The Make Believe Anthology

The Make Believe anthology is out today! The blogger heading the launch day celebration is Lynda R. Young, whose story, Birthright, is included in the collection.

About Birthright:

Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
   She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
   Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.

About the other stories:

The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford

There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death. After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.

Petrified by Kelly Said

A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow. Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either.
   The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton

Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.
   The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.

Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield

From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.
   Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.

Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski

An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place.
   With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.

Purchase links:
www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
Barnes & Noble
All Romance
Diesel
Books On Board


About Lynda R. Young:
Lynda R. Young lives in Sydney, Australia, with her sweetheart of a husband who is her rock, and a cat who believes world domination starts in the home. She writes speculative short stories and is currently writing novels for young adults. In her spare time she also dabbles in photography and all things creative. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads


Other people spreading the word about Make Believe:






Do you know Lynda R. Young? Have you read Make Believe yet? Do you check out many anthologies?


-----The Golden Eagle

The Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

Yes, I've signed up for the Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign!

Never heard of the Campaign? From the creator's, Rachael Harrie's, site:

Basically, the Campaign is a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others' online platforms while at the same time building theirs.

Are you joining in?

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***Also: Tomorrow, I'll be announcing something special that I'm really quite excited about--a blogfest, hosted here on The Eagle's Aerial Perspective. Be sure to mark your calendars!***


-----The Golden Eagle

Happy Halloween! (Plus: NaBloWriMo, NaNoWriMo, And Random)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Hallowe'en. All Hallows Eve. Whatever you'd like to call it, today's the day! Have fun trick-or-treating, partying, whatever. :)

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Today is also the last day of NaBloWriMo! I have posted at least once every day for the entire month of October! Even more reason to celebrate.

But, if you're like me and have participated in NaBloWriMo, don't do party too hard! Because tomorrow is *drumroll*dramatic display* NaNoWriMo!


I know that I've said several times that I wasn't planning on doing this event. For many reasons, I told myself. It wouldn't be good for my novel, I said. It would be better to edit, I thought. I don't think word-vomiting all over my document would be a really great idea, I consoled myself.

*sighs* EXCUSES. But you know what? I've decided to change that. Because of a lot of factors. So, basically, I am going to be doing NaNoWriMo!

(If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is by now, I'm seriously going to question where you've been for the past month.)

I'm kind of pushing the deadline to sign up here, but I did sign up to do it! This will be my first year. But hey, I wrote 40,000 words last month, so it's just 10,000 more than that. So, the thing on my mind right now is, I am going to kill this challenge with everything I've got.

Here's the link to My Profile. Buddy me, if you've got an account. (I can't find a lot of you, because there's no "search" for the profiles or anything like that.) At first I wasn't sure about linking to it, but I managed to disable the Home Region thing, which would basically tell you where I live. Boo. I didn't want to do that.

I'll update you guys over there and on this blog with one of those word count widget-y things. I think I'll use the potato man one:

Anywho. Just get geared up for the absolute writing frenzy--it's 50,000 words, after all!

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Interesting, because they don't come around here often, but I saw a bald eagle yesterday! Just perched. It was sort of far away, but I could see the characteristic white head and dark brown body. It would be nice if it stuck around . . . but I doubt that.

Ever seen one?


It was snowing a few days ago. SNOWING. It just wet the sidewalk a little, but it's c-c-c-o-o-l-d-e-r than usual now. Even for the beginning of November, people are not usually shivering in a winter coat. It's supposed to get colder and stay that way for a while, too.


Have a great Halloween, all!


-----The Golden Eagle

October is Still Here

Halfway through the month or so and 19 posts later, I've still managed to keep it up for NaBloWriMo!

Congrats to the others who are participating with me! I've seen consistent posts through October--let's keep it up, all! Type, type, type!

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I'm supposed to write a backstory piece of one of my characters. I haven't written a thing, and consequently the document is titled CURRENTLY UNTITLED AND PRETTY DARN UNWRITTEN.

Eloquent, right? I figured CAPS whenever I turn on the computer would get my attention . . . sadly though, my inspiration seems to have decided I'm not worth the effort. But I'll get something done--it's just that if I write down a particular character's past, then it's full of spoilers. Another person's history takes place in a military academy. Other people don't remember their history, and even if they did, it wouldn't make much of a story.

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I hate sloppy first drafts. I know, I know, I see in a lot of places "Don't worry about your first draft!" and to just write, (Zemanta is offering my an article that says "Get the damn thing done!") but if I don't edit/revise as I go, I end up stuck, with too many loose ends, impossible situations, and just general chaos--and I don't like the feeling. Kenneth Oppel (who is one of my favorite authors) actually suggests editing/revising the draft if you get writers' block, which I think is excellent advice. It's works for me, anyway.

