tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68560518448660865012024-03-05T05:17:03.703-09:00Anna's ObsessionThe Trials, Tribulations, and Joys of Writing FictionAnna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-5568831105146035102023-12-15T17:22:00.007-09:002023-12-15T17:22:57.180-09:00Missing Threads<p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFa8PW68KyGancXrRCCF6fibubHJVQTUtJjSb9TUvIxqEOSfR6_mLCNSmJmaae13OWWfaYVW6SB53WSyfBL6lN-pcdnOwtrSzL_ACy1hFiJiCFABDWpni1m_-Naqlycf3gMREIw_ba8AXk8W6d_-n_EPwM13nUv0m3G5RM518b1Ao1OAF5rFTIdikKfWN/s500/51gWLmB2yHL._UX300_PJku-sticker-v7,TopRight,0,-50_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="300" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFa8PW68KyGancXrRCCF6fibubHJVQTUtJjSb9TUvIxqEOSfR6_mLCNSmJmaae13OWWfaYVW6SB53WSyfBL6lN-pcdnOwtrSzL_ACy1hFiJiCFABDWpni1m_-Naqlycf3gMREIw_ba8AXk8W6d_-n_EPwM13nUv0m3G5RM518b1Ao1OAF5rFTIdikKfWN/w192-h289/51gWLmB2yHL._UX300_PJku-sticker-v7,TopRight,0,-50_.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote><p>I've always seen writing a story as akin to weaving a tapestry - if you have a thread, you keep it around, even if it's only a little thing. If you drop threads, your tapestry starts to get a little thin, depending on how many threads you drop.</p><p>This eight-book series is great. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dragons, and I will give it a five-star review on Amazon when I finish the last book. The main character has a great character arc while still retaining self, and her number two is suitably tortured - I do hope he finally gets his girl - we'll see. </p><p>The threads I'm talking about aren't big and in the vast scheme of this story, they don't really mean much; they were just something that nagged at me. </p><p>First off, early on, our dragoneer sent off a rider in search of a translator, because, for the first time, they were able to take a surviving enemy as prisoner, and now they needed to find a way to communicate. I can sympathize, but it didn't seem like she put in enough effort to that end. She left it up to another of her riders to devote the hours. I can understand not having a lot of time, but it just seemed like she could have given it more effort - just my opinion. She hasn't been in the dragonseat for more than a month, and it takes experience. So she sends this guy off on one of only two male dragons they have (That's another issue I'll address later), and he just vanishes out of the story and virtually out of mind. Time is difficult to judge in this series, so I can't tell you how much time passed before he surfaced again - suffice it to say, it felt like a while. He was badly injured, but he did manage to pass along some vital information about a heretofore unknown staging site farther along the mountain range. From this site, they, the enemy, were amassing a ground force large enough to deal with our dragoneer's dragons. The big question at this point was why. Generations of dragon wars every summer all summer long made no sense. She wanted it to stop, and ever since joining with her alpha dragon, she felt every ache, pain, and wound of any dragons around her, so I can sympathize. A short time later, they brought this rider and his dragon home. At that point, you never hear about that rider ever again. I'm ready to start the last book, and I seriously doubt he'll show up now. The only thing wrong about this is, though the alpha dragon and her dragoneer are the only ones who join, the other riders get very attached to their dragons. If a dragon dies but the rider survives, he gets another dragon, but it's like when you get a new dog a couple days after the one you've had for years has died - there's an adjustment period - new habits and a different feel to get used to. This particular rider, even if he could never ride again, would have come to see his dragon or hung around to do chores or whatever. As it is, we don't even know if he survived or died. There was no funeral, and dead riders get a very visible funeral, The whole village turns out. I know I kept looking for him; he just never turned up in any capacity, not even a doctor's report. </p><p>The next thread that got lost involved that camp. When word got back to the king about it, he sent an army of, I assume, comparable numbers to deal with the leak through the mountains near there. Our dragoneer flew over to investigate and found the site deserted. Since their big army force had failed spectacularly, anyone left behind had taken off only with what they could carry. When the king's army arrived, they were told to occupy that site, and then we hear nothing about that at all ever again. They even had a caravan come through that 'leak' and the staging site might as well have been overgrown and wiped away for all the mention. At the very least, a fast horse should have been sent ahead to announce the arrival of a friendly caravan from across the mountains. Nada</p><p>The next thing is kinda big if you ask me, but really has no real effect on the story. The enemy on the other side of the country wants their eggs, but since feeding their dragons had become a problem, the dragoneer had opted to not allow her dragons to breed that year - she just couldn't feed them, I'm thinking this wasn't planned when that first book was written. Okay, let me start at the beginning. I've raised chickens, ducks and geese, and I've noticed a time or two in other places the ratio of male to female in cattle and pigs. My dad used to raise both, but I was just a kid; I didn't pay attention to those numbers back then. Anyway, the ratio of male to female is almost always real close to 50/50. If these dragons lay eggs every fall, where are the young dragons? How long does it take them to grow up to be old enough to ride? I can see most eggs being sent to the king, because if you take twenty dragons laying even only a dozen eggs each, That's almost two hundred and fifty eggs. Now at 50/50, that's over a hundred males. What was here at the beginning was twenty females, which were the bigger fighting dragons, and two substantially smaller male dragons. The male dragons were used as couriers because they were much faster than the bigger females. Now, what with the every-year war, casualties were, after a fashion, constant. They should have had young dragons in training by young hopeful riders to take their place. So, logically, they should have kept at least ten female babies and at a minimum one male dragon to keep the breeding stock going, though it might be better if theirs went to the king and other males were sent back, just to keep the bloodlines mixed. That would take care of the one male dragon ridden by that one now-dropped rider, that was deemed unrideable by the time they were found. This is another detail that was never mentioned again. As it was described back then, He'd been left wearing his saddle for so long the straps had started to cut into his muscle - not so much that he couldn't fly home, but bad enough he could never be saddled again. I can only assume that even when they reach adulthood, they must keep growing some. Or maybe the leather straps had shrunk. It was never explained. So, I suppose he could still breed, but he couldn't carry a messenger. Plus, when you have baby dragons, you easily have children eager to take care of them. I don't know; I think it would have added some comic relief to the drama. It would have required a separate wing to the dragon barn, or maybe even a different barn altogether. Can't you just see some kid running through the heather holding his baby up so she could feel the wind rather than just pretending to be the next dragon rider? </p><p>Like I said, five stars for this series. It really is a great read. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragoneer-Book-1-Bonding-ebook/dp/B07H8KXWVZ" target="_blank">Check it out</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-77550401698234950622023-06-21T19:51:00.001-08:002023-06-21T19:51:43.407-08:00A Recurring Dream<p>Last night I revisited an ancient mansion again. In my chain of dreams, I moved into this mansion. At first, it was only the front door, a dining room, a kitchen, and another big room off the living room that had been used to rent beds, I guess - there were like six or more beds in this room. There were also two regular bedrooms, a small bathroom and a back porch off the kitchen. </p><p>In that bed renting room, there was another door to another section of the house, but it was locked. I could go out a sliding glass door, walk through a big flowerbed, and see into that other section. That sliding glass door was locked too.</p><p>At some point, I must have found a key to that door because I had to go upstairs to rescue a girl who went after some doll up there but didn't come down. </p><p>In another installment, a guy decided he wanted to live in one of those rooms upstairs, but then he just vanished. I don't know what happened to him. He either left or the house ate him. </p><p>Last night, apparently, I'd civilized the first and second floor, and now there were two boys, maybe four and five, or somewhere close. There was also a boyfriend. I got no sense that he was anything closer than that. </p><p>I was cleaning this long narrow bathroom and I thought a little shelf under that window on that end would be perfect. I had this enormous house to explore, so I thought I go up and see what was in the offing. At the door to the next floor, the lights didn't work, and the youngest boy got scared. It was still day, so there was plenty of light, but there was lots of shadows and mysterious shapes. As I made my way up to the next floor up, I noticed that the other boy had followed me. I chewed him out for leaving his brother alone and probably scared, so I sent him back.</p><p>I assume they went on back down to their normal parts of the house and came across the boyfriend - maybe he was their father - I don't know. </p><p>In the meantime, I found this perfect little cabinet. I'd pictured a small bookshelf, but this had drawers, and it was the perfect size. It had a smaller cabinet on top of it, rather like a buffet, but much smaller. The topper had small drawers too. As I went through those drawers, I discovered that this cabinet had been someone's sewing cabinet. That unknown woman from away back had probably been rich, considering the house, she was. These sewing things were exotic, top of the line, things, and some of them I couldn't even identify. I was carefully emptying those drawers, placing most of the things on a bed and the liquid items on the bedside table. I didn't want to risk something leaking and staining that spread. The smaller part, I'd already set aside. The left-behind dust mark was obvious, but it would wash away easily. </p><p>The boyfriend found me as I was unloading the stuff. "What are you doing up here? I want you back downstairs right now."</p><p>"Okay," I said. "I'm almost done. I'll be down in a few."</p><p>He pulled the cabinet out of my reach and looked in a drawer. "What is all this junk?"</p><p>"Sewing things. This is so cool. I'm going to put this in the long bathroom."</p><p>"How are you going to move this by yourself?" He pulled a drawer all the way out, I was afraid he'd break it, but he just dropped it on the floor. Some contents bounced out.</p><p>"It's not that heavy," I said. I didn't think it would be very hard at all to get it down the stairs. One step at a time. I hadn't planned on getting any help and didn't think I needed any. </p><p>"I want you down stairs now," he said and left.</p><p>"I'll be down in a few minutes," I said to his back. </p><p>Now this is where my dream ended, but it left me thinking that I'd be booting a certain turd from my house. It was my house, and had been for years. Yeah, I wouldn't put up with that. </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-88129331810027096772022-12-08T13:12:00.002-09:002022-12-08T13:12:27.992-09:00I Had a Dream<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>The Vanished Series</b></p><p>I'm reading this really good series. It has a lot to do with the Navaho and some of their issues today, but that's not what my dream is about, though these people are involved. I'll do that sometimes, when a book is really good. This dream didn't have much to do with the book, just the people - two of them mostly.</p><p>There were two inflatable rafts, one with three people and one with two. They were floating down a quiet river. The water was like glass, it was so smooth. </p><p>The leader, in the first boat was a proud Navaho, but he was dressed in his best army uniform, decorated all down the front with many ribbons and metals. The woman sitting in the middle of that boat was also dressed in a military uniform with a few such ribbons and metals, but not so impressive (They are not dressed this way in the book, not even close). She was white as was the man in the front of the boat. He was dressed like a businessman trying to rough it. khaki pants and a once-white shirt. </p><p>In the second boat was two Navaho teenagers dressed like teenagers - bluejeans and some kind of T-shirt. The only real thing that marked them as Navaho was their dark skin and long black hair. I don't remember if they wore any jewelry or other such decoration. One was a bully, and the other was one of his toughs. </p><p>The dream takes off with the teenagers deciding to start rowing ahead, ignoring the leader who tries to warn them back. Their mission is not just a peaceful float down a nice river. There is real danger out there somewhere, and if they're going to survive, they need to not be fools. </p><p>Laughing, the kids row circles around the bigger boat. Eventually, as the sun starts to set, they pull over for a rest. As soon as they're out of the boats, the leader rounds up the instigator of the other boat. </p><p>Now, in the book, the people of the reservation are all preparing for a festival where they sell artwork. There is also a stage setup where they show off traditional dances and such. This little detail is important.</p><p>The leader backs the kid up against a tree. "What's the matter with you? We're not playing here. It's dangerous out there. We have to be careful and quiet. Stop being an idiot."</p><p>"I'm not an idiot, not like you." The kid indicated the uniform and metals with no little derision. </p><p>"This? I'm very proud of this. I worked hard for this. What are you proud of?"</p><p>"Proud. We ain't got nothing to be proud of no more." He indicated the woman. "Look at her. She got metals like you. What you so proud of?"</p><p>"What? You think because she's white, they just hand out those metals? She worked hard for them too, maybe harder than I did because she's a woman. Why aren't you doing anything at the festival?"</p><p>"I ain't about to go show off in front of a bunch of them. They..."