tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26398525843713284262024-03-12T19:01:05.092-07:00But I should be writing...JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-18703364447174118962017-06-29T08:58:00.000-07:002017-06-29T08:58:12.246-07:00Join me on my new blog: http://jdhornauthor.com/blog/<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXC0gjQJ2bE/WVUic9tYDuI/AAAAAAAAAuk/Sfw390x0Xyok9e1ygQopryhEknP0ICnkQCLcBGAs/s1600/GENRES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="612" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXC0gjQJ2bE/WVUic9tYDuI/AAAAAAAAAuk/Sfw390x0Xyok9e1ygQopryhEknP0ICnkQCLcBGAs/s400/GENRES.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At least for the time being, this blog will be warehoused. I've updated my website (<a href="http://www.jdhornauthor.com/">www.JDHornAuthor.com</a>) to WordPress, so I now have the ability to blog directly on my website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please join me there at <a href="http://jdhornauthor.com/blog/">http://jdhornauthor.com/blog/</a>.</span></div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-26445665175327318452017-04-28T12:23:00.000-07:002017-04-28T12:23:57.050-07:00Cover Reveal "The King of Bones and Ashes" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cdNgHz9GXYY/WQOWV5h8MYI/AAAAAAAAAto/T0MqB_77vcA0HrvGIIpgY1nW4MpZsMrIwCLcB/s1600/The%2BKing%2Bof%2BBones%2Band%2BAshes%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cdNgHz9GXYY/WQOWV5h8MYI/AAAAAAAAAto/T0MqB_77vcA0HrvGIIpgY1nW4MpZsMrIwCLcB/s640/The%2BKing%2Bof%2BBones%2Band%2BAshes%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/King-Bones-Ashes-Witches-Orleans-ebook/dp/B06Y2WXY9M" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER</span></a></div>
<br />JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-43386399016308200332017-03-31T14:27:00.002-07:002017-03-31T14:27:20.069-07:00A Peculiar Paradise: A Short Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pTwUhHizCEQ/WN7Ic7Q80FI/AAAAAAAAAtE/cCR4SSOshys7zMxKYD8Bt6OdJ_dpROBmACLcB/s400/PECULIAR%2BPARADISE%2BCOVER.jpg" width="266" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"A Peculiar Paradise" is now available as a Kindle stand-alone short story. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #073763;">A drug dealer finds himself stranded in an idyllic oasis with only his childhood pet and a grizzled stranger for company. What a bad man with a good dog might expect in the great hereafter. A short story by the author of the best-selling Witching Savannah series.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Click <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peculiar-Paradise-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B06XGT5YHM/" target="_blank">HERE</a> to order.</span></div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-47083921083346576102017-03-07T12:45:00.002-08:002017-03-07T12:45:13.726-08:002017 Appearances<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nkQL9KaQeB0/WL8axo3jSyI/AAAAAAAAAqs/0LgWgSNE73g3nsL8wnB7p7uxvNlBqQFSgCLcB/s1600/ROMANIAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nkQL9KaQeB0/WL8axo3jSyI/AAAAAAAAAqs/0LgWgSNE73g3nsL8wnB7p7uxvNlBqQFSgCLcB/s640/ROMANIAN.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
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<i>Cover of the Romanian translation of The Line coming from TRei.</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Readercon - July 13-16, Quincy, Massachusetts (<a href="http://www.readercon.org/">http://www.readercon.org/</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dragon Con - September 1-4, Atlanta, Georgia</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(<a href="http://www.dragoncon.org/">http://www.dragoncon.org/</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Updates to follow.</span></div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-78577616884130917002016-10-01T18:03:00.000-07:002016-10-01T18:03:07.752-07:00New York Comic Con Schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZDsIPDbYu5o/V_BcYxPPzOI/AAAAAAAAAnI/Z99tkGJ2KjIy_g2NrNEKPF7hv71NdWPXQCLcB/s1600/nycc-logo-low-res.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZDsIPDbYu5o/V_BcYxPPzOI/AAAAAAAAAnI/Z99tkGJ2KjIy_g2NrNEKPF7hv71NdWPXQCLcB/s1600/nycc-logo-low-res.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next Friday, I will be appearing with some very cool writers (Rysa Walker, Gwenda Bond, Amy Bartol, and my separated at birth, much younger and much prettier twin, Alys Arden) at BookCon at New York Comic Con. The panel will be moderated by editor (and poet) Jason Kirk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Immediately following the panel (3:15 -4:15), I'll be available to sign books in the Autographing Area on the 6th floor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">From New York Comic Con Schedule:</span><br />
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October 07, 2016, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM</div>
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BookCon @ NYCC - 500 W 36th St</div>
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From hyper-drive star ships to swords and sorcery to lustful vampires, science fiction and fantasy novels imagine worlds with infinite possibilities. But frequently, these worlds are remarkably similar to our own. Come hear bestselling science-fiction and fantasy authors discuss their imagined worlds and the impact of the collective SFF brain on the “real” world. Authors Rysa Walker (The Delphi Effect, Timebound), Gwenda Bond (Girl In the Shadows), Amy A. Bartol (Kricket series, Secondborn series), J.D. Horn (Witching Savannah series), and Alys Arden (The Casquette Girls) will debate and discuss, led by Senior Editor Jason Kirk of 47North and Skyscape.</div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-40185670212895128732016-09-03T13:29:00.000-07:002016-09-03T13:59:12.603-07:00Mistakes I've Made on Twitter<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If you're an unpublished writer looking to build a following on Twitter, here's a chance for you to learn from my mistakes before you make the same ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got started trying to build a social media platform about six months before my publisher picked up my first book. Anyone who's trying to get their work published <i>knows</i> this is what you're supposed to do. Get out there. Build that platform. Pick up followers. Show people are interested in what you have to say. It struck me as putting the cart before the horse, but that was the advice I was given, so I did my best to make it happen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not knowing a thing about social media, I turned to Professor Google to see what advice I could find on growing a platform. The fastest way, it turned out, for an unknown and unpublished writer to pick up followers was to join the #followback groups. So I did, and I did find a quick swell in my number of Twitter followers. <b>But what I ended up creating was the illusion of a social media platform</b>, rather than a place where I could interact with people who were truly interested in my work...and more importantly where I could connect with people in whose work I have a genuine interest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>There were thousands of people I'd followed simply because they had agreed to boost my number, too. That meant I was being disingenuous with a whole crowd of people.