Sort of. I've been working on my first draft for over a year now, and it still is not finished. I love writing it, don't get me wrong, but I tend to be astonished (and maybe a tad envious) when people say "I wrote this in _____ months!" because it's certainly taking me longer than that.


Do you think writing the first draft as fast as possible is the best idea, or do you like editing as you go along?

(Chopper rattling the windows right now--and pounding the eardrums. Very annoying. Might be some planes up there, too. Although, it's not all bad. There are helicopters in my story, believe me, so I guess it's just a another writing experience, eh?)

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Fall has almost definitely set in now. The heater is on, (boo--do you know how much oil that takes?) and the days are brisk. I love brisk, and windy too. There's a lot of wind these days, and it finally cleared up after half a week of rain; it's sunny, the trees are orange, and the sky is blue. Huzzah!

Another aspect to fall is the winter squash--my mom got some for free where she works and I can smell it baking right now. It smells better than it tastes, I'm afraid. I don't like squash, generally--I've never liked pumpkin, hubbard tastes blah (despite what the people at the senior center state), I'm not a fan of acorn. But zucchini can be okay.

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I'm done with the miscellany! I think . . . yes, that's it. Have a great Sunday, everyone!


-----The Golden Eagle

Market or Individual?

Assuming your write, once the first draft has been written down, the second draft has been revised, the third draft has been edited, you've fussed over the fourth draft, (and maybe the fifth, sixth, seventh, etc.) and finally you've come up with something that resembles a book, there's always that other can of worms:

Getting published.

I'm sure we've all dreamed about it at some point. (Come on now--don't tell me you haven't sat there and sighed longingly thinking about the fame and fortune. Or maybe just the fortune.) Imagined having that book on a shelf in Barnes & Noble (or even Wal-Mart). Pictured the fanmail. Considered the attention you'd get and the interviews you'd be doing.

Now, that all entails that your work appeals to the market; the only problem with that is, if you've got ideas, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, other than what the customer wants (or, at least what is going to be economically acceptable to a publisher, be it a large or small company), then your chances of getting published are slim or none.

And this is where the conflict comes in.

Do you, as a writer, prefer to mold and shape your writing to the demand? Or do you, as a writer, prefer to go your own way, despite the decreasing chances of being published?

Would you be willing to change your book's moral, plot, characters, so that it is more popular? Or are you satisfied with writing something that's entirely you and unchanged, but that doesn't appeal to enough people to be published?

I am in the latter camp. I would much prefer writing something that embodies what I really want to say and believe, and not something that is dictated by external forces. I would much rather stay anonymous and unpublished than get published and have something I'm not totally comfortable with, that isn't really me.


What about you? Do you think changing your writing is worth a greater chance of being published?

-----The Golden Eagle

Flood Watch, Writer Things, and Coffee

I can believe it. It's been raining, raining, raining, pouring, dripping, sopping, and splishing all day long.

I realize that the last word isn't actually a word. Except I'm a writer--I've got creative license, right? Well. I say, very splishingishly, that writer's have the creative license to create new words.

But there is a lot of water. The street's sort of flooded and the gutters on the neighbor's house are pouring water. It's been dark, gloomy, and wet all day, but I'm content. I'm usually in a content mood when it's raining, and also because I've been successful editing-wise.

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Have any of you seen THIS POST? Or, THIS POST?

Yes? No?

Well, the second makes me laugh. Actually, the first makes me laugh because seriously, folks? If you're going to date a writer you should expect a whole different can of beans.

I don't actively lock myself up in my room or anything and write like some people do, (do you?) but I do tend to get crabby/irritable/fussy when my writing's not going right. And "writer's will remind you that money doesn't matter so much"? Ahem. A lot of writers go into the business because they're broke. I'll let you decide for yourself whether the other points are true. :D

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NaBloWriMo starts tomorrow! Hooray! I'm excited about this. It just seems like it's going to be fun, you know? Well, maybe I'm just overexcited. I already post pretty often . . . maybe it's the fact I won't be alone this time. :)

If you haven't joined yet, my armies are still waiting around for the next victim. (AKA you.)

*ahem*

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I never really liked coffee. I am repelled by the scent of coffee, especially really strong stuff; I like the smell of Barnes & Noble (one of my favorite smells) but I don't like just coffee. How do people drink it? HOW?

But apparently people do. At least according to a recent survey done by Careerbuilder and Dunkin Donuts. (I've never been to Dunkin Donuts--or Starbucks, for that matter.)

Huh. Oh, well. I plan on being a scientist; I'll just have to be a non-coffee-drinker one.

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End of September everyone! Can you believe it? Another month has disappeared. I think this month has gone rather well for me, since I got some stuff done . . .

What about you?

-----The Golden Eagle