I am still in the process of working out the quirks of the languages in Evandar. There is a group whose linguistic background is developed out of Anglo-Saxon. I'm not calling them Anglo-Saxons because it isn't set in our world. That doesn't change, however, that the oldest language for the principle region where the action of the first few books is Anglo-Saxon. I have been using a translator/dictionary that I found online to work up phrases to use in the stories.
I want to have the evolution of the languages reflect the passage of time, thus there will be some who are geographically isolated who use a more archaic version and others that use a more 'modern' version with a greater variety of loan words from other languages to reflect the more cosmopolitan area they are in. The border cities, like Farden, are going to have something of a polyglot going on. I haven't really done much with that yet but that is because I'm literally still working on developing languages.
I was inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien and it shines through in quite a few areas. It was Tolkien who introduced me to the idea of generating languages for your fantasy world. I am not a linguist by any stretch of the imagination. Where as Tolkien had a great deal of study and expertise in how languages work, I am learning as I go along. Right now, I am focusing more on the roots of the English language because I am using it as the primary language of Evandar (with regional variations). Also, because I am most familiar with English since it is my mother tongue.
I think the language I am going to have the most difficulty in developing things based off of it will be Latin. I have no real idea what is going on with that language and I don't know anything beyond a few phrases and the names of plants. I am pretty intimidated by Latin but I know with some careful effort, I will get at least a minimum grasp on how words are structured so that I can develop my own Latin-esque words. I know that some people will jump to the conclusion that I am attempting to steal the idea from J. K. Rowling but that is not where it is rooted.
I have a region that is based off of the Roman Empire and I want the language and customs to reflect this. I am planning to eventually write something set in that region to reflect some of the clashes that happen between them and the peoples around them. The military history and the religious history of the Roman Empire has always fascinated me and I figured I could apply some of that towards my writing. That is the sort of thing that sparks ideas for me.
I'm attempting to build languages based off historical languages in our world. I will be inventing one or two whole cloth but those are going to be the exception. They're not going to feature heavily until much later into the series. And when these languages pop up, they will have a glossary of terms at the end of the book, so that you, the reader, can make sense of what the characters are saying. Because it never struck me as fair to leave the readers to guess the meaning of terms on the basis of context alone. You wind up unsure if your definition matches the one intended by the author and I personally find it a really awkward thing. It is my promise that I will not do that to you.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Book Covers!
Below is the front of the dust jacket for the hard bound version of The Dragon Child of Evandar. It is available for purchase via Lulu.com. In the next 3-5 days, you will be able to locate it via Amazon.com and other book sellers. The paperback cover will be ready for viewing next week and ready for purchase towards the end of the week through Create Space's Marketplace.
Here is the front of the dust jacket for the hard bound version of The Dragon's Daughter. This is also still available for purchase via Lulu.com. I've reworked the edition a little bit cosmetically. Thus, it will be another 3-5 days until it hits Amazon.com and other book retailers.
If you purchase these books via Lulu.com, there is a 10% discount off of the retail price. If you happen to be local to me and are interested in having me sign a copy for you, send me a message via e-mail! I would love to meet you and talk about what you enjoyed about the books.
As always, thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
Here is the front of the dust jacket for the hard bound version of The Dragon's Daughter. This is also still available for purchase via Lulu.com. I've reworked the edition a little bit cosmetically. Thus, it will be another 3-5 days until it hits Amazon.com and other book retailers.
If you purchase these books via Lulu.com, there is a 10% discount off of the retail price. If you happen to be local to me and are interested in having me sign a copy for you, send me a message via e-mail! I would love to meet you and talk about what you enjoyed about the books.
As always, thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Of Mice and Men...
Hello folks!
My plans to blog everyday up to release day have stumbled a bit because of life circumstances. (One of which was my youngest son turning 6 yrs. old. The time is flying by!) It seems that release day has been pushed back a few days as well. I am still in the midst of getting things settled. The proofs look fantastic. The last few details need to be ironed out. Thus, release day has moved from today's date (7/31/15) to Monday (8/3/15). On Monday, I will be posting links to where you can pick up The Dragon Child of Evandar in hard cover, paperback, and e-book format. I will also slap up here and on the Facebook page a picture of what the cover looks like for both the hard cover and the paperback books.