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So now I'm going back and doing the work I wish I'd done in the first place to build an organic following. I'm clearing out those with whom I've never had any interaction. Nothing personal. If someone chooses to unfollow, then I know they were part of the artificial base. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So here're my Twitter tips:</span></b><br />
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<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Only follow those people in whose work you have a genuine interest.</span></b></li>
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<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Interact with those you follow. They may not follow you back, but you may get a chance to learn something from them, or share something you know with them.</span></b></li>
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<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Don't sacrifice quality for quick quantity.</span></b></li>
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<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">If you've already made the same mistake I did, don't sit around grumbling for for years--like I have--before you do something about it. (This would count as my second big mistake.)</span></b></li>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-75695547683356306932016-07-27T15:14:00.000-07:002016-07-27T15:14:36.183-07:00The Witches of New Orleans--A New Series Coming 2018<br />
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My new series, The Witches of New Orleans, is coming from 47North in 2018.</div>
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<b>Wait? Witches in an enchanting Southern setting? Haven't we seen this from you before, Mr. Horn? </b></div>
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Well, yes. And no. The new series is entirely unrelated to the Witching Savannah series, and features a new cast of characters as well as a new mythology. (SPOILER ALERT: No evil aliens.) The Witches of New Orleans world exists on an entirely different plane from that of Witching Savannah. The new series will also have a different feel from Witching Savannah, and be written not in first person, single point of view like WS's first three books, but in multiple POV third person. </div>
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<b>So this isn't just <i>Witching New Orleans</i>?</b></div>
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No, no, and definitely not. This series is the Witches of New Orleans, and the word "Witching" has been discarded for a few reasons, the most important reason being that I want to make it clear the two series are different and are in no way connected. </div>
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<b>But I liked Witching Savannah, and now you're telling me this new series will be nothing like it? </b></div>
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Well, yes. And no. There will be magic, and atmosphere, all the twists and bendy turns, and big, I mean, BIG family drama. But the story will be grittier and, thanks largely to the multiple points of view, richer. </div>
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<b>But no crossovers? We won't see Oliver making his way down Bourbon Street? Iris in the Garden District? Mercy in the Merigny? </b></div>
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Sorry, no. </div>
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No one--and I do mean no one--loves the Taylor/Wills/Poole family more than I do. <i>They are my children.</i> But I've spent many years with them now, and it's time for me to give some of the other voices in my head a chance to speak. (Yes. All writers are crazy. Some of us more than others.) </div>
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<b>So there won't ever be another Witching Savannah book?</b></div>
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I didn't say that. If I'm ever struck by a compelling enough story to make it worth undoing the happy endings my kids got at the end of <i>The Void</i>, I'll see if the publisher of the series is interested. I would like to revisit that Beekeeper character and share the secret of her origin. So perhaps some point down the road, we'll spend more time with Mercy Taylor and family. (And, just in case anyone is worried, I've always been #TeamEmmet.)</div>
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<b>Oh, all right. What is this new series about then?</b></div>
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Glad you asked! Here's the elevator pitch for the first book, <i>The Final Days of Magic</i>:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A young witch investigating a string of disappearances in New Orleans’s magical community must defeat the demon who claimed her mother’s soul, or be trapped herself in his nightmare realm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But you all know me. It's gonna get all Southern Gothic twisty in about seven seconds flat with family secrets and betrayals. <i>The mask</i> will become a theme in the Witches of New Orleans in much the same way <i>lying</i> did in Witching Savannah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>But you get that 2018 is like a million years away, right?</b></span></div>
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I'm just getting started writing the first book, and can already feel a deadline breathing down my neck, so it feels more like seventeen minutes to me. My publisher wants to minimize readers' wait between books, so the plan is to debut the first book in January 2018, then summer for the second (<i>The Book of the Unwinding</i>) and fall/winter for the third (<i>The Last King of Mardi Gras</i>).</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Okay. So shut up and start writing already.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On it. :)</span></div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-33410493267853779742016-07-05T17:47:00.001-07:002016-07-05T17:47:46.910-07:00News Coming Soon...
<iframe src="//giphy.com/embed/Nr0CpeszwVdRu" width="480" height="480" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/Nr0CpeszwVdRu">via GIPHY</a></p>JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-484120057056336662016-05-05T07:53:00.000-07:002016-05-05T07:53:25.509-07:00Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile: Sybil Ward<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 22.72px;">This post is the latest in a series of profiles featuring currently unpublished and self-published authors. These interviews focus on three areas where both those writers who are looking to find success in traditional publishing and those who are taking the self-publishing path must develop strength: pitching their work, pitching themselves, and creating quality, well-edited work. None of what is shared in these posts is intended to be prescriptive. Also, a profile is not to be viewed as an endorsement of the author or her/his work. If you'd like to be featured, email your responses to the following prompts to JackDouglasHorn@gmail.com.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sybil Ward</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;" /><a href="http://www.sybilward.com/" saprocessedanchor="true" style="background-color: white; color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">www.sybilward.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;"> (work in progress)</span><br />
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Sybil Ward is a misplaced Tar Heel, hiding away in a small town in Georgia. She’s been (in order of appearance) a baseball player (a woman before her time), a seamstress, a soldier, an electronics instructor, a multimedia training developer, an IT manager, and now the owner of a web design company. She’s been with the same wonderful man for ages, mothered three lovely daughters, and is now elevating the art of spoiling with a brand new, glorious grandson.</div>
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And in the seconds between, she writes stories.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #073763;">100 words or fewer, describe your book or story. This is your pitch. Make it enticing!</span></span></div>
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<b>THE PAINTED TRUNK</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.3px;">Imagine a trunk – an old, decrepit box large enough to hold a body.</span></div>
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Now, imagine gaining the talent or abilities of anyone – author, actor, artist, athlete – just by putting something belonging to that person inside the trunk. Would you kill for that power?</div>
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Someone is.</div>
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When Cleopatra Gleason is murdered, Tabitha Spencer inherits the trunk with the request: “…use the trunk and figure out who killed me.” This puts Tabitha squarely in the crosshairs of the killer. If she’s going to stay alive long enough to solve Cleopatra’s murder, Tabitha must first learn to think inside the box.</div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 22.72px;">Describe your editing (not writing) process. What steps have you taken to polish your story?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">1. I draw a story map, which is actually an outline in pictures, so I can “see” the story. This isn’t a chapter-by-chapter map, this is more a plot point map. It lets me see holes in the story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">2. I read the story backward. Reading backward stops me from filling in the blanks instead of seeing the blanks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">3. One more read/polish from start to finish. Here I concentrate on strengthening the prose, improving the pace. I’m also mindful of the characters, their depth, personalities, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">4. Off to the critique group, a few chapters at the time, so I can revise as they critique.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">5. If I'm lucky, the ms goes to beta readers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">6. One more serious revision for structure and word count. Here my wish list says professional editor. My piggy bank isn’t quite there yet.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.9333px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">What steps have you taken/are you considering taking to build a social platform to promote your work?</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.3px;">The premise of give-give-give-get – I like. I want to build a following by paying attention to and supporting others, sharing my love of paper crafting, reading good books and sharing that experience, sharing my short stories and the bits and pieces that support my novel-length stories. Social, after all, means making acquaintances, even friends. I believe that will translate into supporters, readers, and customers.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.3px;">All my social media accounts are in grow mode – slow but sure. I have accounts on</span><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sybilward" saprocessedanchor="true" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span style="line-height: 21.3px;">,</span><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SybilMWard" saprocessedanchor="true" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="line-height: 21.3px;">,</span><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"> </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sybilward" saprocessedanchor="true" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a><span style="line-height: 21.3px;">, and</span><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"> </span><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/sybilward/likes/" saprocessedanchor="true" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a><span style="line-height: 21.3px;">. I’m also on Wattpad and WriteOn.</span></div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-56834571339861424182016-04-20T07:20:00.003-07:002016-04-20T07:20:44.852-07:00CONTEST WEEK 4: Win the 4th of 4 Fires, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jilo-Witching-Savannah-Book-4-ebook/dp/B0176BJYSO/" target="_blank">JILO DEBUTS 4/26/15!</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Win the 4th of 4 Fires, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: start;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: start;">SEE <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/</a> FOR DETAILS!</span></div>
<br />JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-86178118012838277822016-04-12T20:04:00.000-07:002016-04-12T20:04:13.183-07:00CONTEST WEEK 3: Win the 3rd of 4 Fires, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Win the 3rd of 4 Fires, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: start;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: start;">SEE <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/</a> FOR DETAILS!</span></div>
<br />JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-11827040600457952022016-04-12T13:15:00.000-07:002016-04-12T13:15:35.638-07:00Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile: Sean M. Davis<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 22.72px;">This post is the latest in a series of profiles featuring currently unpublished and self-published authors. These interviews focus on three areas where both those writers who are looking to find success in traditional publishing and those who are taking the self-publishing path must develop strength: pitching their work, pitching themselves, and creating quality, well-edited work. None of what is shared in these posts is intended to be prescriptive. Also, a profile is not to be viewed as an endorsement of the author or her/his work. If you'd like to be featured, email your responses to the following prompts to JackDouglasHorn@gmail.com.</span><br />
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Sean M Davis lives in and loves Detroit. He has written weird, disturbing stories for as long as he's been able to write, proven by his story, "Killer Morning," written in second grade. He lives with his partner, Kate, and five furry children.</div>
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<a class="" href="http://seanmdavis.wordpress.com/" saprocessedanchor="true" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.3px;" target="">http://seanmdavis.wordpress.com</a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;"><span style="font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">100 words or fewer, describe your book or story. This is your pitch. Make it enticing!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;">"In God's Image" will appear in Borderlands 6, coming soon. In it, Viola struggles to hold onto her identity in the wake of God Re-forming the human race without faces.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Describe your editing (not writing) process. What steps have you taken to polish your story?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wrote the first draft of this story as an assignment during the Borderlands Press Writers' Boot Camp 2014. The first draft received good reactions from my fellow grunts and the instructors, but was only 500 words long. For the second draft, I reread the story and answered all of the questions I could possibly think of, trying to create more back and forth for the character. The story is relatively simple after you get past its bizarre set up. After it was accepted for Borderlands 6, I took another run at it, cleaning up the little things I'd missed during the first two passes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;">What steps have you taken/are you considering taking to build a social platform to promote your work?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;">So far, I'm not that great at online promotion. I have a blog and I do things here and there (like this interview), but I don't have Twitter or anything else other than a personal Facebook page. I have lots of things on my To Do List, but when it comes right down to it, between my partner, my day job, hobbies, friends, and family, I'd rather spend my time writing. Even submitting stories on a regular basis has been a new development in my career.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;">I do go to several local conventions where I participate on panels and peddle my wares. Honestly, that's where I enjoy promoting myself and my work, though I understand the need for online promotion.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: 18.9333px;">I suppose at this point in my career, I am more focused on having things to promote.</span></span></span></div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-7303545219573202882016-04-10T08:18:00.000-07:002016-04-10T08:18:17.784-07:00CONTEST WEEK 2: Win the 2nd of 4 Fires, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Win the 2nd of 4 Fires, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">SEE <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/</a> FOR DETAILS!</span>JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-50937513931403121672016-04-09T06:59:00.000-07:002016-04-09T06:59:54.200-07:00Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile: GWEN DANDRIDGE<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 22.72px;">This post is fourth in a series of profiles featuring
currently unpublished and self-published authors. These interviews focus on
three areas where both those writers who are looking to find success in
traditional publishing and those who are taking the self-publishing path must
develop strength: pitching their work, pitching themselves, and creating
quality, well-edited work. None of what
is shared in these posts is intended to be prescriptive. Also, a profile is not
to be viewed as an endorsement of the author or her/his work. If you'd like to
be featured, email your responses to the following prompts to
JackDouglasHorn@gmail.com.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 27.3px;">Gwen Dandridge</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2756" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2757" style="line-height: 24px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2758" style="color: #073763; line-height: 22.72px;">Bio</span></span></b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #073763; line-height: 22.72px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 22.72px;" /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<div id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2805" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="line-height: 18.46px;">I was born in the deep South, but I lived on Long Island most of my first years. It was after I moved to Berkeley, dragging along three small children, that I started to think about creating something more... </span></span><br id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2806" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18.46px;" /><br id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2807" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18.46px;" /><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="line-height: 18.46px;">For awhile I managed to bury my after-work creativity into dance. I flitted from Scandinavian to Irish, to English step dancing, to Morris dance and sword. Having a short (or sometimes long) fling with each until finally settling on Morris and English short sword (Rapper) as my favorites. </span></span><br id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2808" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18.46px;" /><br id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2810" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18.46px;" /><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="line-height: 18.46px;">After moving to Central California and marrying my love, my creativity has evolved even more, into more tangible forms: mosaics, stained glass, and finally, writing.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2851" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2852" style="line-height: 24px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2853" style="color: #073763; line-height: 22.72px;">100 words or fewer, describe your book or story. This is your pitch. Make it enticing!</span></span></b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #073763; line-height: 22.72px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 22.72px;" /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<div dir="ltr" id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2933" style="color: #111111; line-height: 18.46px;">