</p><p>The leader slapped the kid across the face hard, rocking his head to the side. The tough took a step forward, but he wasn't quite brave enough to interfere.</p><p>"You are a fool. You can't fight a war against them; they won that war a long time ago, and they would win again if you tried, but don't you see? Even with all they've accomplished, they are lost. They got no pride. They're not proud of themselves or anything they've achieved. You? You're Navaho. You can be proud of that. You can be proud of your clan, your traditions, your customs. They don't have any of that. You need to show them what it means to be proud of who you are. You have so much more than they have. You are not lost. You have the Navaho way. They have no way."</p><p>And then I woke up. I thought it was kinda cool, so I thought I'd share. </p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-35255231850847574192022-11-16T15:31:00.004-09:002022-12-08T10:42:37.025-09:00False Apron Strings<p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Pendragon Legend</b></p><p>I am really disappointed in this series. Not because of the story, but because of everything else. The story is a great sword and sorcery tale, but it's riding on the coattails of a great name and a great legend. I'm certain all sales were attributed to that name and that timeless legend. Change all the names and change the titles, and it would be great on its own. The way it is, it is frustrating and disappointing. Of course, there are other issues, but I'm just talking about the story here. </p><p>Aside from all the Pendragon names that have next to no connection with the legend, the books are each uncomfortably short. I looked up the first three books on Amazon and they were all less than 150 pages. So, ten books, three to four books combined into one, would make a very nice trilogy.</p><p>The next issue is what can happen when all you do to spellcheck is look for those nice little squiggly red lines in your document. There are LOTS of mistakes - repeated groups of words, words where one letter didn't make it, but it still made a word, words missing altogether. I can't help but think that there must have been a plethora of green squiggly lines, but I'm not that good an editor. </p><p>The worst diversion from the legend was about the sword. According to people in this book, the great Excaliber was used once before to unify the country, but then that king went power-nuts and the sword had to be taken away from him. The unity all fell apart because none of the lords were willing to hand that sword over to one of them, so they reforged it into sixteen different swords to be held in trust until someone else worthy of it showed up. Enter Arthur. </p><p>Arthur is running all over trying to get the different lords to commit enough troops to the cause of running off the Huns before they level the entire country. Most of those lords want to run away - understandable considering the devastation the Huns were leaving in their wake. But eventually, they see the light and he manages to gather enough of the lords together to agree that he is the one. Not something he wants, but whatever. He just wants to defeat the evil enemy and get on with a peaceful life, maybe marry the girl he's fallen in love with, which isn't Guinevere. Since these guys agree to pass the 'Sword' on to Arthur, they gather all sixteen of those swords together and reforge Excalibur. When they said that the finished product - which apparently took only a few hours (red flag) - They decided to see who could lift it. NONE of them could, not even Arthur. Out of curiosity, I made a few inquiries and did some math. A swordsmith told me that the average one-handed sword weighs between 1000 to 1100 grams, and google tells me that equals roughly two and one-third pounds. That, times 16 equals almost 37 pounds. Now I would certainly hate the thought of swinging around a 30+ pound sword, but most assuredly anyone would have been able to lift it, especially since it had just come off the forge and was just resting there, not embedded in some stone.</p><p>In a further digression from the legend, it was the Norse queen who killed Atilla the Hunn and she was aided in this hunt by Guenevere who was magical enough to be influential in the remaking of Excaliber as well as shapeshifting into a dragon. The queen rode her to Atilla's 'final resting place.'</p><p>Just before I'd finished the books I had, I learned there was another book in this series, but I'm not going to buy it so I can't tell you if there ever is a round table or not. </p><p>This book just diverged way too much for me. </p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-18652863327794162382021-12-22T16:22:00.003-09:002021-12-22T16:23:31.812-09:00Dresden Files<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6J00XELnVlk_9AAcXnIau3ylHg73nH8-pt57PoxPVhh5SAH7ShRUuk4b6v2EDz1wIYk9HXHaX10sgoaTVtv28o-qTb1TEZhjIYeu9KmzIuOQGOuFCgNbBAYT-btxy3UgjriYN-MZqjWlZmZBxoHo5eTfmNLsPg42DhFKxh17u076yzQLyi5AdOK44fw=s499" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="499" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6J00XELnVlk_9AAcXnIau3ylHg73nH8-pt57PoxPVhh5SAH7ShRUuk4b6v2EDz1wIYk9HXHaX10sgoaTVtv28o-qTb1TEZhjIYeu9KmzIuOQGOuFCgNbBAYT-btxy3UgjriYN-MZqjWlZmZBxoHo5eTfmNLsPg42DhFKxh17u076yzQLyi5AdOK44fw=w613-h434" width="613" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A friend gave me these books a while ago and I finally got around to reading them. I'd read one or two a long time ago, but it was long enough to have forgotten the gist of the story. All I remembered was a scene or two here and there. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was really nice to read the series from start to finish. I love the character arc, and that he did get stronger and more entwined with those around him. Of course, there's more than one way to end a series, but killing the main character will most assuredly do it up tight. When I read that, I kept hoping for some kind of miracle, or at least to know who had pulled the trigger, but no. That was the end. Jim Butcher did write a selection of short stories that went along with this series. They each took place between this book and that, each one introduced with a paragraph or two saying where it belonged and why it was written. The last one followed Harry Dresden death, written from his closest friend's POV. It at least let me know that he was truly gone, though with no body, it's hard to believe. Sigh. Some part of me is still wishing for a miracle. I mean, his story is so unfinished, though maybe it is, the human part of it anyway. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since I skim through the intros and such, I saw references to another series that looked interesting, and I was pleased to discover that it had been included with the rest of them. The series is called Codex Alera, and it is only 6 books. I haven't finished it yet, so I can't comment on the ending of this one, but I do wish the editor/publisher (a big name) would have spent more time taking care of the formatting. The paragraphs are indented, but sometimes every line has the same indent so it's hard to tell when one paragraph ends and the next one begins. This doesn't happen all the time; usually around dialog, but it's annoying as H E double-hockey sticks. The book I'm on now has space between the paragraphs so that helps, but the original issue was never fixed. It really injures the author, because a reader will blame him for these kinds of issues. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One thing I can blame on the writer is his use of names. He has way too many very similar names, and they're not reserved for mother/daughter or father/son issues. Those I can understand. No, the similarity is across anything named from people to the name of the country to the name of their magic elements. You really have to pay attention to keep them straight.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aside from these issues, I highly recommend this series - both of them. The story, the characters, the world is fascinating. As with all things, there is give and take. They are very well-balanced books. If you like magic, dig in and enjoy. I sure did and am.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-72723622849717188032021-04-27T22:49:00.001-08:002021-04-27T23:40:07.816-08:00Petting and Pampering the WriterLet me start this by announcing that subscriptions by email are going away sometime in the middle of this summer, so if you subscribe to any of my blogs, you will no longer be getting those cool emails when I post something. I have no idea if it will be replaced by something else - we'll have to see.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Now on to my post</div><p>I have a writer friend on FB. A while back, she asked me to edit one of her books. I'm not a professional writer so I don't charge much, so she was probably trying to save a buck or two, but since we'd never worked together before, I offered to do a sample. She sent me her shortest short story. I don't remember how long it was, but it wasn't very long. </p><p>What she gave me was a nice story that ranged somewhere between erotica and romance. What was there was a spotlight on the girl. The hero was little better than a chess piece - maybe a knight - maybe a king - hard to tell - he filled a slot. Everyone else, all the background people that decorated the background were nothing more than that - decorations.</p><p>So.</p><p>During the edit, I tried add some life to the story. Admiring looks from the peanut gallery, and movement, dialog, and feelings from her knight. I even thought up a background history for the girl - something to explain her thoughts and actions. Something to give her monetary support. Merely a foundation that didn't need to ever be mentioned in the story, but no one walks in a vacuum. </p><p>She accused me of trying to rewrite her story, but it was only examples and suggestions. She was totally free to disregard everything. Like I say on my website, I will give you everything I think of as I read. You will get questions, opinions, and suggestions in reference to the story, and you will get correction in spelling and alternate words if you've picked the wrong one, bringing up the wrong image. I'll also give you better sentence structure if what you have is unclear. I did all that.</p><p>She just wanted help with spelling and punctuation. The rest was 'her style'. Her readers loved what she wrote the way she wrote it. Is she a successful writer? I really have no idea. She did not hire me. What I did made too much work for her. She wanted me to fix her mistakes and then she'd probably not look at the story again before publishing.</p><p>Needless to say, she did not hire me to edit her work.</p><p>Just the other day, she was offering a new work for anyone to read and give her some feedback. I did not take her up on the offer after the last rebuff - why should I?</p><p>However</p><p>She messaged me and wanted to send me that document. Well, okay. I'll give it a go, so I did. I have an editing job ongoing at the moment so I wasn't willing to devote much time to it. I read roughly half of it - enough to know that her style hadn't changed much. </p><p>This story was a vampire story, and frankly I liked the idea. It was new and fresh, however her sentences were long and clunky, and sometimes they were incomplete thoughts making it hard to follow. The first handful of pages were filled with false starts to be explained later or in some other book. She included things about Atlantis which were interesting - I think - if I could have understood her concepts. All us writers like to make up histories, and I'm sure Atlantis would make an awesome anchor to do that with, however, I just didn't understand. </p><p>Rather than taking my feedback as a way to know that maybe she hadn't gotten her point across clearly, she got miffed, saying how could I not know anything about Atlantis? I know about as much as anyone about Atlantis; it's a subject I read about every chance I get. I love the articles and videos I find on FB and on Netflix or YouTube. She also made a reference to numerology - that I know nothing about - an indication that maybe she should explain it better. I know I'm not the only one who doesn't understand that. </p><p>As you might guess, I told her all this in her return email, including pointing out a bad typo that she might not catch otherwise; it wasn't miss-spelled, she'd hyphenated it to get past the little red lines. In response, I got a long tirade about how it was a work in progress and it wasn't supposed to be perfect, and on and on. She accused me of being harsh, of being in a box and being inflexible. It all left me confused. I guess I don't understand what kind of feedback she wants. Pretty much all that's left is petting and pampering, and I've never believed in pampering a writer. You take feedback for how it's offered. If your reader didn't understand something, you try to make it clearer. </p><p>Sorry for the rant, but I had to get it off my chest. </p><p>Thanks for listening.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-61415537898305002982020-08-21T17:05:00.000-08:002020-08-21T17:05:09.214-08:00All Caught Up<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6tIcBVWWr-HVq5eWkNmN2XID2eyv8Q7KwdXgp1Sl0lFYMaB34PLqg5-EYac5TEOPz-oxXcdtG6SAeDA2kpFp49Kb9bnhsp64hHgNZP3CKsrTF2Z-0N2cCCdXanDUUIZ4rvPo8sL49PPb/s1086/Book+Covers+2020-08-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1086" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6tIcBVWWr-HVq5eWkNmN2XID2eyv8Q7KwdXgp1Sl0lFYMaB34PLqg5-EYac5TEOPz-oxXcdtG6SAeDA2kpFp49Kb9bnhsp64hHgNZP3CKsrTF2Z-0N2cCCdXanDUUIZ4rvPo8sL49PPb/s640/Book+Covers+2020-08-21.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here they all are. Way back when I started writing, when my son gave me that very first little laptop computer, back then, I didn't have internet, and I didn't have any new books to read or a way to go get any. I started by writing in a notebook left over from homeschooling the boys, but they were in town now getting their GEDs, drivers' licenses, and training in a trade. On their first visit home, one of them presented me with this little computer. First thing I thought was, what do you do with a computer without internet? Well - it would be fun to see if I remember anything from my high school typing class. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That little computer was amazing. I learned more about grammar and spelling from that Word program than I ever picked up in school. Even homeschooling didn't teach me that much, though I learned from that too. It also had an encyclopedia in it, which was awesome. Unfortunately, that encyclopedia is no longer supported, and it's no longer compatible with my computer. Sigh. I do miss it still.