An unexpected compliment…

My son paid me a wonderful compliment the other evening. He recently finished reading my book. Now Jeremy is a good reader (he’s in seventh grade and reads at the level of a senior in high school), but he doesn’t enjoy reading. The only books he’s read of his own volition have been the Harry Potter series, the Charlie Bone series, and the two Eragon books. After finishing my story, however, he told me he really enjoyed it. And his birthday isn’t for months! LOL

 But the truly wonderful thing he told me was that my book is the first one he’s read that he can’t wait to read again. Not just because of the compliment to my writing, but because he enjoyed a book — any book! — that much. I was absolutely thrilled! I myself have been an avid (my husband would say voracious) reader since I was five years old. It has saddened me that Jeremy could not find the same enjoyment and relaxation that I always have in the written word. Even the Harry Potter books, as much as he enjoys them, have not inspired him to explore other writers. I only hope that my writing will open that door for him.

Book reviews…

What an incredible week! I have received two reviews of my book, The Dumari Chronicles: Year One, in the past few days. And I am very happy to say that both of them are quite positive!

“Exceptionally well written, ‘The Dumari Chronicles’ stands out in the field of action/adventure fantasy because the characters, the language, and the settings are thoroughly American…[It] is highly entertaining…” – The Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/jan_08.htm#margaret

and…

“[The Dumari Chronicles] may be just what bereaved Harry Potter fans need…this book is, in many ways, the total opposite of the Harry Potter series…[It] is full of refreshing contrasts to the Harry Potter formula…the climactic wrap-up leaves one with interesting, unaswered questions that may entice you into Year Two…” – The Book Trolley http://www.mugglenet.com/booktrolley/browna-dumari.shtml

This is exactly the feedback I’ve been needing. Granted, it is a wonderful feeling when your family and friends praise your work, but as much as you enjoy that, there’s this little voice in the back of your head saying, “This is my mother/husband/best friend. They’re not exactly going to tell me it’s lousy and risk hurting my feelings.” But to have someone totally objective, someone you’ve never even met, a professional, give you their honest opinion, is priceless. Of course, the fact that they both had good things to say certainly doesn’t hurt! LOL

Now, back to Year Two…

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Brody spun around and froze.

“Holy…!!” he gasped as his insides turned to liquid at the sight. The winds from the squall were spinning around so fast, they’d churned the water up into a water plume — a tornado made of both wind and water. He’d seen this phenomenon before, but never one so large. It was nearly as long as the sailboat from bow to stern, and easily as wide. And it was nearly on top of them already. “EVERYBODY!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. “GRAB SOMETHING AND HOLD ON!” – The Dumari Chronicles: Year One

A glimmer of hope…

I found out recently that I have something rather important in common with my favorite author.

Jane Austen wrote the first draft of Sense & Sensibility (originally titled Elinor and Marianne) some time prior to 1796. She was finally able to get it published in 1811, on commission — which means that she (or in this particular case, her brother, Henry) had to pay the publisher for his printing and distribution costs up front before he would consider taking on the project — the 18th century version of self-publishing. Apparently, the publisher had his doubts that the book would sell.  Needless to say, they recouped their investment…with interest!

It seems amazing to us today that there was ever any doubt that Jane Austen’s works were anything less than brilliant. But many other writers have encountered similar reluctance on the part of traditional publishers. There are many aspiring authors in the world today who are unable to find anyone in the publishing world to even so much as look at their work — myself included. Fortunately, we now have the internet available to us. Although, granted, internet publishing is still an imperfect world, it does provide writers with many options that were not available even as recently as the past decade. And it gives the author much more control over the finished product. In other words, it’s better than nothing!

Please don’t misunderstand me…I am not in any way comparing my writing to that of Jane Austen’s. After all, the woman was a genius. And although I like to think that my novel does have some merit, I would never presume to rank it with one of the greatest classics of all time. But it is encouraging to discover that a novelist as timeless and enduring as Ms. Austen had similar difficulties in getting her books published as many of us today have encountered.  I suppose there’s hope for mine yet…

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“The ocean never ceases to fascinate me. blue and warm one minute, cold and gray the next. Always a surprise.” Renatta broke the stillness.

“I like to think it understands me, my moods,” Moira commented softly. “And it never makes any demands. It’s just there, always. I love it.” She shot a sideways glance at her mother, a look of surprise on her face, as if she couldn’t quite believe she’d admitted something so private.