<span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2934" style="color: #262626; line-height: 26.5067px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dragons came from beyond, demanding a virgin sacrifice. When Princess Genevieve is handed a golden token, she accepts her fate. She must, in order to save her kingdom. But the journey to her final destiny is complicated by the arrival of a 1970s Berkeley co-ed. To Chris, the whole scenario reeks. Where she comes from, corsets are for burning and virgins hard to find. She's sure the dragons are out for more than innocent blood, but the only way to find out is to accompany Genevieve. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; line-height: 26.5067px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 26.5067px;" /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2933" style="color: #111111; line-height: 18.46px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2946" style="color: #262626; line-height: 26.5067px;">Genevieve is duty-bound–unless Chris is right. </span><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2991" style="color: #262626; line-height: 26.5067px;">Then her sacrifice would mean nothing.</span></span></div>
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<span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_2993" style="color: #262626; line-height: 26.5067px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3068" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3069" style="line-height: 24px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3070" style="color: #0c343d; line-height: 22.72px;">Describe your editing (not writing) process. What steps have you taken to polish your story?</span></span></b><span style="color: #262626; line-height: 26.5067px;"><br style="line-height: 26.5067px;" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 18.46px;" /></span></div>
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<span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3217" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Painfully slow. I write slowly, I edit faster, but slowly. I rewrite for the second and third and fourth times--slowly. My writing group pokes, prods and generally encourages me to cut out redundancies, to step up to the plate with my plotting and stop whining. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 22.72px;" /></span></div>
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<span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3220" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">I make sure that I have a professional copy-editor do a final, Hail Mary, over the whole thing before I send it off with its little wings still wet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3118" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3119" style="line-height: 24px;"><span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3120" style="color: #0c343d; line-height: 22.72px;">What steps have you taken/are you considering taking to build a social platform to promote your work?</span></span></b><b style="color: #333333; line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #0c343d; line-height: 22.72px;"><br style="line-height: 22.72px;" /></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">I live on Facebook, I barely Twitter, I have a website and an unloved blog. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 22.72px;" /></span></div>
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<span id="ecxyui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460179269409_3304" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">I'm very funny sometimes, but not always. Mostly in "The Dragons' Chosen" not so much in "The Stone Lions".</span></div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-35212495565492879912016-04-05T17:38:00.000-07:002016-04-05T17:47:56.733-07:00We have our first winner!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Congratulations to <span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 18px;">Jaysen Mansfield-Jarret for winning the 1st round of the Witching Savannah coloring contest. Check out the original and the winning entry below. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 18px;">See </span><span style="color: #141823;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/">https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/</a> to find out how you, too, can try to win one of the remaining Kindle Fires. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Jaysen Mansfield-Jarret</span>JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-31169880235517656032016-04-03T18:23:00.001-07:002016-04-03T18:23:47.220-07:00Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile: JOSH VASQUEZ<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 25.2px;">This post is third in a series of profiles featuring currently unpublished and self-published authors. These interviews focus on three areas where both those writers who are looking to find success in traditional publishing and those who are taking the self-publishing path must develop strength: pitching their work, pitching themselves, and creating quality, well-edited work. None of what is shared in these posts is intended to be prescriptive. Also, a profile is not to be viewed as an endorsement of the author or her/his work.<b> If you'd like to be featured, email your responses to the following prompts to JackDouglasHorn@gmail.com. </b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 25.2px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">JOSH VASQUEZ</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #073763;">Bio</span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Josh Vasquez is
the author of the Savannah Zombie Series. He lives in Savannah, Georgia with
his wife and daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">The city is
currently zombie-free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.savannahzombienovel.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">www.savannahzombienovel.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #073763;">100
words or fewer, describe your book or story. This is your pitch. Make it
enticing!</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Nineteen, a
college dropout, and working as a grocery store clerk was not how Jeremy
Riggins imagined the prime years of his life. Helping his mother with bills,
while his father lives in luxury not too far away, life does not seem fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Then the zombie
apocalypse shambles into Savannah, Georgia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Jeremy has to
fight his way through the city, search for family, and fight off the undead
horde. He’ll join up with a diverse group of characters to make it out alive.
Could his mother’s religion be right? Is this the end? Can he survive the
zombie apocalypse?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">Describe
your editing (not writing) process. What steps have you taken to polish your
story?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">*pours whiskey*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Huh, what? Just
kidding folks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">*hides whiskey*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">This may be
super weird, but I actually <i>enjoy </i>editing.
Writing is fun, don’t get me wrong. It’s all, “YEAH! WORDS! IDEAS! THIS IS THE
BEST THING THAT HAS EVER BEEN WRITTEN!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">But then it
comes the time to actually read what you wrote and you’re like, “Holy crap on a
mechanical pencil. I wrote this? I wrote this. This is what I wrote.” And you
just sit there and stare at the steaming pile that wafts up from your keyboard.
