Sorry For Not Posting Anything For A While...

My personal life is kind of in a shambles right now.

It's got nothing to do with hubby not having a job for 2 years now.

Or that he's waiting for Social Security Disability to give him the thumb's up for getting disability pay.

No.

It's about me.

I am on the precipice, looking into the abyss (almost, sorta, kinda rhymes) known as getting fired.

Yup.

Me.

Me, who has 20-some years experience doing this sort of stuff. Me, who suffered a brain aneurysm last year, but survived. (No, this is not a ghost or a clone typing this, heh.) Me, who's had trouble getting all this at my new job to click in my head.

And maybe that's part of the problem. Maybe certain brain functions are screwed up or something, because a lot of what I'm being taught and trained just isn't staying in my brain; I've had some faux paus lately that I knew were wrong, but it's as if I couldn't help myself.

Sheesh.

Anyhoo, I actually brought home a manual I've been told to work on in the hopes that I can get all of it banged out and to my boss on Monday. She's wanted to see it from time to time to edit, and I've tried to give that to her, but it's not good enough. I've always tried to finish things first before handing them over, but that's not what she wants, apparently.

Again, this might be more of my fried brain, but who the hell knows?

All I know is that I've been playing the lottery like you wouldn't believe. Not that I'm spending hundreds of dollars a week on that; that's nuts. I have spent $10 or $20 a week, and have managed to get 2 numbers on 2 or 3 different tickets, but that's been it so far. I got some books that take a more mathematical approach to this (lowering the odds to win by looking at different trends or patterns), but I still haven't done better than 2 numbers on a ticket.

Once I get to 3 numbers, I know I'll have gotten this thing down. Until then, I keep looking for certain trends and have actually caught a couple, but nothing won as yet.

It's all a matter of time, all around, ya know?

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Kunati Book Publishers

What a shame.

I'd read early on over at the Watercooler on Absolute Write about this "publisher" out of Canada, and it sounded good.

Almost too good to be true, as it's turned out. ::sigh::

What is it that the sages on writers' boards say about new epublishers? "Wait a year." Wait a year - to see if they're still around. Wait a year - to see if any bad stuff comes to light.

In this case, the fecal matter has hit the fan. It seems that this place was set up to publish one of the founders' books. Which is all and fine; if that's all you want to do. I have nothing against people trying to sell their own books online; it's a tough go, especially if you write fiction, but if you're determined to do it - more power to you. (No. Really. If you really want to do that, go and do it!)

My take is if that's what this guy wanted to do, why did he corral others into it? Let's face it: Editors don't have enough time as it is to help their own stable of authors, so how much time would editor give to those authors if he/she had his/her own book, hmm? And that pubbed book came out with his own publishing company, hmm? (In this case, it looks like one of the principals has come out with something like 6 or 7 books since they started up operations.)

Do you think he's going to spend more energy on his own books or his authors books, hmm?

Methinks...his own? (Human nature, as far as I'm concerned.)

Still convinced this might be the place for your book? (They've stopped taking fiction mss., BTW.) Then look at this Water Cooler thread and look at this post by an editor at a publishing house.

But, my gawd, you say...the woman at the publishing house will have her own book out. BUT, I would say, it's not coming out from the same publishing house where she works. No conflict of interest, no putting herself and her books ahead of her clients.

Totally on the up-and-up.

Form your own opinions, but it's a shame that this has happened. It's especially a shame for the authors they ensnared.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Author Solutions Adds Another Company to Its Suite

Hunh? So who/what is Author Solutions? (For the really big scoop, go to the Writer Beware post here.)

What the Heck is Author Solutions?

Author Solutions owns a suite or stable of self-publishing venues: iUniverse, Xlibris, AuthorHouse, and, its most recent acquisition, Trafford.
More...

Complaints On the Way--Or Not?

According to the Writer Beware post, iUniverse and Xlibris had minimal complaints until being acquired. Is Trafford headed for the same level of complaints as AuthorHouse has had?

As Victoria noted when Xlibris was bought out, this lessens the self publishing field, and that's not a good thing. Competition is good for business because it helps to keep prices down, or at least at a reasonable dollar amount. (You don't like the prices at one car detailing place, you go to another and another, etc.)

Only time will tell if Trafford will suffer the same fate.

And, of course, the writer will be the one suffering the brunt of this.

Oy vey.


Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

New magazine

Holly Lisle's going to be starting up a Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF) magazine called Rebel Tales (thanks to Angie for the head's up).

The guidelines are here.

As I write this, she hasn't yet started accepting submissions, but it sounds to me like you better follow her guidelines exactly as she has them written (which only makes sense; but I guess some submitters might try to skirt that). As she said, the magazine's going to have her name on it, so she wants everything to be her way (or it's the highway for you, Jack).

I'll probably post again once I see that she's accepting submissions. (Or you can just bookmark that page, like I'm about to do, and see for yourself. :-))

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Devlin's Justice - A Review

Publisher: Spectra
400 pages

The third book in the Sword of Change series.

Synopsis

Devlin manages to overcome the magic spell that has left him weak in both body and mind; he finds that the Sword of Light is indeed in Duncaer, and he finally grips the prize, so called, in his hand. That the sword feels as if it was custom made for him gives him pause - but only for a moment.

