Suspsension of Disbelief

In an old post I wrote on building a character, I covered the fact that there is a certain unbelievability built into plot and characters, imposed by the editors and publishers an author works with. Just because an author has met people who are that petty, that stupid...the author has seen that precise combination of unlikely events fall into place in real life does not mean the publisher or editor will find it believable.

A conglomerate author I know recently wrote a blog post about the book she has out this month. One of the earlier editors her agent sent the book to rejected it because (no kidding) "Amnesia isn't real. It's a fake thing authors add to their books to ramp up the suspense." (paraphrased from the original) The irony? The author herself suffered traumatic amnesia in which she lost a week of her life when she was a child. She has never regained those memories. The character's situation she wrote about was directly modeled on her own experiences. But the editor wouldn't consider it, because the editor's nit is a staunch belief that amnesia is not real. Or at least that amnesia as most authors without intimate knowledge of amnesia write it is not real and, therefore, it's not worth reading the whole book to see how it's been handled by an individual author.

Sadly, this editor is not alone. One particular editor recently stated on his blog that he doesn't think amnesia, autism, or Asperger's (which shows his ignorance, since that is a type of autism) are "real." In fact, he reinforced this, when he stated that Tourette's is "real," but he doesn't believe authors should use that in books either. While it's rather pathetic that these people have the power to enforce their lack of knowledge on an entire publishing line worth of readers, there's no way to stop publishers from hiring them, so you have to work within the boundaries or find a smarter editor elsewhere. I'd prefer to find a smarter editor, personally.

 

The problem isn't whether the author would consider it believable (unless the author is self-publishing and has no one playing gate keeper). The problem is whether the editor/publisher will consider it believable. When you've got editors turning down books because they don't believe things that are factual could happen in real life, you've got to invest in what "most" or "your average" person will think is believable. Beta readers are good for catching this type of thing, which I why (when I still used beta readers) mine were of a mixed bag of professions, places they lived, and even religions.

  

ALL editors/publishers (conglomerate or indie press) have their own set of "facts" and "figures" they trust are correct. I know I spend time correcting my editors when they think my facts are incorrect. Just keep a cool head while you're doing it. A sense of humor helps as well, since I've had to correct editors who believed things like...

* Women aren't allowed to have sex in the third trimester of pregnancy.

* The terms the Army uses for things are the same as the terms the Navy uses.

You can see how some of these could get amusing or frustrating, I'm sure.

Even if it gets published, the editors will be looking at these kinds of things, because readers will have the same nits. 

I've worked in offices in four states (none of them NY) and NEVER had flip-flops in the office. I don't question that another author that claims to have seen it has, but I do highly suggest that the author write in a ready-made line to explain it initially, to avoid problems down the line. Ironically, I have worked in offices where steel-toed work boots or steel-toed dress shoes were par for the course, because even the office staff had to walk through the production areas, but if I write it into the story, I'd make a point of explaining it. Unless you're going to write a line explaining that it's common in that area of the country or in that particular industry (maybe the character finds it odd as well, at first glance), be prepared for someone to question you on what kind of office allows or requires such atypical office dress. 

That doesn't mean the editor/publisher won't allow you to keep it in the story, but they may ask you to explain it in the text of the story. Having the line in there initially (realizing the need for such explanation) forestalls the chance that the publisher will reject the story outright without even asking you about it in editing. These sort of culture/knowledge-base clashes can be pervasive in trying to sign and put out a book with a publisher and in working with an editor. Things you know are true will be questioned and require explanation to make them "believable" to a more general audience.

You've heard the phrase "suspension of disbelief" before, I'm sure? That's not just talking about realism in writing science fiction/fantasy/paranormal/horror. It's talking about immersing the editor/publisher/reader so deeply in your story (even a contemporary story) they don't get thrown out of it by something they can't believe, even if it really exists. 

One of the reasons some of the sexual gymnastics authors write don't go over well is that the readers spend half the time trying to figure out if that's physically possible or even if someone could be tied in that position for more than five minutes without cramping so badly that nothing done after it would be comfortable. Maybe the author has done the position before, but if most people can't do it, they're going to question it. Not everyone out there is a contortionist, after all.

It's one of the down sides of writing. Even if you've met people that petty, that flexible, that stupid...seen exactly that unbelievable chain of events happen in real life...that doesn't mean the editor/publisher/reader is going to believe it could happen. I'm not saying to fixate on it. I'm saying to always keep in mind that other people don't have your particular life experiences and will try to broad brush THEIR life experiences onto what they read, so taking the time to immerse them is worth the thought.

NEW RELEASE DAY!

It's an excellent day. I have a new release out from Phaze! It's a new world for me too.

DREAM WALK (Sanctum Series #1)- 

From the age of five, all of Sanctum has known Jaden would marry the Mage Lord's eldest female heir, but Rachel has no interest in being Jaden's mate. In fact, she denies that she is Jaden's mate and insists that the Mage Prophet who foretold it was wrong.

As a Dream-Walker, Jaden can enter the dreams of anyone who asks for his help. The only dreams he can enter uninvited are those of his mate. But when he's drawn into his mate's dreams, he finds much more than he bargained for. His mate is in danger...and she isn't Rachel. He discovers that Lara is the Mage Lord's eldest female heir, an heir no one within Sanctum knew existed.

Now it's a race against time. A rogue wants Sanctum, and Lara is his way in, if he gets to her before Jaden can.

Excerpt-
“Have you recovered well from your nightmare, Rachel?” Jaden expected Rachel to concede defeat, however grudgingly. She was his mate, and his ability to walk her dreams without an invitation to do so proved it.

The look of venom she shot him announced the fight wasn’t over yet. Her words sank in slowly.

“I didn’t have a nightmare, Jaden. Lying about this won’t work. Call in a Truth-Sayer, if you wish. Or a Mind Healer. Either one can testify to the fact I am being truthful. You are not my mate.”

Jaden opened his mouth to protest the accusation that he was being underhanded, and she offered her palm in silent order to keep quiet.

“I don’t care what the Mage Prophet said, and I don’t care that you and my father believe her. She. Is. Wrong.” With that, Rachel rose smoothly and sauntered out of the room.

Jaden wanted to shake the truth from her. He wanted to growl and shout, to throw the crystal tableware against the wall, and maybe even to hit someone. Hard.

Reeve sighed. “You walked her dreams without an invitation to do so?”

“Yes, I did.”

Reeve shot a scowl after his daughter. “There really isn’t a question then.”

He offered Rachel’s father a weak smile. “Thank you for believing me.” If Reeve thought he’d lied, life would get complicated quickly. As Mage Lord, Reeve had the power to banish Jaden from Sanctum without even waiting for a trying by the Truth-Sayer.

“The Mage Prophet is never wrong, Jaden. Rachel is your mate. Sooner or later, she must accept that.”

A new idea occurred to him. “They’re not wrong, but they don’t always tell us the whole story. They offer puzzles and riddles as well as facts.”
Reeve leaned toward him. “What are you thinking?”

“What if...” He was being presumptuous, he was sure.

“Go on?” Reeve steepled his fingers and sat back in his chair.

Jaden took a drink of his coffee, composing himself. “What if Rachel hasn’t been ready to be my mate until now? What if my dream walk is the first indication that she might be becoming ready?”

Reeve’s brow furrowed. “In what way?”

“Perhaps her powers are evolving...changing somehow. Some young mages develop additional powers or expand them in their mid to late twenties.” That might be why neither of Reeve’s children—nor either of his granddaughters—had displayed the Lord’s power yet.

“The Mage Healers said Rachel’s powers had set. There is no fluctuation.” There was a note of finality in that, a warning that Reeve would not stand for further discussion on the matter.

“Not her powers then,” Jaden conceded. “A precipitating event, perhaps?”

Reeve tensed minutely. “Of what sort?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

There was a moment of tense silence. “I will seek answers from the Mage Prophet this Worship Day.”

Jaden tipped his head in thanks and took his leave. There was no possibility Rachel would choose to spend more time with him today.

****

“Come back here, you little bitch!”

Lara ran faster, her body aching, her lungs and heart working hard. Day and night, awake and asleep, she ran from him. How did Gart keep finding her?