(Or paper, if you still use that stuff.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Editing is taking
that pile and molding it, shaping it into what you really meant, taking your
word vomit and turning into a gosh darn novel. You see all the little nuances
and side stories you subconscious put there, because you’re freaking awesome
and that’s how you roll. (Go you!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">For me, what
this looks like is taking my first draft and shaping it into a longer 2<sup>nd</sup>
draft. THIS IS FOR MY EYES ONLY! I read it, add to it what it needs, and
subtract what it doesn’t. Then I copyedit the thing and let some trusted people
read it. Since I’m self-published, this is a list of people who know books and
love books. But, I also try and get someone who is not a reader, because if I
can keep their attention, I can keep anyone’s attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">From there a
third draft fixing anything they caught or stuff I missed the first couple go
arounds. Then I hit that scary little button that says, “PUBLISH.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">What
steps have you taken/are you considering taking to build a social platform to
promote your work?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Originally, I
had a Facebook page, a personal Twitter account, a book Twitter account, and a
website/blog. I ran a Facebook ad for my Facebook page and got a bunch of
Facebook likes, which in the end, was really only a waste of my Facebook
dollars. So, I dropped that platform. To be honest though, I’m at an age where
Facebook is super lame, but I’m still like, “Snapchat can suck it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Right now I
focus on hanging out on Twitter. The important thing with social media is do
what YOU like to do. It’s not to sell books. Don’t be a spam bot. Nobody wants
that. Be a human being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">I like playing
hashtag games and will RT/Like you if you’re funny. There’s enough negativity
in this world; I’d rather share some laughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">@beencalled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">@SavZombieNovel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-72432371053759522112016-03-31T23:26:00.001-07:002016-03-31T23:28:21.392-07:00Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile: ROSA LEE JUDE<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25.2px;">This post is the second in a series of profiles featuring currently unpublished and self-published authors. These interviews focus on three areas where both those writers who are looking to find success in traditional publishing and those who are taking the self-publishing path must develop strength: pitching their work, pitching themselves, and creating quality, well-edited work. None of what is shared in these posts is intended to be prescriptive. Also, a profile is not to be viewed as an endorsement of the author or her/his work.<b> If you'd like to be featured, email your responses to the following prompts to JackDouglasHorn@gmail.com. </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 25.2px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ROSA LEE JUDE</span></span><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Short Bio</span></b><br />
<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="Rosa" style="text-indent: 0in;">
Rosa
Lee Jude began creating her own imaginary worlds at an early age. While her
career path has included stints in journalism, marketing, hospitality &
tourism, and local government, she is most at home at a keyboard spinning yarns
of fiction and creative non-fiction. She lives in the beautiful mountains of
Southwest Virginia with her patient husband and very spoiled rescue dog.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Rosa" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Rosa" style="text-indent: 0in;">
The
Enchanted Journey is Rosa Lee’s second series. She is also the co-author of the
award-winning time-travel series, the Legends of Graham Mansion. Learn more
about her writing life at RosaLeeJude.com.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Rosa" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Rosa" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<b>Facebook.com/rosaleejudeauthor<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="Rosa" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<b>Twitter.com/rosaleejude</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="background: rgb(254 , 254 , 254); font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">100 words or fewer, describe your book or story.
This is your pitch. Make it enticing!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps
Tremble Dawson should have paid more attention to her unusual bosses at the
advertising agency or the sparks that fly out of her fingertips. Despite the
clues, Tremble is not prepared to learn that her existence is full of secrets
from a magical world. Her life is turned upside down when a handsome stranger
offers to be a special kind of bodyguard to protect her from an evil force bent
on making her fulfill a twisted prophecy. As she discovers her true identity,
Tremble realizes there’s a bounty on her future and she must pay the price.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">TREMBLE is Book One in The Enchanted Journey trilogy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jw0pBUOuCgM/Vv4Tb8Ak5vI/AAAAAAAAAjk/JJnaE8-ZR1cSKeV_8-56C1gJ7Tqvi75cQ/s1600/Tremble%2Becover%2BSeptember%2B19%2B2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jw0pBUOuCgM/Vv4Tb8Ak5vI/AAAAAAAAAjk/JJnaE8-ZR1cSKeV_8-56C1gJ7Tqvi75cQ/s320/Tremble%2Becover%2BSeptember%2B19%2B2015.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background: rgb(254 , 254 , 254); font-family: "garamond" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: large;">Describe your editing (not
writing) process. What steps have you taken to polish your story?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The editing
process is crucial. For both of my series, I have used a four-step approach
with four different editors. My main editor is the first person to edit the
finished manuscript (after tons of self-editing, of course). She makes deep
edits that encompass not only minor spelling/grammar errors, but also flow,
plot issues, and story holes. My next editor focuses on spelling and grammar as
well as inconsistencies in the story line. The third editor reads as a true
reader and offers opinions/suggestions regarding how the story interests/grabs
her and its believability. Lastly, the fourth editor is the “Eagle Eyes” editor.