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2008, we went to Fairbanks to spend our first winter away from home, my goal was to have internet access so I could publish my first book. When we got home, long about that fall sometime, we had a satellite dish installed here, and thus began my greatest distraction from my writing. Between those two points in time, almost all of those books up there were written. I was a writing monster. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since then, I've produced four books, two of which are short stories, and started a very long series that I'm still working on. Other than that, I've polished up what I have and learned how to navigate the publishing world. After trying a subsidy publisher (a VERY expensive learning curve) and a small publishing company as well as a mid-range publishing company, I took the plunge and published the rest myself. I even reclaimed those I stuck out there under someone else's apron. I like <i>my</i> books under <i>my</i> name - I also like their new covers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So now - finally - all those books I wrote way back when, are published, and in a few months, they will all be over on SmashWords too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My next dream - a movie deal. What do you think?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-4639113676524335792019-12-31T22:34:00.000-09:002020-01-02T15:09:38.134-09:00Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXYSP6I59k4IjHixtpYVAJ7q-cnw1lhU8KycwC0dyw68PPCXIywvH5c8lnmv0n7SS60mgy1RY1eUdQGd-4Jo17LWMbWGlP36X2CHCWbHqBdeSh70CMPcH9quMG0yqXj5h9wdqUsvVN5XH/s1600/817TOV5Db2L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1229" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXYSP6I59k4IjHixtpYVAJ7q-cnw1lhU8KycwC0dyw68PPCXIywvH5c8lnmv0n7SS60mgy1RY1eUdQGd-4Jo17LWMbWGlP36X2CHCWbHqBdeSh70CMPcH9quMG0yqXj5h9wdqUsvVN5XH/s320/817TOV5Db2L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Year before last, a friend gave me these movies, but by season four, too many episodes were missing, so we bought the disks from Amazon - seven seasons. Last winter, we tried watching the last season on Netflix (I think) but many scenes were hard to see. I liked the taste I got though, and I look forward to getting the disks one of these days. I'm not sure if that season was the last of the story though so I decided I'd read the books. A friend game me these books last year and this fall I started reading them. I thought this was all of them. I mean, the movies have been out for a while now and the last book (so far) was published way back in 2011.<br />
<br />
Here is a chronicle of George Martin's books. He has sixteen pages of books published. Now a healthy chunk of them are in different languages - kudos to him for being able to do that - but there are also at least a couple other series and maybe some stand-alones. I was just looking for books in this series so I wasn't paying attention to what else there was. <br />
<br />
<b>Book one - A Game of Thrones - published on January 1 of 2003</b><br />
<b>Book two - A Clash of Kings - published on January 1 of 2003</b><br />
<b>Book three - A Storm of Swords - published on March 4 of 2003</b><br />
then came four other books<br />
<b>Book four - A Feast for Crows - published on November 8 of 2005</b><br />
Then came eleven other books<br />
Then came six books in German<br />
Then came four more books<br />
<b>Book five - A Dance with Dragons - published on July 12 of 2011</b><br />
Then came two more books<br />
Then came two books in German<br />
Then came the game of thrones graphic novel first volume<br />
Then came two more books in German<br />
Then came four books in French (I think)<br />
<b>The box set of the first five books became available on September 10 of 2012</b><br />
Then came four more book<br />
<b>Then came the game of thrones graphic novel second volume</b><br />
Then came four more books<br />
<b>Then came a book about Tyrion Lannister. hmmmm</b><br />
<b>Then came a book called The Hedge Knight set in the same world. </b><br />
Then comes five other books<br />
<b>Then comes a book called The Sworn Sword set in the same world, but before the series. </b><br />
Then came two books in Chinese <br />
<b>Then came the third volume of the graphic novel.</b><br />
Then came twenty books in various languages<br />
<b>Then came <span class="a-size-medium">The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones </span><span class="a-size-small">- published on October 28 of 2014</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came twenty-three books in various languages</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came the fourth graphic novel</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came five other books in various languages</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came seventeen books in various languages</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came an illustrated edition of book one. </span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came twenty five books in various languages</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came the graphic novel called The Mysterious Knight</span></b><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came the comic books #3, #4, #5, #6, </span></b><b><span class="a-size-small">and </span></b><b><span class="a-size-small">#8</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came three other books</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came the fifth graphic novel</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came sixteen more books in various languages</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came the sixth graphic novel</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came a book in German</span><br />
<b><span class="a-size-small">Then came the illustrated edition of book two</span></b><br />
<span class="a-size-small">Then came a book in French published only this last November</span><br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-small">That brings us up to date. There are still two books planned for this series. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-small">Now, I can understand the distraction of getting all those books translated into however many different languages, but my OCDness would bug the shit out of me if I let a series hang for over eight years. He published the first three almost all at the same time, meaning they had already been written, he just needed to decide how to divide them and maybe what to name them. It also meant he was totally immersed in the story and it was pounding at him to get out.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">The next two books, in my opinion, he messed up. He was thinking too much. He decided that one book would take place in Westeros and the other would take place across the sea. I had no problem hopping back and forth between countries and people as time marched on. I could accept that what happened in one country in chapter 10 happened at the same time as whatever happened in another country in chapter 9. The way it is, when you get to book five, you have to travel back in time in book four and figure out how things fit together. </span><span class="a-size-small">I always felt adrift in
time because of that.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">I hope he doesn't do that in the next two books. That was so annoying. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">Book Six - Winds of Winter is, I hear, mostly finished short of some polishing I'm sure, but the last book - A Dream of Spring - hasn't even been started. The man is seventy-one years old. I would hate to have another author die before finishing his greatest series. There's also some scratch about the last two books not being published until all the movies are out.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">Lets move on to publishing. Every author should realize that their greatest sales numbers will be from eBooks and they should give them just as much attention as the paperbacks and the hard covers. I honestly have no idea of the ratio in actual profits, all I know is I sell tons more eBooks than paperbacks. Maybe if my paperbacks were in bookstores the ratio would be closer, but I honestly can't see it being that much closer. Not really. Of course, an author who can afford the translation, can also afford the mega advertising so that would increase the sales of any kind of edition.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">But I digress</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">My point is, as I was reading through these books on my kindle, I was disappointed to find hard copy formatting in the form of line breaks mid-word. These came in form of hyphens in the middle of the word or just spaces; a lot of times they weren't even in the right place. These typos, while the eye can digest them when it's a line break (it's something I never do), happening in the middle of a word in the middle of a line, makes the word nearly illegible, especially when the word is one of the specially made up words like names of people and places, not to mention common everyday words. There were also some other typos, but I can live with those - no one is perfect, not even a professional editor. The line breaks mid-word though, that's just a sign of laziness. Slap the manuscript into eBook form and forget about it. Sigh - people will buy it anyway, but still - have a little pride in your work. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">Rant over</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small">Book five ended somewhere between season six and season seven of the DVDs. Tyrion and Ser Jorah are still with the slavers outside of Mireen and Ser Barriston is hand to the queen having deposed </span>Hizdahr zo Loraq<span class="a-size-small">, the local she'd married in the hope of establishing peace within the city. Dynaries has already flown off on her dragon, but mostly to get him out of the arena and stop him from killing everything that was moving. John has just been killed, though not like in the movie. Littlefinger is still pulling strings with Sansa's life; she's playing the part of his bastard daughter, and he is arranging her marriage with a little-known heir of the Vail. Cersei has only just completed her walk of shame, and under the watchful eye of septans, she spends a third of her day with her son, a third of it praying, and a third of it trying to scrub the shame off her skin (like that'll ever happen). While she has been returned to the palace, she is not allowed any say in government affairs nor any of her son's schooling. King Stanis has yet to clash with the bastard of Bolton who has yet to kill his father. Ayia is still in Bravose though she is no longer blind. She is still learning to be No One. As you might have noticed, Bolton Snow did not marry Sansa. He did, however, marry a fake Arya sent by the Lannisters in order to seal their loyalty. The girl was Sansa's best friend, and went to the big city with her. She is of a similar coloring to Arya and it was figured that no one would know the difference. Only Theon noticed the difference; he grew up with them after all. Him getting her away from Bastard Bolton was nothing like in the movies, but he did it, and there that rests. Bastard Bolton sent a raven to John about it, thinking he must have had something to do with it (he did, sorta, but not first hand). Melisandre arranged it all and had Mance Rayder (Yeah, he's not dead, but everyone thought he was until now) go after her. He took six speerwives to help him. Boy, did they create some havoc at Winterfel. Mance and the speerwives were caught but Theon and the fake Arya escaped into the snow.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-small">So two more books and two more seasons on DVD, and the series will be finished. I can't wait. I hate waiting on the next book. Have you seen or read any of it? I think you should.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="a-size-small">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div>
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-small"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-62447544264023128832018-10-10T22:41:00.000-08:002019-02-11T16:07:40.831-09:00My Life in My Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMg8dblmeD67gHU5hDXlZO3pyTNB5UU0nX9o6aRXX2b8OVKj2-bMG0QF0evNnLGMY4blGzeDxaFVjbQS55KAMHY0Q_59K0mXatWbWwc8QZPKjlV59ZwcOD_P_Pksbalvd5uDxg8ASAdme/s1600/IMGP0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMg8dblmeD67gHU5hDXlZO3pyTNB5UU0nX9o6aRXX2b8OVKj2-bMG0QF0evNnLGMY4blGzeDxaFVjbQS55KAMHY0Q_59K0mXatWbWwc8QZPKjlV59ZwcOD_P_Pksbalvd5uDxg8ASAdme/s320/IMGP0020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Do you know what it's like to walk through snow that's deeper than say your waist? Have you ever gone snowshoeing through the woods? Do you know what it's like to live 'off the grid'?<br />
<br />
I do.<br />
<br />
If you've paid any attention to my FB posts, you should know that - I'm a cat person - and - I love winter. I especially love my life out here in the middle of absolutely nowhere.<br />
<br />
If you've ever read any of my books where there's some scene involving winter, these scenes are drawn from my real life. Of course, I take some liberties with it. That doesn't make it any less accurate.<br />
<br />
These wilderness scenes aren't all winter, but winter scenes are by far my favorite. Half-Breed is, because of all this, my favorite book. Have you read it yet?<br />
<br />
It's been a long time since I've read any of my published books. I'm always tempted to give them a tweak when I do.<br />
<br />
Half-Breed is the second book of a planned collection of three. The first one has been republished under the new title of Crown of Steel. The two books are very different. Their only connection is the world, and the rules governing that world. All that's left is the third one, but I'm still at a loss. All suggestions would be welcome.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-12174608811373618932018-09-29T23:46:00.000-08:002019-05-17T12:44:09.566-08:00My Life and My WritingMy life interferes with my writing frequently. I work summers from mid May or so to mid September or so, give or take a week or two on either end. My hours aren't too bad, but I get no weekends. Believe me, it doesn't take long for me to get very tired - tired enough to just not feel like writing. Along with that is the desire to do other things associated with the business of writing, like advertising my books and socializing with my fans, both of which takes a chunk out of my sales. Also getting in my way is my slow internet, which has made it impossible for my husband and I to be online at the same time. This is something we'll fix one of these days, but it just can't be done yet. <br />
<br />
At the end of my summer, it's kind of hard to get back into the groove. It was made even harder because I didn't have anything new to work on. I keep telling myself that I still have three books completed and in need of editing, but every time I get one out and start working on it, something interrupts me and I'm on a different track. Mood and motivation are lacking, and I just can't seem to reclaim it. Those three books need a lot of attention and concentration, and it seems like every time I try, something happens to break my concentration. The TV is like four feet in front of me, and my husband thinks I need it on as soon as the generator is running. Some series or movie I happen to like makes it hard to protest.<br />
<br />
Back in the day, I'd write and write, one story after another, the length made no difference. It was a new story written to satisfy my desire to read a new book - I'd run out, you see, and bookstores are very far away. Then came the chance to publish and I finished my last book. That was back in '08. Then came internet and the distractions abounded. Publishing suddenly became easy, I had the books already written, and I've become a very good writer. I spent time pulling my published books back under my own wings and republishing them, which necessitated me finding my own cover artists, and figuring a way to earn enough money to pay them. As all this added up, I seemed to slow down.<br />
<br />
Lately, I decided to write a new book, and I think that is the key to my slump. It would seem a new story, now nearly finished, just might be what I needed to do. I've been more motivated to write than I have been in a long time. Now all I need to do is come up with enough money for a cover. It's been a long time since I've sold a book through my website - the proceeds of which go into my PayPal account, which is what I use to buy my covers.<br />
<br />
Publishing and covers aren't the only distraction I've been working on. I'm trying to get my books on regular bookshelves, and to that end, I've purchased my own ISBN numbers - I'm just scared to take that step. No one will explain to me sufficiently how that will work. I mean, if some store wants to order hundreds of copies of my books, I can't afford that.<br />
<br />
One distraction after another - this path or that path - even this and my other blogs - it all gets in the way of finishing my new book. I'll be able to afford a cover soon. Keep an eye peeled for a new book one day soon. Any ideas for my next book? Happy writing to all you writers out there, and happy reading to all you readers out there.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-87575540065420810432018-01-25T03:18:00.000-09:002018-01-25T03:18:43.014-09:00I Had a DreamI did. Once upon a time I had a dream. I so wanted to inherit the ranch and run a riding academy for city kids. Long story short, my brother got the ranch and I joined the army.<br />
<br />
I still think about that dream though, even though there is no chance it will ever happen now. So recently that dream found it's way onto my computer screen, and currently that document is over 200 pages long.<br />
<br />
There were a few changes though. I took your average family - loving parents, two boys, and a girl in that order (not like my family). The parents were totally involved in the horsing world, and their primary income came from boarding horses. They also bred horses, and offered a couple stallions for stud services. They made a pretty good living that way.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, when the girl turned 15, a horrible accident happened which took both parents away. Since the oldest brother was old enough, he inherited the business and the property, as well as raising his sister. He, however, had no interest in the business, and so it slipped away, leaving empty barns. The sister, who was like her parents, very passionate about horses, couldn't spot the changes through her depression. It wasn't until talk of selling off property crossed the table two years later that she woke up.<br />
<br />
In looking around, she realized how the place of her dreams had slipped into a run-down dump with only three customers keeping their horses there. The office was a den of dust and spiderwebs. After these eye-opening discoveries, she discovered that her brothers had been selling off things for a while now; all her mother's treasured paintings were all gone. Gone to buy drugs, she discovered. Thus begins her journey of being totally pissed at her brothers. But thus also begins her journey to emancipation and power of attorney.<br />
<br />
In her efforts to figure out what she could do about the business, she went to talk to her parents' banker. It was there that she learned about her second brother's many stints in detox. After her meeting there, she went to the police station to learn more. It had all been a carefully hidden secret until now.<br />
<br />
Due to a fortuitous chain of events, the family lawyer also became involved and she got her wish. Of course, her brothers being arrested for possession, and possibly selling, kind of sealed the deal for her.<br />
<br />
Now you might think this would be the end of the story, but it wasn't. Her brothers' involvement with drugs meant they were involved with dealers, and dealers don't like being ripped off. So with her brothers off to serve a stint in jail, said dealers came after her. They wanted their money. Herein is the guts of the story.<br />
<br />
At the moment, they are just learning who has put out a contract on her head, and the current price is well more than the initial missing funds, mostly because of the fact that it was discovered that she happened to be a natural crack shot with her mom's 357 pistol.<br />
<br />
I'm having fun with this story. My little girl is kicking some serious ass and she has acquired quite a reputation in darker circles. This is where I am now. What will happen later, only time will tell. If you have a suggestion for a cover, I'm all ears. I might have to go with a painting for this one though. Your thoughts?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-32705246005297009282017-05-11T19:03:00.000-08:002017-05-18T12:27:43.213-08:00Believable Non-human Character<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcS3YQKBIi5um46WAGX-Lqc-e8K3eu7JVpgzCxjGlUtKg4kvs6-uCTba12bXr4rOLMFNPP8ACD0WQnIcT2fqaroyoCnlriqS-CK-iwCDJSLG0NzOrvC0w6udUJ5D-Vx0qHBVrmOzF4MYr/s1600/2580688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcS3YQKBIi5um46WAGX-Lqc-e8K3eu7JVpgzCxjGlUtKg4kvs6-uCTba12bXr4rOLMFNPP8ACD0WQnIcT2fqaroyoCnlriqS-CK-iwCDJSLG0NzOrvC0w6udUJ5D-Vx0qHBVrmOzF4MYr/s320/2580688.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
I've given a lot of thought about how a centaur could exist. I mean, I've thought of it ever since I was a kid. I once saw this kit where you could see through the skin and see how all the bones and organs fit together. I'm pretty sure it was something that needed to be put together maybe something like a puzzle. I never got a chance to actually look at it. I never got to handle the box even. But then, not long after that, I saw one of a horse. I so wanted to get both of them and see if I could build a centaur out of the pieces. But then I've never seen them again, and I know I wouldn't be able to mold the pieces well enough for my idea to work.<br />
<br />
So that left me with my imagination and what little I know of the anatomy of both creatures. Of course the biggest issue is things like a heart and the intestines, because if you just shove them together, you get two. Here is how I put them together in my head and subsequently in my book, Druid Derrick.<br />
<br />
Heart, digestion, and reproduction is all in the horse part where they belong, albeit with a few alterations which I'll get into later. Up in the human half is all the throaty stuff normally found in the neck of a horse, though sized and adjusted just a little differently too, what with the more upright posture.<br />
<br />
So how does the chest and arms work in all this, you ask? Quite simply, really. We all know that the bone structure is there to support muscle, and there is an entire chest and back structure necessary to support arms, even the ribs are important in this, SO they are there. Upper body ribs in a centaur are less important for protecting vital organs so there aren't so many of them and they are wider to support more muscle as well as the bone structure of the shoulders. Shoot a centaur in the human-half heart and you'd be lucky to get past a rib let alone hit an artery, which is there.<br />
<br />
That accounts for most of what one might see, but there are other differences smaller and more subtle.<br />
<ul>
<li>The hand:</li>
</ul>
We know from archeological digs that the horse evolved from a small critter that actually started out with five toes. What might count as your little finger and your thumb never touched the ground, and through evolution, they quickly became vestiges. Of the three remaining toes, the two outer toes withdrew up into the ankle leaving only the center toe we see today. If you feel around in that area, you can still feel something of a narrow palm-like structure, like if you were to squeeze your thumb and little finger together.<br />
<br />
Since I didn't know about the five finger thing with early horses, I went with a four finger structure, giving my centaurs an opposable thumb, but it's not like ours. For us, if someone were to tell you to hold up your primary finger, you'd probably hold up your first finger since it is the most versatile finger on your hand. If you were to ask my centaur to do this, he or she would hold up their middle finger. It is the heaviest and strongest of the three, and their thumb is directly opposite that finger. For us it would be like it was growing out of the middle of your wrist, and no, they cannot set their hand flat on the ground. <br />
<ul>
<li>Eating:</li>
</ul>
The digestion of a horse is something like that of a human, only they have a much larger gut. To my thinking, since centaurs are hunters, their diet would be much like ours, getting little useful sustenance from grass. Following that logic, their gut would be trimmer around the belly. Now if you were to stand a grain-fed horse next to a grass-fed horse, the grass-fed horse might look pregnant by comparison. I took that comparison one step farther toward the skinny end and gave them a noticeably thin waist and possibly a tighter appearing rib-cage. I figure this structure would also lend to agility if fighting in close quarters. Also this trimness gets a little thick around the middle with childbearing and age. I mean, we all get kinda thick around the middle as we get older.<br />
<ul>
<li>Face:</li>
</ul>
Faces are interesting, and centaur faces are a study in blending. They need to have a humanoid face, but I let them be a little heavier than your average man. Since they are hunters, their eyes are in front, but they are still very horsey in appearance - not human eyes - no whites to speak of, and not inset like ours.<br />
<br />
Their noses and mouths are very horse in nature, being more molded into their face than ours, and being more closely molded into their lips, which are also very horsey - You wouldn't put lipstick on these lips no matter what. However the mouth is flexible and articulate like ours making speech possible, they just look horsey.<br />
<br />
Their hair is also very horsey, as is their ears. They have a mane which gives them the horsey forelocks and it trails clear down their human-half spine until it reaches their horse-half withers. <br />
<ul>
<li>Size:</li>
</ul>
I took an image of an average man standing next to an average horse and the man's shoulder was about even with the horse's withers - that's the top of the spine at the shoulder. I figured a centaur would be roughly the same as a man sitting on said horse, so if your average man was to approach one of my centaurs, his head might be about even with the centaur's elbow.<br />
<ul>
<li>Coloring:</li>
</ul>
For this, I'm using every kind of horse color I can think of. There are dominate kinds of coloring per herd, but centaur clans also tend to mix as young males are known to travel to other clans in search for a mate. Not always, but it happens frequently enough to keep the colors mixing. And since they are covered entirely in horse hair just like any horse, the coloring can extend even onto the face, and it's not always symmetrical.<br />
<ul>
<li>Society:</li>
</ul>
I had a lot of fun with centaur society. There is a ritual with the changing of leadership, and there is a very elaborate affair surrounding a marriage, but I don't think I'll go into it with this post. Suffice it to say, since I have a marriage, I need to have a divorce something too. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-9229402744834154742017-05-01T18:28:00.000-08:002017-05-01T18:28:37.951-08:00Audiobooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__UXGLpdDs74tAkKzOFMczwgWEzjek6vw-PHpcLtVNFRWbTndsl1l4h46ls29p2uGq1kEcspYA9zF9Vdj4bDbmYwUzxjXSr7RF7wo1IReo1Pc-XPFghp3W7TH3LSKEnEkMYrweiUePFr4/s1600/61srAdnn7mL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__UXGLpdDs74tAkKzOFMczwgWEzjek6vw-PHpcLtVNFRWbTndsl1l4h46ls29p2uGq1kEcspYA9zF9Vdj4bDbmYwUzxjXSr7RF7wo1IReo1Pc-XPFghp3W7TH3LSKEnEkMYrweiUePFr4/s320/61srAdnn7mL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We just finished listening to this. I only just ordered the last two books and so I've never known the ending.<br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-large">Christopher Paolini was only fifteen when he first wrote the whole thing, never thinking of publishing. He spent another year revising it and then handed it over to his parents to read. It was they who decided it was good enough to go after publication. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-large">Can you imagine, sixteen years old, and your parents think you've produced something worthy of publications, or at least trying. Add to that, someone else reading it and agreeing AND promoting it to THEIR publisher, who ALSO agrees. WOW!!!! If only I had that kind of encouragement way back when - heck even like 1% of that kind of encouragement. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-large">The sad thing about that whole story - </span><span class="a-size-large">Christopher Paolini has not published anything else at all. Or if he has, it's under some pen name and not at all connected with this series or this author page on Amazon. It's in all the different formats and in several different languages, some of which the letters aren't even recognizable, meaning it's in like Japanese or some such - I can't tell. All that effort put into this one series, and yet there is nothing new. It's a great story, but really, it's kinda sad that there's only the one.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-large">And to add insult to injury - the movie. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-large">Do I need to say anything about that? It's as if Stephan Fangmeier raped the first book and stole the title. Because of what he did to the storyline, there was no way the rest of the books could have ever been filmed. Don't get me wrong; the movie Eragon was a fine movie, but only if you never ever read the book(s). </span><br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-large">But really, I'm getting totally away for the reason for writing this post. My husband is not a reader; he had trouble comprehending sentences - my youngest son is the same way. But he does enjoy audio books so I have a few. I got a kick out of him yelling at the book, telling the main, Eragon, what he should or shouldn't do. Twice I reminded him that the writer was a fifteen-year-old kid who never went to public school, telling a story about a sixteen year old kid who grew up in an isolated village in the mountains. The funniest part was the ending. As foretold in book one, Eragon would sail away and never return to his home country. And there were tidbits of foreshadowing here and there along the way. But at the very end, he does leave. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-large">My husband riled at that for hours. Eragon might be seventeen years at that point, and throughout the entire series, he was <i>hard</i> in love with an elf princess who, though she liked him, she saw him as a child - NOTHING in common. She did her best to divert him too, but he just couldn't help himself. And then he sail off, knowing he'll never see her again. My husband's issue? The poor kid never got laid. He's going off to raise a bunch of dragon hatchlings with a few elf guys for company and help, and the poor kid is still a virgin. Plus, since he's heading off across the ocean, there isn't even any guarantee that he'll reach his destination. So - virgin + whale turds. He even made me go search today just to make sure there wasn't another book out there somewhere. I wish I could send Christopher a message. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<span class="a-size-large">Thought you might enjoy this as much as I did. Oh, and give the book a listen. You won't regret it. </span><br />Gerard Doyle is a fantastic narrator. My husband wants him to do my books. Now if I could find a way to contact him.<br />
<br />
Hmmmmm...<br />
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="a-size-large">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div>
<span class="a-size-large"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-28796828404520173522017-01-27T00:08:00.000-09:002017-01-27T00:08:57.509-09:00I Just Had an Epiphany <a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/60/c5/15/60c5152e2caa5f7a7532142d0e0209c6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for dark angel tv show" class="irc_mi i7KNt4_OAg_Y-pQOPx8XEepE" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Dark_Angel_cover.png" style="margin-top: 61px;" title="" width="156" /></a><br />
Winter is my time to write, but it's also my time to watch movies and series's. I recently watched the Dark Angel series, and then just last night we watched the Lost Boys Trilogy.<br />
<br />
In case you've never watched any of Dark Angel, the whole premise is a secret facility decided it was a fantastic idea to do a little gene splicing in order to create the perfect soldier. It starts out with a bunch of kids escaping from this facility, but then they have to keep a low profile because the guy who runs the facility will stop at nothing to find them and take them back. These kids/young people are an interesting character study. They are incredibly smart in many things, and yet completely ignorant of some of the most basic things we all take for granted.<br />
<br />
The world they function in is what is termed as a broken world. You see, shortly after these kids were created, someone set off a massive EMP pulse in the atmosphere which sent the nation into the dark ages.<br />
<br />
One thing I will say about this world, throughout the seasons, some things get better, and of course, some things stayed the same.<br />
<br />
Long about half way, they introduce the concept that Max is the perfect human. She is THE ONE. Now what that ONE is supposed to be is never said, but it offered a springboard ripe for play, and it made her the target of even more people, because they also introduced the idea that this gene splicing thing was only a recent way to do things that were already secretly being done, and for hundreds of generations linked as far back as the earliest civilizations on this Earth. <br />
<br />
Eventually that gene splicing facility was shut down, but Max, our pretty little angel up there, was able to get everyone out. Only thing is, everyone meant all sorts - those designed to operate in the desert, those designed to operate under water, those designed to operate in the arctic - it made for some very interesting interactions, and they were also the impetus for some blatant playing with racism and human rights. I think the series ended because they didn't know quite what to do with these sensitive issues.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6856051844866086501" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for the lost boys" border="0" class="irc_mut iEQ_L1KMhqBw-HwpH6ZlgJaI" height="200" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" style="cursor: move; margin-top: 33px;" title="" width="136" /></a></div>
That brings us to The Lost Boys. Now the whole premise behind all three movies was 'if you killed the head vampire, all those he'd turned or who had been turned using his blood, were instantly cured, provided they hadn't already killed'.<br />
<br />
And so herein is my epiphany. If Max is THE ONE, why was she created? And of course the entire breeding program was to prepare for the coming, though they never said what coming they were talking about - not even a hint of Christ's coming, so it was wide open.<br />
<br />
So, what if that 'coming' was an awakening of long sleeping vampires eager to suck the planet dry before sleeping again. I mean, it is in fitting with the assorted hints that human civilization has been wiped out before, but there is no knowing how. Ooh I do love mixing and matching premises. So Max was created to be the only person capable of killing these nasty vampires, and she was created in secret. It is up to her to save all of humanity. After all, as she says, they were created to protect humans, not be liked by them. (or something like that)<br />
<br />
I invite you to watch these and tell me what you think. Too bad the makers of Dark Angel couldn't see into the future and read this post. Maybe they'd take the idea and run with it. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-88542316268267821252016-11-30T21:49:00.001-09:002016-11-30T21:49:32.919-09:00The Walking DeadYeah, we're watching it again. In fact, I just ordered the last season - season 6. I like it, but it bugs me at the same time. I like the characters and how they develop, how they go through the different stages of dealing with a world gone to shit, quite literally. That's the best part - the characters. Did you know that Rick - what you hear in the movie - is not what he really sounds like? He's very good imitating a southern accent. I didn't know that until I watched one of his interviews. Even the tone of his voice is different. haha It was rather startling.<br />
<br />
What really bugs me is the timeline involving the walkers. At first Rick got shot and he went to the hospital. The world was fine at that point. Sometime shortly after that things went to hell in a handbag in like the blink of an eye. Here's my reasoning behind why I say that.<br />
<ul>
<li>A wound takes roughly 10 days before the stitches can be removed. </li>
<li>It takes 3 days to die from lack of water.</li>
<li>When Rick finally woke up he was real thirsty, and real sore, but he never bled. </li>
</ul>
These facts tell me that Rick's IV bag ran out, I'll say 2 days prior. I'll also guess that he woke up somewhere between one week and ten days after his surgery. I say that because when he met that first man who helped him, Morgan, he felt the need to change his bandages, meaning that maybe his stitches weren't quite ready to be removed yet.<br />
<br />
So this world-wide epidemic wiped out 99% of the human race in less than ten days. That's a pretty awesome accomplishment for a bug, don't you think? Of course, in the series, there is never any hint as to what caused the epidemic, nor is there anything that might indicate how it spread so fast. Of course, the whole movie isn't about the bug even a little, it's about the people and how they deal with it all.<br />
<br />
My next gripe about the timeline is how long these walkers are 'living', or remaining animated. So far the movie covers at least 18 months. We know this because of a nine-month pregnancy and a baby who is somewhere around 8 months old - she can't walk yet, so she's less than a year old.<br />
<br />
I wasn't sure so I looked it up, and this is what I found:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>How Long Does It Take for Body to Decompose?</strong></div>
<table data-sort="sortDisabled"><tbody>
<tr class="firstRow"><td colspan="2" rowspan="1" valign="top"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="220"><ul>
<li><b>Timeline</b></li>
</ul>
</td><td valign="top" width="295"><b>What Happens</b></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="220"><ul>
<li><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">24-72 hours after death</span></li>
</ul>
</td><td valign="top" width="295"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Internal organs begin to decompose.</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="220"><ul>
<li>3-5 days after death</li>
</ul>
</td><td valign="top" width="295">Body starts bloating. Blood-containing foam begins leaking from mouth and nose.</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="220"><ul>
<li><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">8-10 days after death</span></li>
</ul>
</td><td valign="top" width="295"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Massive decomposition of organs in abdomen accumulate massive gas; body turns from green to red because of blood decomposition.</span></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top"><ul>
<li>Several weeks after death</li>
</ul>
</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">Nails and teeth begin to fall.</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="220"><ul>
<li><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">1 month after death</span></li>
</ul>
</td><td valign="top" width="295"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Body starts to become fluid.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So Rick found out at the CDC that everyone was infected (who knows how that happened so quickly either), and we have learned how if someone dies from any cause, they turn into a walker in a matter of hours, so I'm sure walkers will be generated constantly to a certain degree, however the biggest population of them would have degraded to liquefied goo in a month or two at the most since none of them sought shelter from the weather, unless it was by accident.<br />
<br />
And bloating - I never even thought about bloating, but have you noticed how none of them are even fat? Let alone bloated. So they should have been completely beyond mobility in a relatively short amount of time.<br />
<br />
And the eating: Why give them a drive to eat? Biting I can understand. That would be a means for the disease to spread, but to eat when there is no means for digestion. I mean, once what they consume has been shoved beyond the throat and down into the belly, what then? I never saw one pair of pants loaded up with whatever might pass for crap.<br />
<br />
So anyway, things like this is why I will never buy a zombie book. I'll read and review one if it's given to me, and people do give me books to read and review, but I won't spend money on a zombie book. And so far, no one has offered me a zombie book to review. I do have a rule though. I will always give an honest review, no matter what I'm asked to review. Not a fan of romance either, and even less so of erotica. It doesn't matter though. I will give an honest opinion, for only an honest review will truly help the writer be a better writer, whatever they write. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-90827582638817364592016-10-28T20:07:00.000-08:002016-10-28T20:07:25.537-08:00The Sales Conundrum <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzPG2J3NLa6yh7MPhseu7GhrHsAdmsmXOyCHXra81K9hXI2wYWEG_n3-jcKGw9Mljgb6nM_mONFR8xyqc10RQ-lTYdJgaBRZYQN3yIrNYL_fORv2rW6Puf8V8WQRrikwxSsoFjVpkJD-g/s1600/thinking-outside-the-box-makes-me-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzPG2J3NLa6yh7MPhseu7GhrHsAdmsmXOyCHXra81K9hXI2wYWEG_n3-jcKGw9Mljgb6nM_mONFR8xyqc10RQ-lTYdJgaBRZYQN3yIrNYL_fORv2rW6Puf8V8WQRrikwxSsoFjVpkJD-g/s320/thinking-outside-the-box-makes-me-l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I learned from a friend today that she'd told a friend of hers about my books or that I was an author (no idea which), any way, this other woman's son bought a kindle edition of The Guardians. Good news for me, but it got me wondering. Why don't I get more such sales? Why is it that so few of my family's friends buy my books? Or maybe they do and I just don't hear about it.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I wonder if it's because it sounds kinda cheesy when you say, "My sister is an author. You should check out her book(s)." or something similar. Does it? More than once in meeting people at work, when the subject comes up that I have written books, say how cool it is to meet a real author, and that's whether they buy any of my books or not. Not everyone is into reading, and only a fraction of those enjoy what I write, but I usually sell at least one or two books to staff every year. I was thrilled when my boss offered to display my books at the lodge. I mean really, they have nothing to do with Alaska or with fishing. They went up too late to get many sales this year, but they'll be there all summer next year, and with a new one to be added to the list. Keep an eye peeled right here. I'll be putting up a post all about it sometime soon.<br />
<br />
So, how are your sales? Do you get more sales through family, or through strangers like on Amazon or whatever other platform you publish on?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-34251794265403654992016-09-18T21:55:00.000-08:002016-09-18T21:55:25.368-08:00Summer Sales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArsay0Jz0souXrLxxucx56ax-y67QjyObbWfPQX34tdRumvr_2ENbYY2Whv5EsDjLYrbrZw-KG6xJ7QpwktOJCXctjo3wUIiRRm1An5OFs222eDZTfBDuIH7DEA92U353d9JMwi2nT4Wh/s1600/King+by+Right.5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArsay0Jz0souXrLxxucx56ax-y67QjyObbWfPQX34tdRumvr_2ENbYY2Whv5EsDjLYrbrZw-KG6xJ7QpwktOJCXctjo3wUIiRRm1An5OFs222eDZTfBDuIH7DEA92U353d9JMwi2nT4Wh/s1600/King+by+Right.5.jpg" /></a></div>
This summer I sold 19 books from here. Or maybe I should modify that a little - six of those books I sent out of here were a gift to a wonderful online friend who has trouble collecting the necessary funds all at once to buy a book. I couldn't resist, and her reaction when she got them was a sweet reward.<br />
<br />
This book is my first book - first published - first written - and soon to be the first to be turned into a script (one of these days). As a first it will always hold a special place in my heart, but as a first it also has a few issues. As a first, this is the book that was where I did all my learning and made all my mistakes, and I'm talking about publishing mistakes. Not that I know it all, but it's rough when your first baby ventures out into the world and it's not treated with the care you think it should be. That is why I will never recommend a subsidy publisher to another writer; they don't care about the book, they want the money. Don't worry, this story isn't completely dead. It's still available from me under this cover, and will be until I run out.<br />
<br />
At first, when it was all alone, having 50 books on hand was really cool. Knowing this box sitting in the corner held a book I wrote was an amazing thing. I mean, really, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I never imagined I'd write a book let alone publish it and people would buy and read it, and above all, enjoy it. Even though it has issues that bug me, I never got a bad review, and this is the book with the most reviews.<br />
<br />
As I published more books, I was slow in learning the lesson about how many books to order. Through a mailing mishap, I started out with 100 of this books. When I published The Fortunes of Magic, another first in that I did it all by myself, I ordered 50 just because it was a nice round number. In the mean time, getting the books of my trilogy was hard, but I ordered 25 of the first book. It wasn't until much later that I could get the other two. When I published The Speed of Dreams, in order to make the book available in paperback, I had to order 50. By now, I was accumulating quite a stack of book boxes. But I did learn my lesson. When I discovered I was running out of my last two books, The Trials of the Youngest Princess and The Guardians, I only ordered 10 each. I have a stack of book boxes in the corner of my room that is waist high. My days of ordering 25 or more per book are over.<br />
<br />
I still have over 30 of King by Right and Speed of Dreams, and more of Fortunes of Magic, but the rest are down within manageable numbers. Perhaps it's time for another give-away. I do love my readers.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-24519601368222490192016-03-25T13:08:00.000-08:002016-03-25T13:08:00.359-08:00The Mighty SeriesOr so everyone is lead to believe these days.<br />
<br />
Of late, I've certainly seen a lot of them. Of course, that might simply be due to the waters I'm swimming at the moment. It seems everyone has, or is working on, or is planning a series. I see it like this: Picture the ocean. Each little ripple across that vast expanse of water is a book. The occasional hill or gentle roll of water contains the multitude of series - the bigger the hump, the larger the number of books in said series. Those smaller humps that might gently rock your boat consist of series number 2 to 4 books. The medium size humps, the kind that might make you hang on in your boat, or catch a cup sliding off the table, are made up of series numbering 3 to maybe 4 books. The big humps, the scary kind that might make you secure the hatches or simply get the flock out of there, are made up of those series of say 5 to 10+ books.<br />
<br />
Now lets look at sales: When these waves make it to shore, they all swish up on the sand with a certain amount of foam or bubbles - those equate to sales. Most of those little ripples will generate some foam as it scrapes up on the sand, but not all. A series might curl over in a breaker, and then crash against the sand with a lot of foam and bubbles, but then they're spent too soon after. Now those big waves, the kind that attract surfers from around the world, those make an even bigger splash, but they also might scare some people off the beach - I do know I wouldn't want to hang too close to something like that, though I might be inclined to watch.<br />
<br />
My point is, if I see an advertisement for a seventh book, and I don't find it interesting enough on it's own, I'll probably stay away from the entire series.<br />
<br />
If you're writing a series, more power to you, but you never know who will find book X before they come across book 1. I look at the blurb, and if that's intriguing enough, I might take a look inside if I can. Given that sample, if I'm left wanting information from a previous book, I won't buy it, and I probably won't go in search of that first book. For me to do that, I have to be really intrigued.<br />
<br />
My trilogy might be guilty of this very thing, but it was written as a single book that happened to fall into three parts. What did I know? At first it was over a thousand pages long, and that was just the text part. At the time, I was still in search of a publisher, and I was told that no publisher would take on such a large project from a newbie writer. So, still leaning on the experience of others, I offered the book as a whole, but conceded that it could be separated into three books. Book one made a pretty good splash. Book two, less of a splash, but then it was published in less locations. Book three was pretty much of a bomb. That is the last time I will publish a series one year between books.<br />
<br />
I have another series in the works that is plotted out to be 16 books, but since most of them are really quite short, I think I'll only offer them as eBooks (kindle editions). I thought I might offer the book as a whole for paperback, but I'm thinking it might be too big. The biggest CreateSpace will handle is 828 pages. So if I do decide to go paperback with this book, I might release all books at the same time and sell them as a boxed set. Depending on ultimate page count, it might end up being three books. I'm working on book 10 at the moment, so I have a ways to go yet before I need to worry about any of that.<br />
<br />
But enough about me.<br />
<br />
What I'm getting at, is make each book of your series a stand along story, more or less. It's fine to have each story farther along in your character's timeline, but if your reader can't understand why Prince Caspian is staggering through the woods, going out of his way to avoid his guards, you might lose your reader as he drowns in questions.<br />
<br />
Like I said, my series didn't do this. But I'm willing to learn from my mistakes, and above all pass along what I've learned, or at least my opinion of it all. The best series I've read did just that - each book told its own story, and while development might have occurred along the way, and book two is better for having read book one, book two and even book three were just fine on their own. I used to have the Tarzan series once. I don't even remember how many books there were, but they all stood alone. In fact, I think some of them were written by different authors, but I didn't pay attention. It was just another story, another adventure. I'm willing to pick up a book if I know it's the next adventure. Maybe that's why my trilogy doesn't sell so well. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-42916293081799681782016-02-23T15:57:00.000-09:002016-02-23T23:48:02.192-09:00EditingOnce was the time when I could churn out ten pages of writing a day. Doing so piled up nearly a dozen full length books and even more short stories, though I personally don't care for short stories. In my drive to tell stories, some of them simply ended after like five pages. For the life of me, I have no idea on how to make them longer - so, they will stay short, and someday I'll publish a book of short stories. Who knows, maybe I'll do that next. Hmmm now that's an idea.<br />
<br />
But I digress - I seem to do that a lot lately.<br />
<br />
Anyway - about editing. Since my writing has been mostly taken over by editing, it has become something of a habit. Even when I read a story on my kindle, I frequently see things that should have been treated differently somehow. A lot of the time, putting away my editor in order to enjoy a good book, is really quite hard. That doesn't keep me from recognizing a good story when I see one, and I've seen many.<br />
<br />
Recently, a friend of mine posted in an FB group I belong to. She was concerned about mediocre reviews she'd received on her book. I offered to take a look, and since it was my offer, I wasn't about to charge her. I know - I'm never going to make a living by editing if I keep doing it for free, but really, I'd much rather see a good story made better than earn a buck. I'm a long way from earning a living this way anyway.<br />
<br />
I was especially dismayed when I learned that my friend had already paid for an editor. I understand that many editors charge different prices for different levels of editing. I found a good page that describes it all <a href="http://newbieauthorsguide.com/2012/05/the-different-kinds-of-editing/" target="_blank">here</a>. I charge $1 a page, which puts my price range among the lowest on that page. However all I have is my passion for a well written story that doesn't raise any questions as I read along. So I guess I do most everything mentioned on that page short of the rewrites mentioned there. I have done a few ghost writes though.<br />
<br />
What troubled me was that it seemed like her editor did little more than look for the cool little red and green squiggly lines. And while I leaned heavily on those when I first started writing (I learned a lot doing that), an editor really does need to give a manuscript a careful read-through in order to find those pesky little typos that aren't misspelled. I did find a couple of those that would have been easily caught if read. I wasn't looking for typos so much yet. I wanted all those questions answered first. In my book, first comes the story, then comes the mechanics. <br />
<br />
I want the story to remain yours, so any questions that arise as I read along, I ask. My asking tells you that you missed something, just as any changes I make say the same thing. My goal is to help you develop your story to a point where it is a clear movie inside your reader's head. Only then can a reader truly enjoy the story. Questions and jarring inconsistencies diminish a good story.<br />
<br />
Freelance editors abound of recent years, or maybe they were always around and I just wasn't around enough to run across them. And checking their credentials isn't all that easy, which is why I do ask for a comment on my website. I don't ask for a good review, it is important to me that I get an honest review. For any editor you want to hire, you need to make the effort to look into their credits. I don't have any education to support my editing. All I have is a passion for good writing, and what I've learned on the internet from other writers who are more knowledgeable than I am. When I go through a manuscript, all I have to offer is my opinion, and the hope that it helps. I find it frustrating that other editors seem to think only of the dollar.<br />
<br />
This isn't the only time I've read through a book that had already been edited. The first time, I told the guy he needed to ask for his money back. I have no idea if he ever did, but he sure was embarrassed by the major mistakes I found. Whole plot holes and typos - that was years ago now and I don't remember what all I found in that book, but I do remember that it was pretty bad. I didn't know how to use the track changes feature back then, all I remember was that I would send him an email every time I ran across something, giving him page number and telling him what I found. I was sending him an email or two every day. It was still rather astonishing to me that he'd actually paid an editor for what I was reading. I've come across this a few times since. I find it rather sad really. Sometimes, I feel like I'm alone in my passion for good writing - good writing wherever I find it - not just my own.<br />
<br />
Well, it's time to get back to my passion and my obsession. Happy writing, people. Remember to do your homework when hiring that editor. Now, I think I'm going to head over to my personal blog and write a post there. Check it out. Every day is an adventure around here. Well, almost every day is. :D<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-31833229991358616942016-01-09T22:40:00.001-09:002016-02-23T14:10:50.183-09:00The Evolution of a BlogMy very first post was on September 15th, 2009 - That's six years of blogging - wow. I never would have imagined.<br />
<br />
Today I had reason to look back through my posts and I was really amazed by how it had evolved. At first, when I was so shy about writing online, the only thing I could think of to do with a blog was to post samplings of some of my writing. I could only do that for so long though before I started to repeat myself. Then, on the 19th of February, 2010, on the advice of others online saying I should be willing to give something away, I created a <a href="http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/2010/02/chapter-1-friends.html" target="_blank">blog nove</a>l. You'll have to be patient with the structure of a blog to read this book, but I tried to make it easy. There is a table of contents. Thanks to a donation through this blog, I was able to buy the shown cover and then on 5th of January, 2013, I published it through CreateSpace. That was almost the very first thing I did with Amazon, and it has become my preferred publishing platform.<br />
<br />
But I digress - I get ahead of myself.<br />
<br />
