Getting Distracted #cosplay #StarWars

Just lately I've lost the enthusiasm to write. Unlike previous such attacks, it's not so much the I Suck Fairy but a lack of inspiration, coupled with the knowledge that I don't have the money to publish the stuff already in my files, let alone new stuff. Even a sub call that caught my eye hasn't actually got me writing even though I have characters. I have no plot, and muse is just shrugging at me.

But I get restless if I'm not doing something creative. Cosplay has filled that need and kept my hands busy while my mind wanders. This week, however, despite splashing out on some fabric from an actual shop to continue with my eldest's Rey cosplay, the rapidly approaching Star Wars Celebration reminded me that I don't have a complete costume for the event. And it's getting closer!

 A couple of years back I picked up a Star Wars themed pattern from eBay, and made myself a basic Jedi tunic and cloak. I don't look like anyone in the SW universe, so being a generic Jedi is more my preference.

With the celebration happening in just under two weeks, and the British weather actual set to pick up temperature wise, I think the heavy wool cloak I made is going to be a no-no. While I love the tunic, the belt I made for it is too wide for a shortie like me and makes me feel like I can't bend in the middle. I'd spotted some leather Jedi belts on eBay, but the cost had made me hesitate previously. Running out of time and feeling my outfit somewhat inferior to 11yo's Hux cosplay, I decided I had to go for it.

I was quite impressed. Despite the high price tag, I was expecting something fairly naff in fake leather. Instead I got a heavy duty belt with bright, shiny working buckles and thick tooled leather. I've opted for my own makeshift lightsaber holder rather than the 'proper' ones you can buy - I'm using a carabine d-ring which comes out a fifth of the price of the holder (maybe I'll invest in one later).

The other problem I have is a lack of pockets. I've bought myself a black canvas backpack to carry my supplies in, but I'm not happy about letting important things like my wallet and train ticket roll around inside that. You can buy Jedi belts with the pouches, but those are obviously more expensive, and the pouches themselves cost. I had some black fake leather in my fabrics box so I decided to make some pouches of my own.

I soon regretted it. I used a couple of digital camera cases to give me an idea of size and structure for the pouches, and the main body of my own version was fine. It was the side panels I struggled with. For one thing I couldn't get them into my sewing machine to stitch (not that it hadn't already struggled with a double layer of fake leather with heavy weight interfacing for rigidity). So I had to hand stitch them. Fiddly and hard work (my poor fingers!). But in the end, it looks okay and will fulfill the function for which it was made.

I've no inclination to make another right now. Again, I'll be posting this over on my tumblr blog HERE over the summer. The posts will begin on the 27th of July weekly with the full details of the Hux cosplay, the Rey one to date, and the pouch.

Happenings
The Summer of Magic blog hop is happening right now! Hop over HERE to win prizes galore on each post, then enter the main rafflecopter for a $75 Amazon gift card, plus an ebook and print book bundle. Open internationally!

And don't be sad if you miss out. On the 11th of July, the SFRB Summer Blog Hop sets off from HERE to explore Other Worlds, with more prizes to be won.

And just as that finishes, there's a huge scifi romance sale event going on. For more details, please sign up to my newsletter HERE.

Status Update
Gethyon is still in edits. Are you tired of me saying that yet? Ditto Revived and Reunion. I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, but I'm not sure I'm going to finish or hit target for this one. >.<
See ya next week!

Long Ago on a Moon Far, Far Away...

Happy Fourth of July!

This year July 4th happens to fall on Monday, which is my day to blog. Fun!

I love this star-spangled holiday and everything it stands for. I hope the Spacefreighters patrons in the USA are celebrating the long weekend today with BBQs, fireworks and all things Americana, and our visitors from other parts of the world are enjoying a delightfully warm summer or lovely mid-winter day.

As a Sci-Fi Romance author, July always reminds me of a very famous event from July of 1969. It was the day the human race first ventured onto the surface of another world--our Moon. To this day it was a monumental achievement for space exploration.

In honor of the Apollo 11 mission, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the facts surrounding the mission that not everyone may know.