Between each of the previous edits, I have made changes and updates, the last
editor is the final eyes on the manuscript and incorporates all of the previous
editing tasks in the final read. While this process is going on, the manuscript
is also read by numerous beta readers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Editing
is a daunting process. It is every bit as important, though, as all of the drafts
that a writer makes throughout the crafting of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-74382380360018787362016-03-27T10:23:00.000-07:002016-03-27T10:45:39.252-07:00Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile: RYAN COLVERT<br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">This post kicks off a series of profiles featuring currently unpublished and self-published authors. I've come to understand that there are (at least) three areas where both those writers who are looking to find success in traditional publishing and those who are taking the self-publishing path must build muscle: pitching their work, pitching themselves, and creating quality, well-edited work. There are a zillion and a half places where published and already well-known self-published authors are sharing their insights into these areas, but I thought it might be both helpful and fun for those who are newer to the business--and it is a business--to have a chance to chime in, too. None of what is shared in these posts is intended to be prescriptive. Also, a profile is not to be viewed as an endorsement of the author or her/his work. If you'd like to be featured, email your responses to the following prompts to JackDouglasHorn@gmail.com. And now over to Ryan.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px;">Unpublished/Self-Published Author Profile:</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"> RYAN COLVERT</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 21.3px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;">
<br style="line-height: 21.3px;" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 21.3px;">
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.3px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<b style="line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: x-large;">Bio</span></b></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #444444; line-height: 21.3px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ryan Colvert</span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> </span>was raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with one grandmother who was devoutly religious and named <i style="line-height: 21.3px;">Mother of the Year </i>for the entire state and another grandmother who played the banjo, smoked a pipe and scared him to death with ghost stories. He loved them both, but you can guess which one he takes after. He lives in the Atlanta area with his husband of nearly 25 years.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #444444; line-height: 21.3px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<a href="http://ryancolvert.com/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">http://ryancolvert.com</a> Twitter: @RyanColvert</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<b style="line-height: 21.3px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">100 words or fewer, describe your book or story. This is your pitch. Make it enticing!</span></span></b><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18.9333px;"></span></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 13.45pt;">A Moroccan fire-spirit trapped centuries ago is free and burning alive every </span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 17.9333px;">descendant</span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 13.45pt;"> of the one who trapped it.</span></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;">Jamal Williams is just trying to make ends meet in Savannah, Georgia when he is attacked for the actions of an ancestor he knows nothing about. With no knowledge of the supernatural, he must find a way to save both himself and his unborn child from the spirit—and he has to do it in the middle of the worst hurricane to hit Savannah in a century.</span></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; font-size: 15px; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; font-size: 15px; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<b style="line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">Describe your editing (not writing) process. What steps have you taken to polish your story?</span></span></b></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;">My first step was to identify and fix as many story-level issues as possible by myself. I knew I wouldn’t be able to find everything, but I didn’t want to put it in front of beta readers only to have them point out problems that I already knew about. When I did give it to beta readers, they were a mix of family and friends, readers and published authors. They gave me diverse and valuable insights—for example, the readers tended to focus on how they received certain characters or situations, while the published authors would discuss those things plus structural elements.</span></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;">(For example,one published author pointed out that there was a weak spot at the end of first 50 pages—an especially bad place for a weakness because most agents ask for the first 50 pages as a partial.)</span></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;">As a third step I’ve hired a professional developmental editor. In addition to helping me make direct improvements to the current project, this is teaching me things that will also benefit future projects.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #444444; font-size: 15px; line-height: 13.45pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<b style="color: #073763; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;">What steps have you taken/are you considering taking to build a social platform to promote your work?</span></b><b style="color: #073763; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21.3px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.9333px;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #444444; line-height: 21.3px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
The first thing I did was choose a pen name. That was an exercise in itself, but the <i style="line-height: 21.3px;">reason</i> I chose a pen name was that I wanted a name that was easy to spell, that wasn’t already taken on Twitter and Facebook, and for which I could get the URL. As soon as I chose the name, I created the accounts and purchased the URL to “reserve” them.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #444444; line-height: 21.3px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
<span style="line-height: 21.3px;">Since then, I’ve been blogging (occasionally) and building a Twitter following (still quite small, but taking off lately). At the beginning I blogged about the craft of writing, but then I decided that there are plenty of authors already doing that. Now I focus on things that I think will be interesting to the broader community of readers, like vignettes, short stories and book recommendations.</span></div>