Because now he must return to Jorsk, having completed his mission. He and his band - Stephen, the minstral, among others - have been gone longer than any of them anticipated. How has Jorsk fared? Will they be returning to ruins, desolation?

In the meantime, Devlin must get through the lines of Jorsk's enemy. He's convinced the only way is through rebellion, with him at the head. He's shaken and dismayed at this turn of events, but feels it's the only way to get back to Jorsk - which may be overrun, for all he knows.

More...

As they get nearer to Jorsk, it looks as if it's intact; but what of the people? What of the political mechinations that were already in place when Devlin left?

And will Devlin get to see the king, giving the heave-ho to those political mechinations?

So, What's Your Take?

This third book in the series is very brutal; scenes of torture abound (magical and physical). The magical torture affects Devlin's mind, and is even worse than the physical torture (which is bad enough). At one point, he despairs so much, that his anger and hurt overwhelm him so that he can escape; such is the case when his emotions are strong.

A well-done ending to what came before, if maybe a tad overdone on the torture scenes. Again, Devlin comes off not as the avenging hero coming to save the kingdom in a blaze of glory; in fact, he's a bit pissed that he can't rake the coals over the king. Not that he wanted to kill him or anything...

Devlin's humanity still shines through, despite all the tortures and murder attempts hurled his way. Devlin's Justice ends on a bittersweet note, at least to me, which kind of reminds me of the ending of The Lord of the Rings.

No, it's not like LOTR in any way, shape, or form; it's just the way it ended wasn't exactly happy and wasn't exactly sad. But it did feel just right.

Grade A: Worth a read, unless torture scenes turn you off completely (they don't take up the entire book, but they linger in the mind).

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Devlin's Honor - A Review

Publisher: Spectra
416 pages

This is the second book in the Sword of Change series. To read my take on the first book, Devlin's Luck, go here.

Synopsis

Devlin is now a very much alive Chosen One, the Kingdom of Jorsk's champion, which means he will defend the city to the death, if necessary.

Many people in Jorsk now believe that if he were truly annointed by the gods, the gods would have given him a sword out of legend: the Sword of Light.

The irony of it all is that now Devlin must go back to Duncaer. Not only is it his home, but it was also conquered by the very people he's now sworn to protect.

Why go back? Because that's where the Sword of Light is - and Devlin knows where in Duncaer it's located.
More...

The sword was found on the battlefield after the Caerfolk's defeat, kept as a souvenir. And because he's been bound, by magic (the Geas) and by the King to retrieve the sword, he has no choice but to return to the people who cast him out.

He has no doubt that he'll face their wrath and indifference - if he gets that far. For Devlin has no doubts that there are people who will try to keep him from getting that sword, for their own nefarious reasons...

So, What Did You Think?

Many times, the middle book of a series can be a bit of a letdown. Not so here. I felt that this was even better than the first book.

We get taken more into Devlin's mind, his feelings, in this book. After all, he's returning home, and he's not going to feel too welcome there. Plus, he comes down with some sort of sickness that zaps not only his physical strength but his mental strength, which was already suspect.

Thus we're drawn into some of his dark dreams...and this was almost too much for me to take. Almost. Because, dear friends, I was reminded of some personal stuff (related to a loved one), and it seemed as if I were reliving a lot of that hell.

Thank goodness it's a book.

**spoiler** He does make it to Duncaer, although there is an attempt on his life. Two swordsmen go after him, but they kill themselves before they can be questioned as to whom they work for, etc.

Now, whom do they work for? Devlin and his little band find out not long after getting to Duncaer.

The ending was pretty good, and leads right into the third book of the series, Devlin's Justice. Yes, loose ends are wrapped up, but the locale has to shift elsewhere...

Mwahaha! (Sorry for the melodrama. ;-))

Grade A - worth reading. The darkness in this book felt just right, if a bit over and beyond what I'm used to (but that's because of my personal stuff, so take that with a grain of salt).

I'll have that review up in a couple of days.



Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

A Contest - Yippee!

The Knight Agency is having a contest.

You can find all the details here. It's called Book in a Nutshell, and you have until April 20, 2009 (hubby's bday) to condense your book into three sentences, max of 150 words.

And, yes, spec fic will be looked at (that's fantasy, SF, and horror to those who don't know what speculative fiction encompasses), as well as other genres. But check out the website to see if they rep what you write.

If your novel is complete, why not go for it? If I can manage to finish up the last few chapters (I'm on 18 and chugging along!) and re-do the opening chapter by then...I'll give it a shot.

Good luck! :-)

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Further News About Absolute Write

It's still down as of 3:15pm Eastern U.S. time. According to MacAllister (she runs it), the database was "hosed." (That's an exact quote, friends.)

If you're in AW withdrawal, you can try the AW Refugee Camp. You'll have to register first, but it's free. And be gracious, because Roger Carlson is running this refugee forum, to which I say, THANK YOU.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Absolute Write Is Down

Don't know why, but the entire site is down, as I'm writing this.

There's a sister site, and even when I went onto that site, I couldn't register. I remembered my user name, and I thought I had the correct password, but get this: When I tried to get the password sent to my email addy, it didn't recognize the addy!

I've been on that site on a regular basis for about 4 years (yikes!).

What a mess.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck