(I mean, look at that baby! Isn't he the sweetest dark overlord/writing buddy ever?)
Hello y'all! I realize I haven't been active for a while, and some of you may be wondering . . . Where is she? Did her brain explode? Was she kidnapped by a revengeful character? Did she get eaten by the scary, author-devouring monster known as Life?
Rest assured, my friends, I am still very much alive and well. (Though the state of my mind may be a different question . . .) A cleaning job, slowly reading through my TBR pile, and a couple crazy trips to Kentucky have all kept me busy. However, you'll be glad to know that I've been busiest with writing a new book.
Phoebs! You're doing your job! Good for you!
*grins sheepishly* Yes, I am. This top-secret WIP is officially my longest book to date, with 38K words so far (and I'm pretty sure I can get over 40K, because I still have to write the awesome epic finish). I know, not that long by some standards (think Tolkien, Brian Jacques, etc.), but I'm still improving. :) And let me tell y'all, this book makes me ridiculously happy. The characters are so real to me - especially a certain cinnamon roll that totally stole my heart. ♥ (Yep, I love my cinnamon rolls. Favorite kind of character EVER!) Also, I did a lot of planning before I actually started writing the story, so it's richer, deeper, and much more organized than my others.
*cough* Excuse me, Phoebs? Will you stop giving us these tantalizing hints? We want something concrete!
Oh, sorry, Invisible Annoying Reader. ;P I can't give away too many details yet. But I will say this - if all goes well, I should be releasing the title sometime in the next month. I'm hoping to be able to do more to prepare for the release this time (like special posts, character spolights, and the like). If you'd like to be updated on the process, or help spread the word, please drop me a line and let me know! We authors can't do our job without the help of fans. :)
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
For a while now, I've been trying to find a picture that I can use for my author profile pic. I wanted something that looked like me, without actually posting a picture of myself. (For whatever reason, I have reservations about putting my face out on the Internet.) I would've used a picture of my cat (because he is my best writing buddy), but there are some problems with that. First of all, he looks nothing like me. (Fortunately.) Second, he doesn't do the story-writing (even if he does walk over my keyboard once in a while). So, while my little "dark overlord" certainly deserves a place of his own in my writer's kingdom, I knew I didn't want to use him for my profile picture.
(I mean, look at that baby! Isn't he the sweetest dark overlord/writing buddy ever?)
I'd toyed with the idea of using a picture of myself, but mostly obscuring my face behind my hair, a feathery pen, or (surprise, surprise) a book. But every time I tried to set something up, the results didn't look as good in real life as they did in my mind. (Come to think of it, that's a pretty common occurrence with me.) I also thought about drawing a self-portrait, either with digital art or traditional mediums. Heh - no. I'm pretty much never satisfied with self-portraits.
And then, one of my friends sent me a really awesome picture. It reminded me of Bonnie, or of a certain character in the planned sequel to The Treasure Beyond. (Which I do want to write at some point. I even started working on it . . . I'm just a wee bit distracted with other projects at the moment. ;)
I was thinking about it last night, and I realized that it also looks sort of like me. So this morning I took it into Photoshop, played around with it a little, and . . . voilá!
I know, it's not perfect. I don't dress like that in real life (the closest I get is for costume parties), and my hair's not quite that wavy. (Sadnesss!) But hey, I think it looks pretty good - and so much better than anything I could've done myself. (And I LOVE the knife! So pretty! I'll admit it; I have a small - okay, a big - obsession with cool blades. Nothing dangerous, just a little . . . weird. But being an author makes me weird anyways, so hey. :)
So, long story short, I now have a new "official" author picture. I have it set as the avatar on my Amazon profile, and I updated the picture on the About page.
(And not to worry, I am still working on writing. I felt a bit lost at first after publishing Thunder of Time, but then some new characters waltzed into my life and grabbed on to my heart. I'm currently working on a couple different books, one of which is promising to be longer than my other stories. Here's hoping!)
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
Hello again, y'all! I'm back with a post some of you may find interesting - a little glimpse of what went on behind the pages of Thunder of Time. Anybody else love behind-the-scenes stuff? I do - whether it's movies, Lego© shorts, cover designs, or anything else. It's all awesome. :)
Anyways! This is a true story of something that happened to me while I was working on writing the final chapters of Thunder of Time (which I often call the "Troy story"). WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
So my brother was at the orthodontist's, and I had tagged along because, well, our orthodontist is an hour away. And we were going to see friends afterwards. And go to Bricks & Minifigs®. So while he was in the back (I forget what they were doing to him), I was sitting out in the lobby, typing away on my trusty laptop. (Person working on a laptop at the orthodontist's - totally normal, right? :D) Unfortunately, that's not the most conducive environment for writing. Because the radio. Is usually playing 80's music or annoying country songs. (No offense to any of my readers who may enjoy country music.) So here I was, trying to concentrate on a truly EPIC scene in my story, and feeling highly distracted and a bit frustrated because I wasn't getting very far.
And then, over the radio, I heard it: "The Final Countdown", by the Swedish rock band Europe. I had never really liked the song before - I found it annoying, especially when one of my fellow homeschool soccer players used to sing it during the last five minutes of each game. BUT - it was absolutely PERFECT for the scene I was trying to write. I sat there, grinning, reveling in the feel of the perfect song paired with the perfect scene. Because - the scene I was trying to write - the one I'd been having trouble with - was the scene in Chapter XVII (aka 17) where Troy and Regina are about to face the lion.
(You know, that scene?)
So, long story short, I now like "The Final Countdown", because I associate it with the Arena scene. I've put a link to it on the Extras page - it's only a 30-second sample, but it gets the idea across. If you want to hear the full song, look it up yourself. :)
I created a new section on the Extras page just for music. In addition to "The Final Countdown", there's links to some other pieces that I found inspirational or that I associate with my books. Give 'em a listen! :)
The Final Countdown - 30-second sample
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
I did it! I met my first-ever release date, and Thunder of Time has been loosed on the world! In the past, I've published my books through Lulu, but recently they've been getting pretty frustrating to work with (excessive shipping costs, inconsisent product quality, etc). So this time I took the plunge and switched to Amazon KDP. So glad I did! It cost me only $6 to order a proof copy, as opposed to $10 for ordering a proof copy from Lulu. Lots of thanks to HSLDA's Vicki Bentley, for encouraging me to make the switch!
(Why am I saying all this? To warn any budding authors: If you want to use Lulu, buyer beware!)
So, just how long did it take me? I started writing this story in mid-July - it came as a flash of inspiration after looking at the full moon (which, by the way, was called the Super Thunder Moon. You see where I got the title?) I wrote "The End" (I hadn't yet changed it to "Finis") on the evening on September 22nd (which happens to be Hobbit Day. Has nothing to do with the book, just one of my Random Useless Facts). Proofing, editing, graphics, and "everything else" took place through early January. I finished the final review and uploaded the files to KDP on the 17th.
Now comes the obvious question: Is the book any good? Wellllll, I'm probably not the best person to ask (heh heh), but it you should have seen my family's reactions to the story. When I gave them the full first draft of it, my mom squealed. (She does that whenever I give her a new story. It's so cute. :) ) My brother, who was extremely suspicious of it from the beginning, admitted that "you surprised me" and that he liked it after all. But I think my best commendation so far is from my dad. He stayed up until midnight reading it. That is . . . unusual.
I've spent the past half-year with these characters, and now Troy and Regina are like really good friends to me. They're special to me in different ways; Troy was a lot of fun to write, but Regina has aspects of my personality written into her, and sometimes her thoughts and emotions mirror what I was going through at the time. Several of the supporting characters were also very fun to come up with, and I still laugh every time I read over the parts with them (I'm thinking of Maxcillus and Luda). I'm super happy to be releasing them into the world, but at the same time it's also sad to say goodbye. Though I guess it's really not goodbye, since they'll still be with me in my mind and my heart. (Note to any bloggers: If you want to interview any of my characters, let me know and I'll see if I can get them to cooperate.)
What happens now? I always feel sort of lost after I publish a book, kind of like Nancy Drew after she's solved a mystery. But, like Nancy Drew, there are always more adventures just around the corner. I've got several stories I began and haven't finished, as well as ideas that haven't made it onto paper yet.
I know in a previous post I said I might have an online celebration for the realease of Thunder of Time. Unfortunately that's not going to happen, because I'm not on Facebook, and I'm super busy right now trying to prepare for a trip next month. :(
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
I started the new year off right with another Lego© promo video! I know some of you have been waiting (whether patiently or otherwise) for this to come out, and I'm happy to report that you can now watch it. My brother and I had a lot of fun building the sets, props, and people, and finding the right music and sound effects for it. Like my books, there are a few private jokes worked into it (especially that one scene in the marketplace).
Okay, okay, enough talking about it. Here's the link, which I've also put on the revised Extras page. (Yes, I've been revising things. I figured I didn't need to split up all my extra materials - especially since I wasn't coming up with much - so I just consolidated it all on one page.)
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
It's the last day of 2022; has everyone had a good year? I have, especially as far as books are concerned. The Treasure Beyond, my third book, was published in February; I set a new personal record when I wrote a 30K-word book in just over two months; and I set out on an awesome adventure with Lou and Marik (and friends). (Let me just say here and now that I loved those two as soon as I started writing about them. And I've got a lot of ideas for them, so keep checking that page to find out what happens!)
Now . . . I've got an announcement. I said in an earlier post that I don't do release dates (*cough cough*) but I'm seriously considering breaking my rule. See, I need to have Thunder of Time published before February, so I can put it on my resumé for a scholarship competition. And if I have a release date, that keeps me focused, right? But anyways - at this point, my potential release date is . . . January 21st! And I just *might* have an online celebration, if I can figure out what's involved in that and get enough people interested. *wink wink*
(By the way, I'm planning to use Amazon to publish Thunder of Time, because the company I use currently has been getting very frustrating.)
So that's something to look forward to in the new year - even if, like my brother, you get distressed about how fast time is going. But guess what - God knows what's in store for each one of us in 2023, and He will see us through all the adventures He has planned for us.
Y'all know what the classic New Year's Eve song is, right? It's an old Scottish song called "Auld Lang Syne". (I've read the original Sottish lyrics, an' 'tis a wee bit hard to understand.) ;) So, being the music lover that I am, I decided to include a link to a clip of "Auld Lang Syne" in my post today. I thought about a Big Band version, or a simple guitar piece, but I settled on a recording from 1910. It's actually very good quality for an old recording, and I love the singer's voice. :)
I think the best way to end this post is with a quote from Captain Nemo in Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which, by the way, we watched last New Year's Eve):
"There is hope for the future. When the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass . . . in God's good time."
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
Do you realize . . . it's been four years since I published my first book? That's right; it was four years ago on this day that I uploaded the files for Never Left Alone, my first-ever book in print. Now, I don't sell that book online, and I don't intend to. Not anytime soon, at any rate. The historical errors are cringe-worthy, the pictures are terrible quality, and the back cover needs revison. And - *whispers* - I lost the files. Umm, yeah . . . it involved dropping my laptop, which broke my flash drive. Until that day, I didn't know flash drives could break. (Now, headphones are a different matter. Headphones can definitely break.)
Okay, but I'm getting off-topic here. I really don't want to talk about all the devices and accessories I've broken; this post was intended as a reflection on how far I've come in my writing journey. So, looking back at that first book, I can definitely see how much I've improved. For one thing, I now make sure to do my research! There was actually very little research that went into Never Left Alone. But when I was writing King of Hearts, I visited Fort Laramie multiple times, and I dragged my family off to an Old West museum downtown. And for The Treasure Beyond and Thunder of Time, I looked up countless Wikipedia articles on things like frigates, privateering, Roman galleys, and gladiator types. (Do you have any idea how hard it can be to figure out the approximate size of a ship's crew in the 1700s?) My graphics are also a lot better, due in a large part to my dad making me learn Photoshop. (Thank you!!!) The cover for Thunder of Time looks a lot more professional than the King of Hearts cover.
I've also just improved in my general writing style. The style of my recent projects (in my opinion) is a lot more enjoyable to read than that first book of mine. Some of the writing in there was a little . . . well . . . awkward. There's a term that's used in strategic wargames: elegant. A game that has an elegant design has smooth play mechanics that aren't confusing or overwhelming. I think that term could be applied to writing too; a writer has an elegant style if their words flow nicely without clunkiness or ambiguity. I think I can safely say that I've gotten better about that. :)
I've compiled a short list of books (and one movie) that I recall as being influential in my writing career. Keep in mind, I've always been a reader, and some of these are from years ago, so the dates might not be too precise!
2011 (8 years old): Black Beauty by Anna Sewell; I start writing a story about wild horses in Colorado.
2013 (10 years old): The Happy Hollisters series by Jerry West; I try my hand at writing a series about a detective family.
2015 (12 years old): A Bridge Too Far movie; the idea for Never Left Alone is born.
2017 (14 years old): The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien; I decide to attempt writing fantasy.
2019 (16 years old): The Redwall series by Brian Jacques; studying Jacques' style helps me improve in the way I describe things.
2022 (19 years old): The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight; I begin incoporating some "deep point-of-view" in my writing.
And, of course, there are all the people who have helped me over the years. I think specifically of my family; they've been very tolerant and supportive of my writing obsession, including the times when I'm going crazy about my stories and have to afflict them with Random Useless Facts. My friends, also, have been instrumental in helping me proofread, and just being there for me as moral support. And no list of important people would be complete without my two favorite writing teachers: Carrie Matthews from homeschool co-op, and Andrew Pudewa from the Institute for Excellence in Writing.