Not long after starting my blog novel, thanks to a very non-writerly rant on this blog, I came to realize that I might be able to use a personal blog as well. So, on the 14th of June, 2010, I created <a href="http://annaofalaska.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Anna of Alaska</a>, named after a book a friend of mine wanted me to write. I tried, but I just can't write about myself in book format, so this was something of a compromise.<br />
<br />
That makes three blogs to maintain. It might seem like a lot, but somehow I managed. The last chapter of the blog novel was posted on the 20th of April, 2012, which made it a little over three years old. Other than keeping side panels updated, there is nothing more to do there. I do have a wordpress blog, but I almost never post there.<br />
<br />
Over the years, this blog evolved to being my interpretation of writing techniques, usually in response to some book I read or something I saw online.<br />
<br />
Over the years, I too have evolved. I've gone from a non-stop writer, tucking book after book under my belt to a blogger and platform builder. I think I've done pretty good on that but my writing has greatly suffered. Now I edit more than I write, and I'm talking about editing my own books mostly, because I still have some to get out there, but I've also taken on some paid editing jobs, and most recently, a ghost writing job.<br />
<br />
At work over the last three years, with about +/-3 hours of free time during the afternoon, I took my computer to work so I could continue working on whatever I was working on, be it editing or writing. During the summer before this last summer, my boss kept worrying that I wasn't getting my job done. So, last summer, I decided not to take my computer to work at all. Instead, I took my kindle and was either on Facebook or reading. With an 11 hour day, I was in no shape to do anything by the end of the day.<br />
<br />
I ended up allowing the whole thing to get to me more than I thought it would, and I've been off my game ever since.<br />
<br />
My new year's resolution was to climb back in the saddle. I'm pretty sure I can hang onto the saddle horn because I also quit that job for a job across the river and much closer to an 8 hour day. Plus I get to dig back into the garden I'd spent 14 years developing. I missed that garden. But that's for some other post, probably on my personal blog.<br />
<br />
So, though distractions abound, and they always will, I'll buckle down and get on with my writing, in one form or another. Be patient with me. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </div>
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-71283483059592102482016-01-01T14:54:00.001-09:002016-01-01T14:55:50.997-09:00A Story ToldNew Year's resolution: No more letting discouragement and distraction
get in the way of my writing. That means I'll be trying to avoid FB until evenings - at least most of
the time.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </div>
<br />
Now on to the reason for this post:<br />
<br />
Last night I finished an awesome story. If I were to rate this book on the story concept and the telling of it alone, I would give it five stars and wish to give it more. HOWEVER, if I were to rate the writing, it would be one star with the added comment of 'amateurish'.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong. As far as I could tell there was nothing wrong with the writing itself. No typos jumped out and slapped me in the face. No careless sentence rearrangements. Not even any unclear sentences that maybe could have been put better. That kind of thing was all good.<br />
<br />
The problem is<br />
<br />
It was a story TOLD<br />
<br />
Let me start at the beginning. Like some movies, this book zoomed in from outer space in a way. It started with an explanation of the world. This world was a large island with five major cities - four coastal cities and the capital in the center. World economics would indicate that there were probably some outlying villages and farms but they were never mentioned.<br />
<br />
Closer in we are introduced to the people. There were three races and it was stipulated that though they freely intermarried, there was never a child from such a union. Adoption was never mentioned either. One of these races was human and no outstanding description was given of them so I'm left to assume they were your average white man. Another race was blue-skinned and they cast fire and ice (and other magics, which were only hinted at once) from their hands. They were also heavily inclined toward learning and logic, so they were the teachers and lawyers/judges of the society. I also learned at the end of the book that the king was from this race - of course. The last race were the fighters. They were taller and stronger than your average human, but other than being slightly darker, they were very nearly indistinguishable from humans. They also had near-superhuman endurance and durability. They were the peace-keepers and police of the society. Since nothing much was said about the humans, I guess they were the working class.<br />
<br />
Zoom in down to street level, we come across a couple seventeen-year-old boys. I think they both belonged to the warrior race. Both of them have dreamed and trained to join the city guard since they were first allowed to pick up their wooden practice swords. I have no idea how young that is.<br />
<br />
It took me a few pages to figure out if the story was going to be about both boys or primarily just one, and which one, but other than that they seemed to be very normal teenagers. One of them, our hero, Nick by name, fell for a pretty girl but was too shy to speak to her. The first time they spoke, the two boys had rescued her from being raped, and while the friend ran for the peace-keepers, Nick and the girl waited at the scene to be questioned. They didn't say much, and neither of them did anything but wait. Just sit and wait? Missed opportunity to pull some heartstrings here. She could have been shaking and in tears, and maybe Nick would find the courage to at least be a shoulder to cry on, but no. On with the story. Many things skimmed over. The next time they meet, Nick is brave enough to ask how she's doing and is totally thrilled when she gives him a peck on the cheek. There's a little more in there, but you don't need a blow by blow. The third time they meet was for their first date which isn't discussed other than to say it was great. Budding romance in place.<br />
<br />
This book is written in third person limited for 90% of it, so a step-away to Nick's father is out of place, and really quite odd. Nick's father is a sword-smith and he prides himself in making the best swords and knives he can. It is his calling and his life-long passion, though we never see him actually working. One day he goes to his shop which is filled with all manner of swords and knives - the best ones, the most expensive ones, are hanging on the wall behind the counter. What makes this day so special? A man come in shortly after opening and wants to buy a couple knives, "for hunting" he says. Apparently having customers this early in the morning is out of the ordinary, but he does sell knives, so he goes over to the table that holds all manner of knives, picks out a couple and offers them to the man. We are told that he is uneasy about this customer, but we don't know why. Premonition? Who knows? Maybe.<br />
<br />
Later that day Peace-keepers come in to verify that the knives were indeed bought there that morning. Why this information would be important to them I have no idea, unless this society subscribes to the notion that the weapon did the dirty deed, and therefore perhaps the maker might share some responsibility for the crime. This doesn't appear to be the case, but it is a means of telling Nick's father that his knives were used for murder. This information was too much for the man. He could handle that his knives and swords were used for self defense and for the protection of the innocent, but not murder. He's so broken up about it that he decides that he's going to close his shop and never make another blade. Now I'm going to assume that this family is at least upper middle class, but it's not discussed. Anyway, he decides he's going to take his son out to dinner and tell him the news (there is no mother; she died of some illness). What will he do next? No idea.<br />
<br />
They pick a table near the back of a busy tavern so they can have a little privacy for their discussion, so no one really sees what happens next. After Nick's father breaks the disturbing news, and before Nick can properly protest much, they are disturbed by a stranger who asks to verify who they are then, despite their protests he joins them at their table for a moment. This writer isn't comfortable with writing fight scenes so things get a little fuzzy here, but somehow the man goes from sitting somewhere at their table to standing behind Nick's father, slicing his throat, pulling him to land on the floor, and then pinning his brain to the floor with his sword. Nick is taken so much by surprise that he is unable to react until it's too late, but he then tackles the man and pulling a hidden knife from his boot maybe (not sure where he kept it, but did know that he had one) and proceeds to pour all his anger and frustration into killing this man. Now is the only time anyone notices anything out of the ordinary in the back of the inn - maybe, but I wouldn't think so, but that's the story so we move on. Peace-keepers are summoned, and because witnesses now deemed Nick uncomfortably dangerous, he's hauled off to jail to await his trial.<br />
<br />
Some effort is put in here in Nick trying to figure out his defense. Without witnesses, he has little chance of proving his innocence. The case starts off with Nick being responsible for both deaths because apparently no one knows that the one man was Nick's father. I mean, if he was such a fine sword maker, he should have been known, but I guess not. It ended up that because the sword fit the other man's scabbard, Nick wasn't responsible for that death, thus shortening his sentence by half. They couldn't see justice in the other killing though, even though Nick claimed fear for his life. Seventeen stab wounds was too much overkill for that, so it was a two-year sentence in the arena for Nick.<br />
<br />
Some discussion was devoted to the arena too. Murderers and rapists went to the arena for a fairly standard sentence of two years. Who knows how other criminals were punished; it was never mentioned. As we get to the arena, we learn that every fight is to the death; break this rule and both combatants are killed. Pretty much a sentence to the arena is a death sentence because very few actually make it the whole two years to be released back into society.<br />
<br />
Now the arena is another thing where the writer was seriously lacking. Even though all the details of running a business may never make it to the book, it should all be clear in the writer's head, but not in this book. All we have is a commissioner who is sloppy rich raking in winning from betting on the fights and from sales of food and drink, I guess - no idea. The arena could have been so much more. He could have allowed patrons to shower their chosen fighter with gifts of money, jewelry, and food. While prison food kept a fighter from starving (barely), gifts of food might have kept him in top form and thus winning more fights. The loser's accumulations of gifts could have been added to the commissioner's coffers or given to the winner. In the book, some prisoners could buy influence within the arena from whatever wealth they had outside, but someone outside had to be willing to handle such transactions, and prisoners are thoroughly cut off from the outside, so you see my problem. However with gifts flowing into the arena, bribes could abound and things could get interesting - but no - too complicated maybe.<br />
<br />
Fights within the arena are another thing skimmed over. Like I said before, I don't think this writer is very comfortable with fight scenes. Early on Nick found a mentor whom he fervently hoped he'd never be paired up against; only one of them could come off the sand alive. However, every fight on the sand could be a learning experience too. The first fight was pretty good. The second one was okay too, but it could have been better, I think. However, after it was discovered that Nick was a member of a supposedly extinct fourth race, his fights in the arena were hardly worth mentioning other than to say they were a piece of cake.<br />
<br />
More on this fourth race: They were a people that looked and fought a lot like the peace-keeper race, but they could also cast fireballs and ice (and presumably other things) like the blue-skinned race. Apparently some previous king had deemed them too dangerous and had ordered them wiped out. Hmmmmm Obviously at least two escaped that genocide.<br />
<br />
Back to managing the business of the arena for a moment. Since we know that every fight means one dead at the very least, managing the population is important. How often are these fights? They should be organized to happen on every Saturday for instance, though there is no mention that there is such a day of rest in this society. Having fight for only one day a week would give time for new blood to enter the arena at a steady trickle, but any new guys are seldom mentioned. I get no real idea of how many men and women are in this arena, but it feels like at least less than a hundred. We do learn that the arena in the capital holds a population of a thousand though so who knows. Lets say that each fight lasts an average of fifteen minutes to half an hour, and your average fight day stretches from say 11:00 to around 4:00 in the afternoon. If they allow half an hour for every fight, that's 10 fights with plenty of time between for the buying of food and drink. 10 fights means 10 less people <i>to</i> fight so to maintain a steady population, the commissioner has to hope for at least 10 new murders or rapes in the city per week. Eh, maybe, maybe not. When the population gets low, the writer should allow for the trading between arenas of prisoners upon occasion. Maybe in one of the other cities the population is too high and they can't house them. Any a sudden influx of new fighters could change up the game within the arena once in a while, just as lining up for something of a lottery to be chosen to go to another arena a possibility. These kinds of things need to be known by the writer so this kind of fullness of world can be added to the book.<br />
<br />
Back to the fights: Even though Nick now has the ability to fight with a sword as well as cast fireballs, doesn't seal the win on every fight. Just as he once won a fight against such magic, experienced fighters just might give him a run for his money. Each and every fight needs to be a learning experience as he hones his skills, but all this is skimmed over and Nick is the darling of the commissioner.<br />
