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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here.CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

Last week was a wash, but this week has been better. Celebrations this time around —

  1. We replaced our aging, rusting-out, mechanically-challenged minivan with a new (to us) vehicle. It’s nice to have a reliable mode of transportation again.
  2. I’m actually getting my blog posts out on time this week.
  3. We got our school supply shopping done. Not that my kids were very happy about that one. 🙂

What other celebrations are going on out there?

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Maps

I love maps. Whenever I pick up a new fantasy novel to read, the first thing I do is look to see if there’s a map of the fictional world I’m about to enter. Maps of these imaginary worlds are so much fun to study — the rise and flow of the landforms and bodies of water, the boundaries of the kingdoms, and the placement of cities and towns. And the names — that’s what I enjoy the most, reading all the names and getting a feel for how they sound and what kind of images those sounds evoke in my mind. It doesn’t matter if they’re everyday words or if they’re exotic or fantastical. Any name can spark my imagination.

Drawing maps is even more fun. Before I started writing my first novel, I had already drawn maps of the world my characters inhabited, and rough sketches of some of the important places. From these beginnings, my stories build, my characters living day to day in a paper land that’s so real in my mind’s eye. I’ve always found it easier to have that visual when trying to figure out the timing and spatial aspects of a story, like how long it would take this person to travel here versus this group traveling there, and questions of that sort. It makes everything seem more concrete to me. I refer to my maps all the time when I’m writing, just as I regularly flip back to the maps I find in fantasy novels, to better follow the characters’ progressions through the story.

I’ve been putting the finishing touches on the map that goes with my soon-to-be-published book. I tweaked a few of the names of the towns and kingdoms to make them more unique, and changed a couple of them entirely when I discovered the names had already been used on other maps in other books, or had previous proprietary claims (such as the kingdom name I “created” which turned out to be the same as a trademarked drug belonging to a pharmaceutical company). When I first drew this map back in the mid-1980s, I never thought about whether anyone else had used the names before. Now, I do Internet searches on every name, for both places and people, to try to avoid inadvertent conflicts. But since I’ll never be able to read every book ever published or every map or character name from every online gaming world out there, I know it’s impossible to avoid all duplication. I try, though, unless it’s a common name or household word, in which case it’s not as important.

I can’t wait until the day I see my map spread out in the front pages of my own book. Soon.

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Wonderful Team Member Readership Award!

After a stressful week of car problems and being under the weather, I received a delightful pick-me-up from amazing blogger Sue Archer from Doorway Between Worlds. She nominated me for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award! Thanks very much, Sue! I’m honored to be included.ReadershipAward_08092014

The Readership Award salutes bloggers who regularly visit and leave thoughtful comments on other blogs in support of the blogosphere community. I particularly appreciate this award right now as I’ve been lamenting not being able to do much reading or blogging lately because of time constraints and the general craziness that so often crops up in life. I very much enjoy my interactions with people in the comments of so many blogs. For me, it’s the best part of blogging, and it’s great to know that my commenting makes a difference to others. I know it makes my day when people comment on my posts. I’d like to give a huge “thank you!” shout out to everyone who has visited, commented on, or liked my blog. I really appreciate it!

One of the rules for accepting this award is to finish the sentence: A great reader is… To me, a great reader is one who reads everything enthusiastically and with a positive attitude, one who takes the time to mull over what s/he read and leave a meaningful and supportive comment that encourages the writer to keep going. A great reader is an integral part of the community that makes the blogging world go round.

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I would like to nominate for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award the following great readers who have made my blogging life so much fun:

Caffe Maggieato, who I met first through the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and then through Celebrate the Small Things Friday blog hop, regularly stops by with good cheer and encouragement. I find Maggie’s blog title inspirational — Just Get It Written. Thank you for all the support you give to me and to all writers!

Loni Townsend over at Squirrel Talk, another IWSG member, has given me some great suggestions and advice, along with useful links that broadened my knowledge of fonts. Thanks so much for sharing!

Heather McCubbin, who I’ve enjoyed conversing with over our writing processes, is also an IWSG member. She is an aspiring writer, like me, and writes about her journey on her blog, Pushing the Pen. Thanks for the support and encouragement!

Mishka Jenkins, who blogs at A Writer’s Life for Me, is another writer who stops by quite often like a friendly neighbor. Her comments are like a warm smile and a wave from a comrade. I appreciate your taking the time to visit!