The Dumari Chronicles: Year One — Anne Patrice Brown

Sorry it took me so long…

A little while ago, Suzanne requested an excerpt from my book, The Dumari Chronicles: Year One. I must apologize, Suzanne, for not getting around to this sooner. But between preparing for Christmas, and fighting this stupid cold (which I am still not rid of completely), it simply slipped my mind. Well, you know what they say: better late than later still — or something like that…

THE DUMARI CHRONICLES: YEAR ONE

from Chapter Five: Mrs. Lewis’ Surprise

“I wonder….” Brody said, wiping the water off of his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked up at the skylights placed high in the ceiling of their prison.“What ya gonna do, Superman?” Moira laughed at him. “Leap right out of one of them?”He stood up. “Maybe.” There was a determined glint in his eyes as he stepped over to stand directly beneath one of the windows. He turned his head this way and that, peering through the wooden rafters at the dirty glass.

“And how do you figure on reaching it, genius?” Moira continued to sneer.

“Yeah, how?” Even Braidy sounded sceptical.

“ARE WE MAGICALS OR NOT?!” he spun around to face them. “There’s gotta be a way to reach that window! We’ve just gotta figure it out!”

“You’ve gotta figure it out!” Moira stated. “I don’t do magic, remember?”

“Then you can stay here by yourself,” Braidy spat at her, standing, “I’m going to try to help Brody!”

The twins stood below the skylight, their gazes fixed on the patch of sky above them. Brody muttered under his breath.

“We can’t bring it down to us,” Moira heard him say softly, “so we’ve got to get up to it somehow.” Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a bottle of styling gel, squirted a little into the palm of her hand, and ran it over the top of her head, making the spikes stand up stiffer than before.

“Why don’t you just fly up there?” she jeered as she wiped her hands on her shorts. To her surprise, Brody’s eyes suddenly lit up at her comment.

“That’s it!” Brody exclaimed.

So there you go…hope it peaks your interest

Computers…can’t live with ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em…

My friend Dee and I are currently having an IM chat about her computer…and why it won’t let her watch LotR on it. Tonight, that is. She’s watched it on there before, but for some reason, this evening it will only allow her to see the pictures. That’s right, no sound. Now, I’m as fond of watching hobbits walking left to right as the next person, but after the first twenty minutes or so, I like to hear what they’re saying, as well. So I can certainly feel her pain…

Needless to say, at the moment, she’s about ready to throw the stupid thing out of the window (don’t worry, she needs a new window, so it would be no great loss). I, of course, love my computer — my laptop, which my wonderful husband bought for me earlier this year. Actually, I love it when it does what I want it to do — I hate it when it doesn’t. Rather like my husband, come to think of it…

I remember, back in the old days (when we actually had to walk across the room to change the channel on the TV), we were all told, by the powers that be, that technology would simplify our lives immensely. Machines and computers would do the work for us, we’d have much more leisure time, and we’d all live happily ever after. Oh, and we’d save loads of trees because everything would be electronic — no more paper. Yeah, right! Instead, we carry our work with us everywhere we go now — at home, in our cars, on our belt loops. And there are more different types of printers out there than there are computers to attach them to! Americans take less and less vacation time every year — and even when we do vacation, we take our laptops and our cellphones and our PDA’s right along with us.

I suppose the Age of Technology has made us more productive. It has certainly added to my life. Without computers, I might never have become a writer (I hate to hand write anything — I have lousy handwriting and my hand cramps up too quickly). But I do rather miss those rainy days when I would curl up in a big chair with a good book. Of course, I still indulge myself whenever a new Harry Potter book comes out. Think there’s any chance JK Rowling would write an eighth one? I could use a day off!

Take two aspirin and call me in the morning…

After spending nearly two weeks coughing, sniffling and wheezing — and hearing everyone’s favorite remedies — I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as the “common cold”.

Some people get head colds — their nasal passages stop up, they sneeze a lot, their nose runs. For others, it settles in the chest — coughing, wheezing, sore throat. Sometimes these symptoms are accompanied by a fever, sometimes not. The only universal appears to be that dragging, rundown feeling — like your cell phone is on its last power bar and you left the charger in your other purse.

As varied as the symptoms are, the pet remedies are even more so. Hot tea with honey, chicken soup, every over-the-counter remedy ever invented, antibiotics (which do no good whatsoever — antibiotics only work on bacterial infections. Colds are caused by a virus, not bacteria). My personal favorite is one of my father’s old standby’s — a shot of Southern Comfort and a tablespoon of honey. It soothes the throat, cuts the phlegm, and tastes really good! And even if it doesn’t help your symptoms, you don’t really care anymore! LOL

Americans spend millions — perhaps even billions — on cold care each year. But there truly is no cure for the common cold. Granted, you can treat the symptoms — make them slightly (emphasis on slightly) more bearable — but a cold has a mind of its own. And all you can do is wait it out. Which is what I am still doing…

So, in conclusion, this is my apology for having neglected this blog for so long. Hopefully, I’ll be back much sooner the next time!