Photo credit NASA

Looking Back on History
10 Things You Might Not Know About the First Moon Landing

Number 10.
The astronauts discovered the Moon has an odor, but it doesn't smell like green cheese. The smell of Moon dust is described as similar to "burnt gunpowder." Oddly enough, back on Earth, with its oxygen rich environmental, the Moon dust has no odor.


Number 9.

Photo Credit NASA

The American Flag wasn't very cooperative. The lunar surface was harder than expected and the astronauts struggled to get the base of the pole embedded deep enough in the surface that the flag wouldn't fall over--a scene they wanted to avoid broadcasting on global television. After many minutes they got the telescoping pole buried deep enough for the flag to stand upright, and took the historic photo of the salute. When the Lunar Module's ascent stage blasted off to carry the astronauts back to the Command Module, Buzz Aldrin observed the blast knocking the flag down.

Number 8.
Why was it Neil Armstrong who first stepped on the Moon? Both Aldrin and Armstrong enthusiastically lobbied NASA officials for the honor, but the deciding factor was quite simple. The design of the Lunar Module determined the order. Neil Armstrong, as mission commander, was closest to the hatch and had to exit first.

Number 7.
Buzz Aldrin got his nickname because his little sister couldn't properly pronounce "brother," instead calling him "buzzer." The nickname took and the entire family soon was calling him "Buzz." His real name was Edwin Aldrin, Jr., but he legally changed his name to Buzz in 1988.

Number 6.
The maiden name of the mother of Buzz Aldrin was Marion Moon.



Photo Credit NASA

Number 5.

Astronaut Jim Lovell, of Apollo 13 fame, was Neil Armstrong's backup.

 

Number 4.
The official Apollo 11 patch which was designed by astronaut Michael Collins doesn't bear the astronauts' names, as does every other mission patch. The reason is that NASA wanted the patch to represent everyone who had worked so hard to make the landing a reality and the mission a success.

Number 3.
NASA turned down Buzz Aldrin's initial application to become an astronaut. Not one to give up, he reapplied and was later included among the third group of astronauts to be accepted in 1963. (If at first you don't succeed...)

Number 2.
Astronaut Michael Collins, who remained behind in the Command Module orbiting the Moon, was the first human in history to be totally cut off from Earth and human civilization. During his 22 hours of solitude, he wrote, "I am alone, now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it." His experience inspired a song written by Ian Anderson of the band Jethro Tull for the Benefit album. The title is "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me."

...and the Number 1 thing you may not have known about the Moon landing...

The mission and the lives of the two astronauts was saved by a...pen? As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin prepared to return home, they discovered a crucial circuit breaker was broken, leaving them without a way to ignite the engines to launch. NASA's mission control tried to work out a solution, but Buzz Aldrin eventually decided to try his own fix. He forced a felt tip pen into the breaker. It worked! And that's why there are not two long-dead astronauts stranded on the surface of the Moon today. 

Have a wonderful holiday! Enjoy!

See you next week.

Sources:

• http://magazine.foxnews.com/at-home/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-first-moon-landing 
• http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/11-strange-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-first-moon-landing.html
• http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/07/18/10-surprising-secrets-from-apollo-11s-historic-moon-landing/#.V0zcdMv2aUk

GIVE A BOOK, GIVE A WORLD

When I was nine years old, my much older brother gave me a book for my birthday. It was a big, heavy, hardback copy of the complete works of Lewis Carroll.

This was no watered down kids’ version of Alice in Wonderland, with lots of colorful pictures and a few whimsical words that told Carroll’s story in easy-to-understand form. No, this was the real deal, with the original black-and-white Victorian drawings by John Tenniel and the dense Victorian writing, too. It was WAY beyond my skill level, and included poetry, for God’s sake.

I loved it. I struggled for years to read it. And I’ve carried it with me through all my moves, even here to North Carolina.

A few years later that same brother gave me the complete works of Arthur Conan Doyle. Same thing, though I’ve passed that one on to my daughter who reads.