</div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-37669947494346921792016-03-21T11:54:00.002-07:002016-03-21T11:54:25.423-07:00Win one of five signed copies of JILO!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nQ2VtDQFvi0/VvBDFkRe4hI/AAAAAAAAAi8/KlJGiHXVS1Y8xt5kgXDwA6-v9YDkVMNjQ/s1600/PREORDER%2BNOW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nQ2VtDQFvi0/VvBDFkRe4hI/AAAAAAAAAi8/KlJGiHXVS1Y8xt5kgXDwA6-v9YDkVMNjQ/s640/PREORDER%2BNOW.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Win 1 of 5 signed copies of JILO!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Visit me at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/">https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/</a> to see how.</div>
<br />JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-79524489448452260552016-02-29T17:23:00.001-08:002016-02-29T17:25:13.887-08:00THE LINE is coming to Russia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-piOWEMxOsZQ/VtTusVQNdzI/AAAAAAAAAig/b1SbXZb3Les/s1600/The%2BLine%2B-%2BRussian%2BCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-piOWEMxOsZQ/VtTusVQNdzI/AAAAAAAAAig/b1SbXZb3Les/s640/The%2BLine%2B-%2BRussian%2BCover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
THE LINE is coming out from Eksmo Publishing in Russia as GRAN' (Threshold). So excited to see this happening.<br />
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https://www.livelib.ru/book/1001524569JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-14920885281745582842016-02-23T13:27:00.002-08:002016-02-23T13:27:48.213-08:00Coming March 1st!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t2eEpN925ao/VszOgIYSc0I/AAAAAAAAAiM/vHLfvf3ZLtw/s1600/PITCH%2BFinal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t2eEpN925ao/VszOgIYSc0I/AAAAAAAAAiM/vHLfvf3ZLtw/s640/PITCH%2BFinal.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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"Pitch" is coming out as a solo short March 1, 2016!</div>
<br />JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-76068700802072374972015-12-18T07:30:00.000-08:002015-12-18T07:30:15.545-08:00JILO Cover Reveal!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jilo-Witching-Savannah-Book-4-ebook/dp/B0176BJYSO/" target="_blank"><img alt=" JILO" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cGtMb_O04D4/VnQl5-3tRvI/AAAAAAAAAhg/oF0kDU-sv34/s640/Jilo.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jilo-Witching-Savannah-Book-4-ebook/dp/B0176BJYSO/" target="_blank">JILO</a> cover reveal. Patrick Arrasmith outdid himself once again!</span></div>
<br />JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-67245196961647101082015-12-16T17:55:00.000-08:002015-12-16T17:55:58.175-08:002015 <div style="text-align: center;">
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Okay. So we're getting close to the end of the year. Normally, I don't go in for a lot of <i>Auld Lang Syne</i>ing, but this has been an incredible year. I wrote two more books this year. Well, maybe it's more like 1.75 books, since <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shivaree-J-D-Horn/dp/1503949486/" target="_blank">SHIVAREE</a> was about 30K words along when I realized it wanted to be a full novel and not just the novella I'd intended. A little known fact about my twisted little Southern Gothic vampire tale is that it is the product of writer's block. I'd committed to writing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jilo-Witching-Savannah-Book-4-ebook/dp/B0176BJYSO/" target="_blank">JILO</a>, and then proceeded to choke. Jilo, the character, had been so easy to write when she was part of Mercy's world, but when it came time to place her in her own, I couldn't get the pieces to come together. I kept working on my novella, hoping that I'd be able to keep from freezing up entirely. SHIVAREE enjoyed the attention, and after going back to Savannah and the Coastal Islands to research the Lowcountry of yesteryear, Jilo's story finally came together. Looking forward to April 2016 for JILO's release.</div>
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I ended up taking a bit of time off after shipping JILO to my publisher. Rich and I got to spend almost a month in Israel, seeing it from top to bottom. Not sure how my experiences might work their way into any future tales--don't expect a Witching Tel Aviv series--but the trip was a long-time dream come true.</div>
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On the family front, BOTH of my stepdaughters started law school this year. And of course, the most wonderful part of the year for me came just a few days ago when we adopted our new Chihuahua, Quincy Liam. Rich saw a posting on Facebook for a rescue dog named Quinn that resembled our beloved Quentin who passed two years ago this week. He casually asked me if I saw the posting, and said we should adopt the little guy. I nearly broke the internet searching for the posting, and, long story short, I'm typing this with one hand while playing with Quinn, now Quincy, with the other.</div>
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Hope you all also had much happiness in 2015, and may even more good things be on your way in 2016.</div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-12954993094329066452015-11-17T08:09:00.000-08:002015-11-17T08:09:23.301-08:00PRETTY ENOUGH TO CATCH HER GIVEAWAY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/photos/a.389964367767070.85672.375444495885724/890821284348040/" target="_blank"><img alt=" CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G1ELIN9-uX0/VktPd8KBW_I/AAAAAAAAAgs/IyAmJzjt4CA/s320/SMALLER%2BPretty%2BEnough%2Bto%2BCatch%2BHer.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">To celebrate the relaunch of PRETTY ENOUGH TO CATCH HER, I'm giving away 5 FREE copies. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JackDouglasHorn/photos/a.389964367767070.85672.375444495885724/890821284348040/" target="_blank">CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS</a></span></div>
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JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639852584371328426.post-7543220898282895802015-09-28T07:41:00.001-07:002015-09-28T07:41:25.198-07:00NYC Comic Con Schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ImsaG-RHJrI/VglRNuCCSwI/AAAAAAAAAf8/BPzlrCst44c/s1600/COVERS%2BNEW%2BLARGER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ImsaG-RHJrI/VglRNuCCSwI/AAAAAAAAAf8/BPzlrCst44c/s320/COVERS%2BNEW%2BLARGER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-size: x-large;">If you're attending Comic Con, please come say hello!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://nycc15.mapyourshow.com/6_0/sessions/session-details.cfm?ScheduleID=108" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-size: 19.5pt;">New York
Comic Con</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">October 8th-11th at
Javits Center</span><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Making the Impossible
Possible – Authors of Science Fiction & Fantasy<br />
Fri. October 9| 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM | Room 1A05<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sat. October 10|2:00
PM |47North Booth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">GET A SIGNED ADVANCED READ
COPY (ARC) OR ACTUAL COPY OF SHIVAREE!</span></b><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
JD Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538238148744690853noreply@blogger.com0