On one level, Lara knew she was dreaming. She should be able to snap herself out of this or rewrite the dream, since it was lucid dreaming. 

Somehow, she had done so the night before, but she didn’t know how.

If I did, I would repeat it. Anything has to be better than running from Gart in my dreams, even lack of sleep.

On another level, Lara knew dreams weren’t safe. Gart could track her in dreams. He was tracking her in dreams.

And I have awakened with injuries he inflicts before.

“You’re mine, Lara. You know you’re mine.”

Oh, Mother. How could you do this to me?

In twenty-six years, her mother hadn’t mentioned a word about the betrothal. At the reading of her mother’s will, the magar had revealed the document her mother had signed on the day of Lara’s birth.

According to the magar, it was unbreakable. Lara was promised in marriage to a man nearly twice her age. She’d guess he was; in truth, Lara was basing that on Gart’s appearance. She knew nothing about him but his cruelty and his name, so all she could do was guess.

That and his legal claim on me. In essence, Gart owned Lara. She and everything that was hers—meager as that was—was his.

But not the opposite.

“I will find you. I will not be denied,” he warned.

Gart appeared before her as if by magic, his hand closing around her wrist and tightening.

Lara wrenched against his hold, desperate to escape him. She didn’t question what Gart was doing. They’d played this game for almost two weeks.

As if in confirmation, he chuckled darkly. “New York. You thought you could lose yourself in a crowd?”

Her breathing went strangled, and Lara shook her head. He’d tracked her again. She had to move.

Fast. Lara didn’t question where she’d go. She’d simply run. As far as the money will go, and then I’ll walk. Anything that kept Gart away from her was what she would have to do.

As if he could pick that thought from her mind, Gart’s face hardened. “Stay where you are, Lara. Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”

That unglued her tongue. “Difficult? I have crossed half the world to escape a madman intent on—”

He slapped her hard enough to send flashes of color through her field of vision. The copper tang of blood invaded her mouth.

Gart opened his mouth to say something, but a roar of rage eclipsed it. His hand loosened, and he turned away.

Lara didn’t waste time wondering what was happening. She was momentarily free. Her heart pounding in fear, she ran.

When I wake, I’ll have to run in the physical world. He’d touched her. He knew where she was.

****

His enemy recoiled, ducking Jaden’s blow.

A mocking smile curved the man’s lips. “A little Dream-Walker,” he taunted. “Did she call for help, Dream-Walker?”

“Clearly,” he lied. His energy is mage in nature. He’s not a part of Rachel’s dream; he’s an invader in it. He knows I’m a Dream-Walker. As long as he doesn’t know I’m Rachel’s mate, I have an advantage.

Jaden’s mind worked at this complication. He’d thought Rachel’s nightmare had been a natural dream. It wasn’t, which left him with the questions of who the mage was and how he found his way into Rachel’s dreams. For that matter, what sort of rogue terrorized another this way?

Rogue! That was the answer. Whoever he was and whatever his aim, he was no doubt a rogue out for revenge against Reeve, using Rachel to find it.

“You have no business here, Dream-Walker.” There was a threat couched in that.

“She asked for my aid. That is my business, by design of the Goddess Mother Herself.”

“How old are you, boy?” He sneered at Jaden. “Thirty...at most?”

“It is of no consequence, rogue.” It was, if the mage he faced was markedly older. If his powers have matured into a master mage’s abilities.
As if in answer, his opponent materialized a scythe. It wasn’t a young mage’s power. A mage would have to be twice Jaden’s twenty-nine years to do that.

At least.

A scythe. A scythe is a Tracker’s weapon. So, he’s a Tracker.

“Stay and die, Dream-Walker.”

The weapon arced toward Jaden, and he dodged too slowly. The slice across his bicep was excruciating, nearly painful enough to make Jaden lose his concentration.

That was unacceptable. If he lost concentration, Jaden would be catapulted out of Rachel’s dream realm, and that would leave her defenseless against the rogue.

The next two arcs missed entirely, but Jaden admitted to himself that he was outmatched. This was an old and accomplished mage who wasn’t adverse to the idea of killing him.