Words cannot express…

Here’s that other little problem — now that I’ve gotten this thing up and running, what do I write about?! LOL

 I’ve been working on the second book in my series. This one has been rather tough for me. But I expected it to be. Out of the five novels I have planned, I had the fewest details worked out ahead of time for The Dumari Chronicles: Year Two. I confess that I absolutely hate outlining. I didn’t even write an outline for Year One until after I had finished it — and then, I did it only because it was required for the submissions process. But after writing a chapter or two of the second book, I found it really helped to get something down on paper about where I was headed.

 I do, of course, already have a general synopsis of the entire story — all five parts. But outlining goes into a great deal more detail. Having an outline this time has really given me focus. And it also helps to be able to see how far I’ve gone, and how much more I have to do. The day I reached the midway point, I felt a wonderful sense of relief. And since then, the writing has been going much faster and smoother. Rather like being on the downhill slope.

I really have amazed myself with this new career I’ve begun. I never considered writing for a living. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it. But I find that I really do! And now that I’ve started on this, I keep coming up with new ideas. I’ve written a children’s story that a friend of mine is in the process of illustrating (I’ve got a second story waiting in the wings already), I’ve started a romance novel, two other stories geared towards teenagers, and have ideas for numerous other historical novels for the adult market. I hope I can find the time to write them all!

 But at any rate, I am having a blast. Whether I actually make any money at this or not, is beside the point. I have accomplished something I never expected. And it feels good!

A time to blog…?

…There’s the crux of the problem in a nutshell.

Now that I’ve created this puppy, when do I find the time to write it? Let’s see, somewhere in between the cooking and the cleaning and running errands and shopping and doctors’ appointments and dentists’ visits and making Halloween costumes…and let’s not forget, I’m still in the middle of trying to sell one book while writing its sequel. Okay, that does it…I’m just going to have to give up sleeping…(How many millions of you can relate?)

I had my first book reading/signing this past week…at our local library. Things went pretty well. They were holding the monthly Teen Zone meeting — this is a group of teens who are allowed input regarding what books the library makes available for their age group and how they want the teen area in the library to look. I must say, I was rather impressed with the ones who were there that night. They were pleasant, polite, attentive, funny, very intelligent…and immensely kind to a very nervous first-time author! They paid close attention while I was reading, and asked several insightful questions afterwards. And, best of all, some of them bought copies of my book! *teehee* I actually enjoyed myself a good deal more than I’d expected to…I had this nightmare image of A) nobody but my mother showing up in the first place, B) the few kids who did show talking and fidgeting the entire time I was reading, or C) hearing the comment, “Sounds like another Harry Potter rip-off to me” when I’d finished. But, luckily, none of my nightmares came true.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the library has actually bought two copies of my book (not one, as I’d assumed) and they already had a waiting list for them before they even arrived! The woman in charge of the teen and children’s areas was very impressed with the turn-out for the evening. She’s put herself on the waiting list for my book and intends to recommend me (and the book) to the other library branches in our area. So all in all, not a bad first outing…

Answer…

    Yes! Well…sort of…

 I finished writing my first novel, The Dumari Chronicles: Year One, in November 2005. I then spent several months revising and editing (with the help of a good friend who happens to be an English teacher), and then embarked on that lovely journey known as “trying to find a publisher”.

 A year later, the stack of form rejection letters was beginning to resemble the Tower of Pisa. So I decided perhaps I needed an agent. Several months into that search, my husband and kids were seriously considering moving out, just to avoid my constant bad mood. Actually, I was considering moving out myself…for the same reason!

 Needless to say, my frustration level was increasing by leaps and bounds. Then, one day, a new friend I’d made on the internet (a freelance editor, by profession) suggested I look into online publishing. Which I did. After doing a fair amount of research, I chose an online publisher (also known as Print On Demand Publishing) that I felt would give me the services I required for the best price. Yes, you have to pay them to publish your work – but at least you’re not buying several thousand copies up front & storing them in your basement. That’s the good thing about Print On Demand publishers – they don’t print it until you order it. And they make it available online worldwide. I’ve had at least one British bookseller order my title, as well as several in the US.

The downside, however, is that the book is not returnable. Therefore, your average bookstore won’t order any to keep on their shelves, because they insist on a return policy with their distributor. So, no book signings at Barnes & Noble for me…And all the marketing is up to me as well. Unfortunately, with the no-return policy, I’m selling a book at a time, at best.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am very proud of my accomplishment. I am a published author – just not in the traditional way. And unfortunately, my husband won’t be able to retire any time soon…but that’s okay. I don’t think I’m ready for him to retire yet anyway! And this evening, I’m doing a book reading at our local library. Hopefully, that will engender some interest.

In the meantime, I’ll just keep plugging away…and somehow find the time to continue with the second book in my series. There’s going to be five total…did I mention that?