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Here are the original rules if you wish to accept this award. You can follow them as they are, or follow them in your own way. 🙂

  1. The Nominee of the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award shall display the logo on his/her post/page and/or sidebar.
  2. The Nominee shall nominate 14 readers they appreciate over a period of 7 days (1 week) – this can be done at any rate during the week. It can be ALL on one day or a few on one day and a few on another day, etc.
  3. The Nominee shall name his or her Wonderful Team Member Readership Award nominees on a post or on posts during the 7 day (1 week) period.
  4. The Nominee shall make these rules, or amended rules keeping to the spirit of the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award, known to each reader s/he nominates.
  5. The Nominee must finish this sentence and post: “A great reader is…”

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Thanks again, Sue, for nominating me for this award!

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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I can’t believe it’s Friday again already. Even when we’re not running hither and yon, the time still flies. This week, I’d like to celebrate some big things —

  1. My son’s 13th birthday!
  2. I finally set up YouTube accounts for myself and for my imprint, Book and Sword Publishing! Hopefully, at some point, I’ll have book trailers to upload.
  3. More good times with friends at my son’s party coming up this weekend.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

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Celebrate the Small Things

Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

Another busy week has flown by. Where does the time go? I’d like to celebrate —

  1. Finally managing to carve out some writing time by getting up earlier.
  2. Fun times with good friends!
  3. Swimming at Sand Bar beach on Lake Champlain.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

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Celebrate the Small Things

Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I’m late to the party for this week, but I’d like to celebrate a few things —

  1. Bought my very own block of ISBN numbers!
  2. Had a great time at our good friend’s birthday pool party last weekend!
  3. Got my lawn mower fixed so I can go mow my hayfield… er… lawn. 🙂

What other celebrations are going on out there?

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ISBNs!

I’m so excited! I am now the happy owner of a block of ISBN numbers! I know it sounds kind of silly to get excited over a bunch of numbers, but these aren’t just any numbers. These numbers bring me one step closer to my dream of being a published author. I can look at the row of digits and picture them on the back of my soon-to-be book cover — the cover that will wrap around my creation and hopefully entice potential buyers to take a look. The ISBN that I assign to my book will be registered in the Library of Congress and will appear in book listings worldwide. Whoa! Deep breath…

I purchased the ISBNs from Bowker Identifier Services at www.myidentifiers.com/isbn/main. In the process, I discovered that Bowker also has a Web site at www.selfpublishedauthor.com with information for those embarking on the self-publishing path. I haven’t gone through much of it yet, but on first glance, it looks like it will be a useful resource. On the bottom right side of the home page, I found a list of a dozen links to more great resources for writers: The Book Designer, Writer Beware: The Blog, Writer’s Digest Blog, and the Independent Book Publishers Association, to name a few. Well worth checking out. I know I’ll be back soon to read more.

But for now, I’m going to go look at my ISBN numbers again and smile for the rest of the day. 🙂

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Celebrate the Small Things

Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

This week I’m celebrating family, friends, and flowers!

  1. Had a wonderful time with my brother and his family, up visiting from PA this past week.
  2. Looking forward to a good friend’s birthday pool party tomorrow!
  3. My small flower gardens are flourishing in the beautiful summer weather we’ve been having.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

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Celebrate the Small Things

Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here.CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

This week I’m celebrating a very LARGE thing — America’s Independence Day! Happy Fourth of July!

  1. We got to watch our town’s parade without getting rained on.
  2. It looks like the weather will clear up enough for us to enjoy the local fireworks tonight with good friends.
  3. Looking forward to spending time next week with my brother and his family, up visiting from PA.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

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IWSG / Font-tastic Dilemma

Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here.

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Click here to see this post with the various fonts.

Click to see this post with the various fonts.

I’ve been playing with various fonts, trying to decide which one to use for my book cover title. But it seems like there are a zillion fonts out there. How on earth does one choose?

My novel is romantic fantasy adventure. The romance element inspires thoughts of flowery and curvy script like Vivaldi from my computer’s font files or like this free file I found online called A Yummy Apology. Fantasy should be more exotic like Endor or Half-elven or Immortal, while the adventure element needs something strong and bold — Bodoni MT Black, Stencil, and Impact are all possibilities.

Swordplay is essential to the plot as well, which draws me toward a serif font that is clean and sharp like a blade. I really like Castellar and Imprint MT Shadow because of the added depth of the lettering. There is so much more to the main character than even she knows and in my mind, the shadowed depth of the letters symbolizes this.

So many choices. And once I figure out the title font, I need to decide if I’m going to use the same font for both title and author or choose another for the author.

Lori L. MacLaughlin (Cardinal), Lori L. MacLaughlin (Slender Gold), Lori L. MacLaughlin (Celtic) …

Which will it be? Sigh …