Jaden needed help. He needed—

Rachel!

He didn’t translocate to her within the dream realm, as he should have. Jaden sidestepped another blow, confused by his failure. This was Rachel’s dream. If she’d awakened, he would have been catapulted to his own dream world. A Tracker didn’t have the power to bind Jaden in the dream realm or to siphon his powers, no matter how accomplished he was.

Then why did I fail?

At a loss to explain it, Jaden pictured Rachel as he’d seen her moments ago. He reached his consciousness out into the construct of her dream, snagged her essence...

And translocated.

She hit him at a run, and they went down together in a tangle of limbs. A panicked little shout left her lips, and she raised her head to stare at him, her blue eyes going wide. Her face paled around the rising bruise the rogue had left.

“W-who are you?” she asked. “I know you. The beach...last night—”

A roar let Jaden know the Tracker was in motion and closing on them.

“Who is he, Rachel? Who is the Tracker?” And why haven’t you told your father about this?

She tried to push away from him, and Jaden held her close. They had no time for games. Didn’t she know that?

“Answer me, Rachel,” he demanded. “Who is he?” There was no question Jaden would need Reeve’s help, and knowing their shared enemy was essential.

“Let me go. He’s coming. Can’t you feel it?” Her eyes went wide and wild, and her struggling increased.

The Tracker barreled toward them from the dark recesses of her dreaming mind, and Jaden translocated them away. He cursed his inability to change her dream parameters with the Tracker fully engaged on his prey. If Jaden was older, he would be unparalleled in this realm. He would be able to evict the Tracker from her dream and even to wake Rachel from dreamtime to protect her.

“Who is he, Rachel? I must know, so I can stop him.”

She glared at him, an expression he knew well. “I’m. Not. Rachel.”

“What?” If she didn’t think she was Rachel, who did she think she was? And why would she not recognize herself in her own dream realm? Was it some trick?

If it was, how would the Tracker trick her dream self into the delusion? Short of him working with a rogue Illusionist, there was no way Jaden knew of to manage that.

She started struggling more earnestly. “Let me go!”

The Tracker reappeared, grumbling curses. Jaden translocated them again.

“He’s engaged now. He’ll find us faster every time I translocate us,” he warned her.

“Exactly. Let me go.” Rachel tried to push him off.

Jaden hoisted her up with him, wincing at the kick to his shin. “Stop that,” he growled. “Rachel, use your powers. When he shows up again, siphon his powers. Leave him helpless, and I can stop him.” At least for tonight.
“I can’t do that,” she snapped. “And, I’m not Rachel.”

The Tracker headed for them with a battle cry that warned he was going to kill Jaden at his first opportunity.

“What can you do?” Jaden countered, bracing himself for another jump. Surely, her delusion didn’t include her being powerless, trapped in a dream without her magic. Whatever she believed she could do was as real in here as her actual magic was in the physical world.

Rachel gaped at him for a moment. Her gaze snapped to the Tracker, and she wrenched her left hand from Jaden’s grasp. Before he could translocate them again, the outlay of her magic stunned him to stillness.

The Tracker flew the opposite direction with a grunt of pain. In the distance, something that sounded like glass crashed. The dream melted to a mist that told Jaden she was semiconscious. His hands were abruptly empty, as she took the first steps toward consciousness.

Realization was a moment behind. She’d woken herself by breaking something in the physical world with her magic.

The Lord’s power. Either Rachel was developing new powers, or this really wasn’t Rachel.

Perhaps not. He couldn’t state it definitively until he was certain. Perhaps Rachel had locked onto her father’s power in her befuddled state. It was a dream, after all, and she could use whatever she believed was real within the dream.

I have to get her out of here before the Tracker returns. The answers to all his questions could wait.

“Wake now,” he ordered her. “But call for me when you fear the Tracker is near. My name is Jaden.”

She whispered it back to him.

And woke.

Jaden levered his eyes open, trembling, bathed in sweat. He pushed from the bed, his arm complaining the still-weeping wound the Tracker had inflicted in her dream.

