 2011 to be precise. That was the day I did my first post at Spacefreighters as a guest, talking about the inspiration for my very first publication - a scifi short story called The Bones of the Sea. My *coughs* unofficial publishing debut, since it was very much an experiment in all respects and a self published piece. I formatted it myself using the Smashwords style guide, bought a stock image for the cover and added the text, then got a couple of friends to read it over for obvious mistakes, and launched it on Smashwords only as a freebie. The story has had a new cover since release, courtesy of the ever fabulous Danielle Fine, but it's never had an interior makeover. Until now.

Original cover

I've decided the time has come for Bones to get a formal edit, a revamp, and perhaps to finally go up up on Amazon (yes, it's never been available there). I've almost five years of updated bio and links to add to it, and the plan is also to put it in the back of my June release as a bonus story (as they both feature the same planet) and thereby getting it into print as well (it's way too short to qualify for print on its own).

Current cover

Bones is my shortest published work at just 3000 words. I haven't succeeded in writing that short since. But I'm also not writing as long either. In complete contrast to Bones, the revised Keir is 111K. Most recently my titles have been around the 10K mark for a short, or 30-50K for the longer pieces. I'm planning to get back to some really hefty novel-length word counts next year.
I'm hoping to have Bones redone by the end of the week ready to do the whole 'tell Amazon of a lower price' tango, since they're about the only retailer that won't just let you set a book at free. *rolls eyes*

In the meantime...

Status Update
I won Camp NaNoWriMo well ahead of schedule but hung around to encourage my cabin-mates while adding to the June project having completed first round edits on it. The story got a whole new chapter, as well as additional material throughout. Bones will be added to the back for release.

I finally dared to crack open the third round edits on the original draft/first round edits on the revised content for Reunion. But I've only looked through the first, mostly unadjusted third. I haven't braved the revision section yet. In fact, at the moment I'm not sure I want to continue with it at all. One of the advantages of self publishing is that, if I don't feel a book is ready or working, I don't have to put it out. And right now that's how I'm feeling about Reunion. It's so far off where I would like it to be that I think it's broken beyond repair. So I'm going to focus on other things:
Bones and my Rebecca finalist Revived both went to my editor last week as she found herself ahead of schedule. So you may get the second Venus Ascendant story this year after all. No promises! I still don't have an official title for it yet, and frankly I don't know what I'm thinking. Four sets of edits on the go at once? Insane.

Happenings

I'm part of a huge Scifi and Fantasy event starting tomorrow and running until the 29th, with 56 top SF, UF, and Fantasy titles going on sale, free or discounted. There's also a big giveaway - two Kindle Paperwhites, one US and one UK (UK contests are so rare I strongly recommend going for this!), plus Amazon giftcards. It'll be open to US and UK entries from the 27th. For the occasion, my urban fantasy/superhero romance novella When Dark Falls is part of the event, and is reduced to 99 cents/99 pence until the end of April. Superheroes for the win!

A Superhero Romance Novella
Goodreads | Webpage 
Amazon | Kobo | B&N
iTunes | Smashwords | ARe
Print edition
Amazon | CreateSpace | B&N
The Book Depository

Next month I will be celebrating Keir's fourth book birthday and my fourth anniversary as a published author. It will also be my 23rd wedding anniversary. Together with seven other awesome SFR authors, we'll be holding the Blue Moon Blog Tour later in May for your entertainment! There'll be posts on the blue theme, and a rafflecopter giveaway including books and giftcards.

The Portals project is coming! If you stopped by to read Laurie's post yesterday, you'll know there's an exciting set of scifi romance volumes coming up - first chapters from a variety of authors in varying subgenres. Looking for love in an alternative world? Portals will take you there for free...

Back to my mountain of edits...