A gift of a book is like no other gift. It says as much about the giver as it does about the receiver. I’ve always treasured these books not only because they opened wonderful new worlds for me, but also because they meant my brother thought I was smart enough to read them. I worked hard to live up to them, to devine their secrets, because that would help me understand my brother—and his world. He was smart, and I wanted to be like him.

But what he knew, and I eventually discovered, was that the books held their own marvelous appeal. The stories they contained captivated me, swept me away to another place and time. They weren’t my first or necessarily my favorite such fictional worlds, but they were certainly a level up from the Nancy Drew mysteries I was fond of at the time.

Book revelations can come to you in surprising ways. I found Ian Fleming’s James Bond by looking out a high school bathroom window. I was there between classes, hanging out with my friends. I looked out and saw a pink cover (maybe it had once been red—rain had damaged the book) splayed in the grass. I could read the title—Diamonds Are Forever—and knew it for what it was. I suspect someone was reading the juicy parts out loud to a friend when a teacher walked in. Whoops! Out the window it went!

I waited all day to retrieve the abandoned piece of salacious writing, worried the whole time that its owner would go back to get it. But it was still there at the end of the day, pages woefully swollen with damp. I took it home and dried it with a hair dryer—you know, the kind you put over your head like a cap. (The year was about 1966.) Then I devoured it. Wow! James Bond was one sexy guy!

Then I went out and spent all my allowance and babysitting money on others in the series. My mom finally noticed and wanted to call a halt, thinking maybe I was a little young for all this. I convinced her I was “mature” enough by suggesting she read one. (he he!) Since most of the action was implied, she relented. I only gave up my 007 series last year when I moved to NC.

Finally, I have a long grocery store line to thank for my career as a romance writer. I was standing there, bored, having read all the fantastic headlines on the NATIONAL ENQUIRER to my left, when I looked to my right. I found a display of paperbacks, which was unusual in itself. But in that display was a dramatic dark cover highlighting a beefy male biceps with a tattooed circlet. Oooh! I picked it up and checked the back cover. Seems this was a time-travel romance (Kiss of the Highlander) by Karen Marie Moning. Say what? Who knew there was such a thing? I bought it to find out more—what’s it like? Who writes such a thing? Who publishes such a thing?

Once again, the story swept me away. I loved it. I bought the whole series. And the science fiction story that I’d been struggling with suddenly worked as a science fiction romance. The rest, as they say, is history.

Books can come to you from anywhere. Take it as a gift and be grateful to the universe. Or be the agent of change and give a book you love to someone special. They will love you for it forever.

AND, AS FOR THAT BROTHER . . .

My brother Reg who gave me those special books has had a rough year. But he’s having a birthday this weekend (July 3). Here’s wishing him a spectacular year ahead, full of health, love and happiness!

Cheers, Donna

The secret to selling books

Shhh - don't tell anyone. It's just you and me here, right? I'll bet you're like me, teetering on the brink of giving up because nobody's buying your books. I've been like that for most of the year. Maybe even the year before. You know the feeling. You tried every which-way to get your books noticed. Ads with Book Gorilla, had another go at getting BookBub to accept one of your novels, did blog tours, got into NetGalley, did guest posts on friends' blogs. Even had a series book one as a freebie.

All to not much avail. The figures went down and down until they bounced on the bottom. Some stories didn't make sales in months.

Mind you, the perma-free book (The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy) did make a difference. Sales picked up in that series, with quite a few people buying the subsequent books. Nowhere near as many as those who downloaded the free book, but many people don't actually read free books. And while we're on the subject, I've not seen any discernible reaction to my contribution to the wonderful Portals project.

Anyway, as you know, I recently girded my loins and finished a book. Eye of the Mother. That was about a week ago. Sales weren't great. After all, not too many people not on Facebook would even know about it, because I didn't do any of the things mentioned above. But what has happened is that people are buying all my books. Even stories that have sat on the shelf for the better part of a year have a '1' next to their name. Don't get me wrong, I'm not making any best seller lists, but it's a heartening trend.

So it looks to me that if you haven't published anything new for a while, and you're wondering why your sales have tanked - get on with it. Get another book out there. Go on. You can do it.