He was weak from the outlay of magic and in need of rest, but visions of Rachel covered in bruises haunted him. If the Tracker had marked her as well—which he didn’t doubt—he would have his proof.

And reason enough to kill the rogue.

Jaden scooped his boots from the floor and headed into the rising sun.

Release time!

On cloud nine today, because it's a big release week! I have two releases this week.

First up? TIME CURRENTS from Phaze (already available for download)... For those not familiar with this series, this is the second book in the Kielan series, an offshoot of the Kegin series, via the Council of Worlds. Over the next few Kegin books, you'll start seeing the Keen and Kielan interacting in books together. The first story in the Kielan series is THE LADY'S LOWBORN LOVER.

Blurb for TIME CURRENTS: 

Lord Sevryn is home for a visit with his intemperate mother and spoiled siblings. Between rants about lowborns, courtesy of his mother, Sev makes a wondrous discovery; one of the maids his mother hired in his absence is his Goddess-destined soulmate.  

Or is she? Bettina is his soulmate, to be sure, but otherwise she's not what she seems. Her reasons for avoiding Sev are complicated. Mates don't hide things from one another, and there is a lot Bettina is hiding. For one thing, she's not lowborn. Raised in the lap of luxury, she decided to run rather than embrace a power that threatens her mind and heart.

And the second? Releasing this evening at 8 pm EST from Silver Publishing...AND IT WAS GOOD. This is a new world for my readers. At the moment, she's a stand-alone, but my readers know I sometimes find more to say and end up with a series.

Blurb for AND IT WAS GOOD:
Raised in the temple by servants and trained daily in sacred technology, the godlings lead a fiercely competitive but pampered lifestyle. Those who are fast, precise, and aloof are worthy of the GODs' continued attention. Those who fail mysteriously disappear.

When an aging GOD-Node must be retired, everything changes. Thrust into close quarters with members of the opposite sex for the first time in their lives, Julee and Staphan's un-GODlike desires may set them up for failure.

Or maybe it will free them to reap rewards beyond their wildest dreams.
  

 

New Art!

I've got new art! Isn't she gorgeous? Reese Dante always seems to come up with the most fabulous artwork.

 

For those interested, AND IT WAS GOOD is up for presale at Silver Publishing. 

 

Don't forget to check out my other books at Silver while you're there. 

 

You'll find ALL'S FAIR... (book one in the It's All Greek to Me Series...available in ebook and audio book), UNEXPECTED DADDY (book one in the Unexpected Daddies series), and even some free reads!

 

For those who like my Angel-Wing Saga, there is a free read posted on Silver called "Clipped Wings." Be sure not to miss it!

UPDATE- Books out and coming out!

Out for sale now at Phaze... The Lady's Lowborn Lover (Kielan: Book 1)! For those familiar with the Kegin series, this is one of the two other series (Kielan and Wolkin) related to Kegin through the Council of Worlds.

Blurb:  Lady Riann Summer-Night's programs to help the lowborn find matches has brought Jaesin Park and his bond-brother Matty to a fine inn in Hanford.

Alia Autumn fears this meeting day will be her last; if she fails to find a mate or bond-sister in the morning, her high born family may decide she's unmatchable.

Being in a high-stress situation and close proximity are all these two need to find each other...or is it?

But that's not the only things I have coming out in the near future!

First up is the second book in the Kielan series, Time Currents (EPPIE award winner 2010), is releasing in January. The tentative date for it is Januaray 15th. Can't wait to get the cover art back to announce it! I've seen the draft for it, and it's beautiful.

Blurb: Lord Sevryn is home for a visit with his intemperate mother and spoiled siblings. Between rants about lowborns, courtesy of his mother, Sev makes a wondrous discovery; one of the maids his mother hired in his absence is his Goddess-destined soulmate.  

Or is she? Bettina is his soulmate, to be sure, but otherwise she's not what she seems. Her reasons for avoiding Sev are complicated. Mates don't hide things from one another, and there is a lot Bettina is hiding. For one thing, she's not lowborn. Raised in the lap of luxury, she decided to run rather than embrace a power that threatens her mind and heart.

After that, something new from me! And it Was Good will be releasing January 19th from Silver Publishing. This is a completely new world from me, and so far, it looks to be a stand-alone work.

Blurb: Raised in the temple by servants and trained daily in sacred technology, the godlings lead a fiercely competitive but pampered lifestyle. Those who are fast, precise, and aloof are worthy of the GODs' continued attention. Those who fail mysteriously disappear.

When an aging GOD-Node must be retired, everything changes. Thrust into close quarters with members of the opposite sex for the first time in their lives, Julee and Staphan's un-GODlike desires may set them up for failure.

Or maybe it will free them to reap rewards beyond their wildest dreams.

Stand by for more news in the weeks to come. I should be getting art for the two January books fairly soon!

 

Pros and Cons of ePublishing REPRINT from 2008

Pros for authors-
e-Books are a growth market.

Faster response time on submissions (on average) than NY conglomerates.

Usually allow electronic submission, which saves on paper, ink and postage. Some conglomerate lines have also adopted this.

Don't pigeon-hole authors into a couple of core subgenres.

Allow reprints, if there seems to still be an audience and viable life left in the project.

Allow authors to write untried markets that have a crossover with what the publishers already do.

Allow authors to write outside the box, outside the accepted "genre lines" in the NY conglomerates.

Allow authors to write in markets that are not giving the return NY demands of their markets and NY has therefore discontinued...but that still have an audience. When conglomerate says a genre or subgenre is "dead," it is not dead but is not making sufficient returns, as per their plans.

Allow authors to forge those new markets/subgenres, that are often picked up by NY later.

Encourages representative art and blurbs, not copycats, that authors have input on.

Gives individual attention to authors and encourages mentoring in learning to market, etc.

Contracts are written in plain English and easy to understand.

I don't think I've ever encountered an indie/e that said "agented submissions only," though there are indies that are "by invitation only."

On average, the contracts hold the author to a short period of time, allowing the author to move on from a bad situation or to larger markets, without the fuss of breaking a contract or paying buy-outs, though the buy-out feature in indie/e is also a plus.

The contracts are renewable, and the book can sell in perpetuity, making more sales, every time a new book releases from the author. Your books don't lose "shelf time" at the end of 6 or 8 weeks.

Choosing indie/e does not mean you're giving up print. Most established indie/e publishers now offer print for some (if not all) of their titles.

Royalties are paid more often...usually monthly, quarterly or semi-annually...the first two being more common.

Authors get a larger percentage of each book sold than they would in conglomerate press.

Your books sell worldwide (save where the internet is blocked) from day one.

There's no messy negotiations to get the e-books overseas, though you may negotiate foreign language sales in indie.

In some cases, your print books also sell overseas immediately. Some printers have bases of operation or connections overseas to allow this.

A few indies have started translating their titles automatically for foreign markets.

Cons for authors-
At this time, it's a much smaller market than mass market enjoys. That is changing as we speak.

Though some authors in indie/e make as much or more than a NY midlist author, most do not. However, keeping the book on sale indefinitely allows you to continue making money.

There is no advance at most indie/e publishers, but with monthly royalty payments, it's not really necessary, like it is in NY.

There are some people who will not consider your indie/e publishing credits valid credits, but more and more, they aren't the people who decide if you sign a contract.

Even with the crop of reading devices, we are missing a durable, low-cost device that will read a wide variety of formats (or a universal format that everything can read)...maybe with eInk technology. It's coming, though.

If your indie uses POD technology, the publisher has more hoops to jump through to get books into the brick and mortar bookstores than the NY conglomerates do.

Likewise, it may be more difficult to get a signing in a chain book store, but not impossible.

Pros for readers-
Backup... With off-site storage, on a server or bookshelf on a reseller site like Fictionwise, you don't even lose your e-books in the case of fire, flood or other natural disaster.

You can purchase backlist titles in e-book that are OOP (out of print) in NY mass market/hard bound for $6 or $7, compared to $80 or more for a popular OOP print title.

You can purchase books, from the comfort of your own home, any time, day or night. You don't have to drive to the store or wait for delivery. You download titles instantly.

You can read any books you want in public, without comments about your choice of reading material, since only you see the cover art. The rest of the world sees a PDA or other reading device.

