Getting back to work

I decided to take a summer break...well from my latest novel.  I am still finishing TEEN TIME and should have it out on the shelves by the end of the month.  I am currently reviewing "Night of the Cossack". It's a great story and the writing is captivating.  I haven't finished reading it but I am enjoying it so far.  The author writes from a western perspective of Russian history...what does that mean? It means that our history is biased towards our understanding of religion and politics. If you read Russian history in Russia, you get a different feeling and view of world history. I'll write more about this when I finish the book.

Angel above the sea

My new novel (in progress) is becoming more interesting as I research into the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the 1930s. Apart from the hagiography of this period i.e. St John of Shanghai, I am finding interesting facts about the Japanese Army and Chinese ancestor worship. I am also amazed how characters take on a life of their own...I know I have some memorable heroes and heroines, plus a tragic hero...a bit like Captain Ahmet Ali in The Landing Place.  BTW The Landing Place  www.creativecopy.us/lp.html is now published by Pokrov Press. I am very pleased with the new cover and the fact that I get all the royalties this time.  Any way back to work and less blogging!

I hear that Disney is offering chocolate frogs at its $250 million theme park based on Harry Potter. I thought the US was in recession but apparently there is still oodles of money around and some people will always find the cash to enjoy their particular brand of fantasy. I found the first HP book a good read. The prose was lean (just as I like it) and it was a clever story. It reminded me of Enid Blyton and her naughty pixies….not literally, but it had a simple ring about it. I would recommend HP as a fun read but not call it a classic. I don’t expect that Disney will turn my novel into a film that breaks the box office nor do I envisage a theme park, complete with a Russian SB-6 bi-plane and a concrete replica of Mt Ararat...and chocolate snakes.    A Supernatural Adventure

Latest writing doodles

What am I doing these day? I often ask myself this question about my creative writing. Hey. All writing is creative, isn't it, even your tax form..?

Well, the big project is my new non-fiction (and I've almost completed it) called TEEN TIME: Spending quality time with your cyber-savvy teen.

I believe there is a need for a guide for parents to the Internet. We are, after all, living in the 21st century, the new digital world.  As parents we surely need to know what our teens are up to?  I am covering the pros and cons of social networking, surfing, games, with an appendix on fantasy/sex addiction and the new princess narcissism.

I am writing TEEN TIME for a secular audience but I am also writing some articles, based on the book, for a Christian readership.

And I'm working on a new novel for teens about Shanghai in 1936-37. It tells of the lives of street kids, a Japanese Officer and a mysterious Russian bishop.

The Road to Deer Run

I don't usually read romance novels but this story by Elaine Cooper is an exceptional tale. It is a story of sacrificial love written from the heart. Elaine uses the imagery of nature to create mood and tension. She couples compassion with suspense as a local colonial girl tends for an enemy Red Coat. What I found very moving was that this story is based on true events. And what's more, Elaine, herself if a direct descendant of the soldier, Daniel Prince. I think you will find it a read that you won't be able to put down.

Are you having a bad time trying to get published? These days publishers (who only work through agents) and agents are very choosy, especially if you are unknown. The first question they ask is 'Do you have a platform? If so, how many books can you sell for us to make a profit?' That seems to cut out quite a number of potential authors. So what do you do? Self publish? But even here there are big problems when it comes to marketing. Yes, a selfpublishing company will edit, proof read and print your book (they mostly use OUTSOURCING) but when it comes to marketing, you are on your own. It all comes back to whether you have a PLATFORM. I have discovered that I can outsource my work, just like the selfpublishing companies that charge at least $3000 to do it for you. And if there is no marketing, it doesn't make sense to spend your hard earned dollars on such companies. What do you do? Well you can do what I did. I hired a graphic artist to design a cover, a copyeditor to read and assess the m/s and a proof reader and a printer (Ingrams the big, big book distributor) to complete the novel. Much cheaper than paying a selfpublisher to do this. Yes, I have a book published by a selfpublisher on atleast 3 Christian bookstore websites (there are apparently 4000 in the US) and on Amazon and B&N. However if my book does not sell (off the shelf) within 3 months, the bookstores send them back for a refund. A definite lose/win situation for me. Any way I have worked out a method to build or should I say borrow a platform to get my book out there. I am happy to share it with you, if you bother to read this blog!
www.creativecopy.us

Marketing and marketing and marketing

90% of reaching my readership is marketing. I learnt the hard way when I published with Macmillan many years ago.  They did very little marketing.In fact what they did was pathetic.  So as an author you have to do your own. I have found todate that social networking is a useful tool not only for getting known out there in cyber space but for making new friends. So I'm trying to contact potential readers using twitter and facebook.