Most of all, though, I want to recognize Jesus Christ, my precious Savior. He has taught me so many things through all the years that I've been writing, and without Him, I doubt that I would be writing these books at all. He deserves all the praise for everything I've been able to accomplish!
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
Happy winter, merry Christmas, and ho-ho-ho! The day is finally here! Lou and Marik are making their first appearance, and I am so excited to share my babies with the world! (Umm . . . yeah . . . I like exclamation points . . .)
As promised, there is a new tab on the menu bar above. The corresponding page has the first installment of Lou & Marik, as well as more character inspiration pictures I found. As the series progresses, I'll be adding more names and pictures to the list. (Yeah, wait until you see Lord Richmond. He is, well, interesting . . .)
Alert to any potential fangirls: Marik is a cinnamon roll. Just sayin'.
At this point, I'm working on writing the sixth installment (which will be coming about May), so I am ahead of the game for now. I can't promise a new installment on the 1st of every month, but I'll do my best. And if nothing shows up for several months . . . well, then in that case I got stuck. Or else my characters abducted me.
You are more than welcome to pass this on! If you know someone who would enjoy Lou & Marik, then by all means send them the link!
If you want to be updated when I post further installments (as well as any other website updates), please email me and let me know!
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
So, you know how I promised you sneak peeks a few days ago? Well, guess what? That's exactly what this update is! Take a look at some of my character inspiration and other pictures below!
Note: I just grabbed these cool photos off of Bing Images to use as character inspiration. I have no idea if they are copyrighted, or from a movie, or whatever. I did Photoshop the second picture (I gave the guy a tan, darkened his hair, removed some scruff, and added the scar). There was one picture I would rather have used for the girl, but it WAS copyrighted, so I didn't.
Now this, on the other hand, is my own image! These are two Lego© people I got at a store in Louisville on a trip to Kentucky. I looked at them and the wheels in my brain started turning . . .
Are you curious yet? ;) Wondering just what I'm doing with these interesting-looking characters? And who in the world ARE these characters, anyway? Well . . . "Lucky for you, I have contacts everywhere." Haha, just kidding! (Yes, another PLAYMOBIL quote.) These characters and the map are part of my latest Work In Progress (WIP) - an ongoing series of short stories. I'm planning to post monthly installments on this website. Hopefully, if everything goes well, the first story will show up sometime in December.
And now comes the obvious question: exactly WHERE on your website can we expect to find these stories, Phoebs? News? Books? Characters? The new Alien Invasion page? (Wait a minute, I have an Alien Invasion page?!) (No. I don't.) Okay, joking aside, I WILL be creating a new page just for these stories. They'll have their own tab on the menu bar, labeled Lou & Marik.
Yes, I just gave you the name of this series, as well as the names of my two main characters. Take a look at those character pictures again. Can you guess which one is which? If not, wait for the first story to show up. :P
And of course, the best way to find out when that happens is to keep checking back here!
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
My brain's been active. Those who know me best might tell you that means trouble. Which, I have to admit, it does . . . sometimes. But this is a good kind of active. It means that there will be something special coming soon to the Black Otter Books website!
Now, I'm not going to reveal exactly what kind of updates these are going to be. But I will say this, that it has to do with another project I've been working on. I'm planning to post some sneak peeks on here soon to arouse your interest. ;)
(Oh yes, and the quote? (If you can't tell, I like quotes.) It's from the movie A Bug's Life, which we watched a lot when I was younger.)
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!
"And now . . . the moment you've all been waiting for!"
Sorry, I can't help quoting from PLAYMOBIL: The Movie. :D It's one of my favorite movies ever, and it just so happens that the quote fits this announcement so well - not just because I'm about to release something exciting, but because of the scene it's taken from. After all, when the villainous Emperor Maximus is just about to introduce Charles the Destroyer to all the spectators at the Coliseum, you know something epic is going to happen, right?
Something epic is going to happen - right here and now. I'm about to reveal . . . *drum roll please* . . . the cover for my next book, Thunder of Time!
I told you it was epic! *squeals happily* This is my best-looking cover to date. Since I started learning Adobe Photoshop, my graphics skills have so much improved, and I can actually create professional-looking covers now.
As for when the book's coming out? Unfortunately, I don't know, because I'm still waiting on my proofreaders and illustrators. And in case you're wondering, no, I don't do release dates. I just let my books burst into the world whenever they're ready. So you'll have to keep checking back to see when that is! :)
Any questions? Feel free to contact me and I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can!