PDAs and e-ink screens are actually better for your eyes than a computer screen or a paper book. Ophthalmologists SUGGEST these readers for their vision-impaired patients. CAVEAT: Reading a backlit device in a completely darkened room is bad for your eyes. Backlit in low light is fine.

You can often increase font of e-books to a comfortable level. You can't do that with a paper book. If it's not large type, it's not.

Many programs, like ReadPlease and Adobe Reader, can turn your e-books into audio books, meaning that (simply by using a computer or other similarly-equipped electronic device), people who enjoy or require e-books can have a wider range of "reading" choices.

No allergens! For people who are allergic to dust/book dust, this is a wonder. Also, less dusting. Silly but true and a concern for some readers.

There is a wide array of devices you can read e-books on: desktop computers, laptop/notebook, PDAs or Pocket PCs, tablet PCs, Smart Phones, and dedicated readers. In fact, you may already own these devices and not realize you can read e-books on them.

Though we admittedly need an affordable, durable reader, we're nearly there. Even if you don't already own the hardware to read e-books, you can get durable readers for between $99 and $300.

e-Books are perfect for the business traveler or ex-pat worker...or foreign readers searching for English-language books. Unless the internet is blocked where you are, you can purchase and download English-language e-books, instead of looking for somewhere that sells English paper books. You can burn them to CD (as long as they aren't DRMd) to make more room on your hard drive, if necessary, and carry home hundreds of new books with you, rather than shipping books home or losing that investment.

Some readers, like eBookwise and Kindle, do not have to synch to a computer to download books. Others can be synched to a laptop, and many business travelers carry laptops.

Most handheld-sized readers/PDA/Pocket PC/Smart Phones automatically power down, if you fall asleep with them on... and bookmark your place for you.

Some e-readers will allow you to read either portrait or landscape view. In portrait, it's like reading from a sheet of paper. In landscape, it feels to the hands more like reading a book (especially on a large reader.

The search features allow you to find the information you need quickly and without much fuss, as long as you can remember key words of the phrase you need.

Cons for readers-
Some people find even PDA screens hard on the eyes.

Some people prefer the feel of a book... and the smell of one.

Print books never run out of battery time in the middle of a book.

You rarely have to worry about someone stealing a print book.

Most of the other "cons" aren't really cons.

People will say you can't read a PDA at the pool or in the tub. Well, of course you can. You simply have to utilize a few cents of Ziploc bag to do it safely.

People will complain that their teens are not permitted to take them to school. Of course, they are. My oldest takes her reader to school. They can't take a do-it-all into the classroom at some schools, but eBookwise is a simple reader. It does nothing BUT read books, so they're allowed, even at schools that do not allow other tech in the classroom.

Five Things Your Formatter Will Love You For!

In editing, many things can go askew that will cause difficulties for the person who formats and converts your book. Some of them should ideally be double checked in the last pass an author and editor make and/or passed along to the formatter, so he/she can plan for the appropriate coding to make it convert well. What sorts of things will the formatter love you for checking or letting him/her know about?

1. Use the standard page breaks instead of slapping in extra spaces or any old page break from the list. Chapter breaks should be a simple "page break", and section breaks should be "section break [next page]". Anything else has to be changed out or it will cause conversion errors.

2. Make sure your scene break is standardized to the publisher norm. Most ask for **** or * * * * with or without a blank line before and after, but check what they want. Of everything that could be wrong in a mss, this is one of the hardest to fix simply. Extra spaces, extra returns, tabs, manual line breaks, etc. are all easy fixes to make. This one? Not so much, since it has to be searched by hand and corrected by hand, in many cases.

3. Do a final search to check your chapter headers. Make sure the numbers are sequential. If you have a missing number or doubled number, renumber them before it goes to the final edit pass. If there is some reason they are meant to be non-sequential (comedy books or something similar), leave a comment in the book file about it FOR the formatter, so he/she doesn't try to correct it.