<br />
Things take a turn when a new guy shows up as a prisoner, only we're told there's some significance to the man, but not what. Hmmm man of interest - why? Late one night, this man manipulates the locks on his own and Nick's cell doors and takes Nick to a storeroom to discuss a few things. He wants Nick to escape with him and join his team. This man also has a little information about why Nick's father was killed. Supposedly it was by order of the king, and he want's Nick to help him kill the king. Nick, however, can't bring himself to believe him, so he runs to the arena guards for help. Some die but the other guy gets away anyway.<br />
<br />
Story foreshortened, Nick manages to get a message to the king to warn him and the king sends men to retrieve him from the arena. He is taken the two day trip to the capital where he is bathed, shaved, and made presentable to the king, then he is asked to join in the king's defense after he proves he is the last member of this long lost race. Suddenly word comes that someone broke into the arena here at the capital and all the prisoners have been released. What does this king do? He sends all his strength to help corral the prisoners, even after he's been warned that someone is after his life. He even sends Nick, a man he doesn't know and at this point has no reason to trust. Yes, he's a good and staunchly loyal man, but that's beside the point. Plus, it appears as if he has no house guard. All he has are a few council members who are apparently the best of the very best in what they do, which he just sent away all but two. Apparently running a kingdom is another thing this writer needs to think on. Where are all the functionaries? The halls should have been crowded with the goings ons of royal business, but the palace was empty even of door guards with the exception of a couple here and there. <br />
<br />
Anyway, needless to say, one man of this team of five usurpers was enough to create mayhem at the arena while the other four captured, and in front of hundreds of people, killed the king. All in the name of freedom, or so he claims. Do I believe him? I'm not sure.<br />
<br />
There is a book 2 and I guess book 3 is in the works. However, though I'm tempted, because I do like this story. I don't think I'll be buying either of them. Too much telling for me. Just as I get into a moment, we're sloughed past it to the next point. Sigh<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-30417602691352563182015-07-27T19:49:00.000-08:002017-05-02T18:24:11.337-08:00What is a Website to You?Everyone knows what a website is. It is different things to different people, but mostly you are trying to sell something to someone. I try to sell my books from my website as well as my writing services. But really, what kind of information should you have on your website? That too depends on the purpose of you site.<br />
<br />
To put it simply, you website is your on-line face. It is a representation of you and your business. Every business is different, but your customers need to be able to go there and have any of their questions answered.<br />
<br />
There's no guarantee they will read the information offered, but it still needs to be there. If your customers call and asks a question, the answer needs to be on your website - especially if more than one customer happens to ask some version of the same question.<br />
<br />
I have a dream of one day running my own little lodge. It is only a dream, but I've devoted some time to the concept and I've created another weebly website for the idea. Though I've never advertised it in any way, it still gets a hit or two now and then. I copied some of the information from the lodge website where I used to work - things like pricing and such, but I wanted it to tell my wishful-thinking customer everything he or she might want to know. What will I offer - what you might be able to expect at certain times of the year - and most importantly, how much will whatever cost. There's also a list of recommended things to pack. I'm a realist; I'm no spring chicken so it's fairly certain that this dream will never come to fruition, but it's an exercise in pleasure. Every once in a while I'll stop in there and make sure it still says everything I think it should.<br />
<br />
Does your website represent you? Have you answered all your customers questions there? If not, you should, and the sooner the better.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-10278443999741041292015-05-23T18:18:00.000-08:002015-05-23T18:18:09.516-08:00Getting into the GrooveIt's hard to get into the groove. Lately all I seem to want to do is read. Of course editing is a perfect opportunity to do that, as long as I don't let my desire to read get in the way of the editing process. Lately, that's been kind of hard cause the stories really were very good.<br />
<br />
Getting back into my own story has been really hard lately. At this point I can't tell if it's just because I'm so far behind on it, or if I'm getting tired of it. Both issues are very frustrating; add to that the fact that I go back to work in a week, which is another delay, makes it kinda hard to pick up the groove. The last couple days has been the hardest of all. I don't seem to be in the mood for anything - not even Facebook. Aaaahhh<br />
<br />
Anyway - I think I'm due for a break. This blog will take a summer vacation, unless I rally by next week. Don't worry. Nothing holds me down for long. At best, I'll be back next week like usual. At worst, I'll be back by September. I certainly won't be off for long. I remember before I started blogging - I didn't have a clue what I'd write about. I've grown to love it, even if only a handful of people ever stop by. This, and my other blogs have all become something of a chronicle of my writing journey as well as my life. <br />
<br />
So - no worries. I'll be back. I have more books to publish.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-50653348345340260112015-05-16T08:42:00.000-08:002015-05-16T08:42:03.611-08:00Do you communicate with your readers?Do you communicate with your readers? Those who are other than Facebook friends that is?<br />
<br />
I remember when I was a kid, I'd read some book and there was an address in the back. As I recall, it was something like 'you can contact the author through the publisher'. Being impressed I guess, I fired off a letter. I don't even remember what I wrote - probably some kind of gushy fan thing. Anyway, I have no idea if the letter ever got through - I never got any kind of reply. For all I know, the publisher chucked it in the trash.<br />
<br />
When I first got internet out here, I put some thought into what kind of online presence I wanted. Since we got internet primarily so I could make a stab at marketing my own book, my goal was to promote myself as a writer/author. And since I fully believe in helping other writers like me, I went to great lengths to find and share important writing tips and tricks. I also vowed to be as communicative with my readers and fans as I possibly could. <br />
<br />
I have always believed that honesty really is the best policy, and I put a good deal of effort into trying to be diplomatic about it. I won't blurt out the truth, knowing it will hurt someone's feelings. However, I learned early on that telling a writer their work had mistakes, hurt some feelings. I also learned early on - it is big advice out there - that a writer needs to grow a thick skin for that very reason. Their baby just might not be the gem they envisioned it being - not yet anyway.<br />
<br />
Not long ago, I got an email from a writer, asking me to read and review their book. Early on, it sounded like the main characters were gradeschoolers, but I suspect someone told him that he would sell more books if the characters were older. So, pretty much the only change he made to the book was the age of his characters. He made a few more changes that were age-appropriate like one of the characters could drive. The biggest mistake he made with this story was not changing any of the behavior of his characters. Ten-year-olds just act different - like kids, and where twenty-year-olds might make some of the same decisions - a few might even act like they were still ten, but on the whole, they have outgrown the adolescent behavior. Not so with these characters. The story read like he'd made a quick alteration and then threw the book out there. Needless to say, I sent him an email saying as much long before I was even half way through - I mean, really, the book was very annoying, though really there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the story premise.<br />
<br />
Did I hear back from him? Not a peep. Were his feelings hurt? Probably. But it was better he hear this from me in an email rather than have me post what would have been a rather scathing review, not that I would have listed a bunch of details, but like I said, I believe in the truth - I would have said as much.<br />
<br />
Most recently, I contacted two different authors to inform them of mistakes I'd found in their kindle edition books. One was an entire scene repeat of two or three pages, as if the scene had been copied twice in a row. The other was a hyphenated word that happened to fall at the end of a page and the second half was just gone. I didn't know if the word was the end of the paragraph or not, and I wasn't sure what the whole word was - for this one, I went to Amazon and looked inside the sample available there. It was the last word of the paragraph too, and apparently it didn't occur in the paperback edition.<br />
<br />
Just so you know, if you ever spot a mistake in one of my books - LET ME KNOW. I want to go fix it as fast as at all possible. Frankly, I'm surprised no one ever contacted me about anything in my first book, though I did get one review that told me the writing was rather rough - Thanks for that. When I read back through it, I could only cringe - I'd learned a thing or two since publishing that book, mostly since we got internet here.<br />
<br />
Over the years, I've gotten a handful of emails concerning my books. So far, those notes have all been good, and to show that I am approachable, I replied to every one. I fully intend to continue in that vein. You will get an honest review from me, and if it's going to be a bad review, I'll let you know in an email, or if I can't do that, I won't post anything. I have no desire to hurt another writer's sales. I also generally don't review a book that already has hundreds of review. What's the point?<br />
<br />
What do you do? Do you talk to your readers? Do you hear from any?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6856051844866086501.post-33029233371278139372015-05-10T15:17:00.000-08:002015-05-10T15:17:32.347-08:00My Next BookSorry this is late - I found myself distracted by Facebook yesterday. It happens sometimes. When the TV is on, thinking kind of takes a hiatus and time slips away while my finger surf through my game on Facebook. Bad me, bad me.<br />
<br />
Anyway, this week I planned to tell you all about my next book. I won't even mess with it until next fall after I'm done with work. 12-hour day-7-day weeks tend to suck me pretty dry in no time at all.<br />
<br />
By popular vote (only 3), my next book will be Lord of the Land. You can read a detailed accounting <a href="http://www.annalwalls.com/lord-of-the-land" target="_blank">here</a>. Anyway, a trio of young men, more boys really, passing as soldiers, enter an inn to escape the weather and recover a little from some battle they'd endured a short time before. One of them can't go any farther, and there's a chance that he will never go any farther anywhere, but he's lucky. In the mean time, his two friends hurry on in an effort to warn the king, who is the father of one of them, of an impending coup. They don't make it.<br />
<br />
With father and son displayed over the gate, everyone is confident that the tyranny is over, only it isn't really. You see, the son displayed beside his father was the second son born to the king, but no one knew of the first born, he'd been sent away and his existence expunged by the queen. <br />
<br />
As the country crumbles under the factions squabbling with each other over the throne, our young prince seeks to earn his keep, but he can't stay at the inn forever. The old innkeeper won't let him. He sends for another old friend who takes the prince under his wing and tries to teach him how to be a knight and a prince, hoping that one day he will take his rightful place on the throne and put order to the chaos.<br />
<br />
However, their plan didn't work out quite like they planned. The prince fell in love and settled down to raise cattle and a family. He was quite happy, until his past came knocking on his door when he wasn't home. Not that his past knew whose door they knocked on, but the result was the same. After burying his family, he went after revenge, but the one man wasn't enough. An entire web of revenge surfaced and it needed tending to.<br />
<br />
Along the way, he learned a lot about his true roots and the tattoo on his chest. It's quite a journey. Along the way, he discovered a deep attachment to the land, one that superseded his efforts to rule his country and to raise another family, but there was no choice. The magic pulled - He was the first Lord of the Land in generations, and it wasn't just his country he was committed to look after. He was compelled to protect all of the land. That didn't stop him from returning home frequently, and as a result his bloodline was more than certain, and his legacy was too.<br />
<br />
~~~~~<br />
<br />
There are places in this book that always brings me to tears, no matter how many times I read it. I really tortured this poor guy, but he so blossomed. I'm curious what will happen under a rewrite. You'll know when it gets there. If you'd like to beta-read, let me know. I can send a copy now or later after the rewrite. I really do love the feedback, no matter what it is. Heck, you might even have a good idea for a cover.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I would like to interest you in my blog novel at http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/p/blurb.html
I think you would get a kick out of the true stories about my life in the wilderness of Alaska at http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com
And for information on my books, both published and upcoming, my website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com
I hope to see you there.
Anna</div>Anna L. Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00144458783329501190noreply@blogger.com2