4. Do not put any of your chapter headers in all caps unless the publisher house style is to do so. Even if it looks like the prior book in your series has the headers in all caps, chances are it really isn't so. Some fonts will appear all in caps, even if some letters are lower case. In a PDF, it won't matter at all that you've put all caps on your chapter headers, but in the ePub, Mobi and other formats which have an internal TOC (table of contents), the switch in and out of all caps will be glaring and unpalatable, which means the formatter has to retype all your chapter headers.

5. Avoid using special fonts and characters without checking with the formatter first. Some font work  and special graphics must be set by hand by the formatter in creation of the ePub version and subsequent conversions of the book. It's always best to let the formatter know ahead of time if you will need this type of intervention, so he/she can plan extra time into the schedule to give your book the best possible presentation.  Remember, not everything that appears in the DOC or PDF will translate well through the conversions.

FREE BOOKS!

From June 23rd through June 27th, the two books of my Prophecy serial will be free on Amazon Kindle. For those that have a Kindle handheld and Amazon Prime, the books can be borrowed every day for free, but for these five days, anyone and everyone can purchase them for free. If you don't own a Kindle unit, you can read them books via the Kindle for PC, Kindle for Mac, and many other Kindle apps. Happy reading!

http://www.amazon.com/Prophecy-Revelations-Serial-ebook/dp/B004X8E6O6/

http://www.amazon.com/Prophecy-Rapture-Serial-ebook/dp/B00502AZ2Q/

FREE ebooks today and tomorrow!

NOW through the end of the 10th... The two books of the Prophecy serial (Prophecy: Revelations and Prophecy Rapture) are FREE on Amazon Kindle ebooks. If you don't own a Kindle, you can read them on the Kindle desktop program or a Kindle app on another reader. This was my first ever book (from 2001) and is paranormal action romance. Hope everyone enjoys my Easter gift to you!

http://www.amazon.com/Prophecy-Revelations-Serial-ebook/dp/B004X8E6O6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1333892820&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Prophecy-Rapture-Serial-ebook/dp/B00502AZ2Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1333892820&sr=1-2

Where does freedom end?

Yep, I'm breaking out the red ink for this one, which means someone has hacked me off royally.

Years ago, I met a new writer online named Judy Mays. Judy is, by far, one of the sweetest-natured writers I have ever crossed paths with...and talented to boot. She's a credit to the market, and her fans love her, with good reason.

This week, a group of parents in her small town have formed what amounts to a closed-minded and bigoted mob against her, demanding she be fired from her day job or give up her writing forever. Why? Though Judy has kept her writing life and private life separate for at least the last seven or eight years that I know of, some busybody came across the information that Judy writes erotic romance and went off half cocked, demanding she be fired...as a high school English teacher.

Now, mind you, Judy has never brought her writing into the classroom. She's never brought her pen name into the classroom. Some of her former students said they knew what she did, and it never bothered them that she wrote erom. So, what's the problem? Nothing but a bunch of bigoted, self-righteous fools that are trying to tarnish the good name of a great author and teacher and have outed her pen name, in the process.

I'll diverge here long enough to say that there is no inherent expectation of privacy on the internet. Unless you never use pictures of yourself, chances are, someone will find out what you do eventually, but the way it has been used against her is beyond the pale, and these parents and "news outlets" should be ashamed of themselves.

Nothing in her teaching contract says Judy can't write in her free time. Nor does it say what she's allowed to write. Considering the pittance teachers are paid, how they make ends meet is none of the school district's business. Not to mention that schools aren't paying teachers for their free time, and as such, they have no right to dictate that to teachers, as long as the teachers keep it separate, as Judy did. The parents brought it into the schools, not her, so she shouldn't be penalized for their stupidity.

And having a published author as a teacher means a stronger English teacher for the kids. Try going through edits a few dozen times and tell me it doesn't hone your understanding of the language.

Worse, her local news station seems to have taken the side of the mob. Not surprising, since controversy sells, but appalling. And while they are not approving all the comments in support of Judy (case in point...my own comment has not been approved, mild in comparison to some of the others posted though it is), a Facebook site started in support of Judy yesterday already has almost 4100 fans and hundreds of comments.

Show your support. I would love to get Judy over 10,000 supporters by the end of the day. It's certainly possible, so let's try it.