Thank you again for joining me on this grand adventure. We're almost to our destination!
My plans to blog everyday up to release day have stumbled a bit because of life circumstances. (One of which was my youngest son turning 6 yrs. old. The time is flying by!) It seems that release day has been pushed back a few days as well. I am still in the midst of getting things settled. The proofs look fantastic. The last few details need to be ironed out. Thus, release day has moved from today's date (7/31/15) to Monday (8/3/15). On Monday, I will be posting links to where you can pick up The Dragon Child of Evandar in hard cover, paperback, and e-book format. I will also slap up here and on the Facebook page a picture of what the cover looks like for both the hard cover and the paperback books.
Thank you again for joining me on this grand adventure. We're almost to our destination!
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
All Hail Tech Support!
It has been rough going on getting the book set up with the publisher. I was having several thorny problems with the cover creator software and I had several errors regarding the interior of the book. One quick call and a few clicks later, the whole works appear to be moving in the right direction. Nothing is as lovely as technical assistance at just the right time.
Tech support is great for more than just making software do what you want it to. There is a lot of different forms of tech support out there. Anyone who has worked in IT can tell you that they have to wear a lot of proverbial hats and juggle a laundry list of things at any given time. The people who help you with the details of making things happen are pretty frequently forgotten after that assistance has been rendered. It isn't fair to them. Thus, today's post is a huge thank you to all of you people that help the rest of us with getting our equipment, software, and jobs done.
In 24 hours, approximately, I will be reviewing proofs. Looking at the digital proofs as I have moved through the process, I am really pleased with how everything is working up. I am optimistic that the next set of proofs will be just as good. It is really amazing what you can do through places like Create Space and Lulu.com. While vanity presses are more work compared to traditional publishing in the aspect of putting a book together, with the right type of help it works out fairly well.
Tech support is great for more than just making software do what you want it to. There is a lot of different forms of tech support out there. Anyone who has worked in IT can tell you that they have to wear a lot of proverbial hats and juggle a laundry list of things at any given time. The people who help you with the details of making things happen are pretty frequently forgotten after that assistance has been rendered. It isn't fair to them. Thus, today's post is a huge thank you to all of you people that help the rest of us with getting our equipment, software, and jobs done.
In 24 hours, approximately, I will be reviewing proofs. Looking at the digital proofs as I have moved through the process, I am really pleased with how everything is working up. I am optimistic that the next set of proofs will be just as good. It is really amazing what you can do through places like Create Space and Lulu.com. While vanity presses are more work compared to traditional publishing in the aspect of putting a book together, with the right type of help it works out fairly well.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Publication: it's no joke.
Articles like this one bring to sharp detail the sheer amount of work that must be done to move a manuscript from an idea to a selling book. If you are going the traditional publication route, there is a whole lot of work that you have to put in when it comes to getting the publisher's notice. With traditional publication, there are a lot of 'services' that are managed by the publisher. Things like designing a cover, selecting a good typefont for the contents of the book, and finding a good editor are generally what the publisher takes care of. I'm sure there are a lot more details to that form of publication that I am just not aware of. Still, looking at it, it is pretty clear that you are not sitting on your laurels dreaming of the next book while you smoke cigars and drink umbrella drinks at some island retreat.
Self publication is a huge amount of work as well. You have to take care of all those details yourself and fund them from the outset. Starting out in self publication is rough work. While it is tempting to think that the traditionally published author has an easier time of it, it really is just a different form of work. Unlike traditional publication, the self published author has a great deal more creative control over the final product that hits the shelves. You surrender a goodly portion of that control to the publishing house when you are traditionally published. For some people, the idea of determining what paper stock is best and how big the typefont should be is daunting enough to send them running for cover. And that is ok. Not everybody wants to handle that stuff.
In either case, you still have to go out there and work hard to market your book. You still have to the leg work of meeting the public, be it via the internet (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) or the old fashioned book signing at the bookstore down the road. You still have to make a point of doing the interviews and (if you're lucky) panel discussions at conventions. The idea that the publishing house will take care of it all and you just have to show up is a myth that, in my opinion, does a huge disservice to the work the authors who go through that route do independent of the publisher. The stereotype of the self published author begging family to buy books and putting out work that is mediocre at best is just as damaging.
Publication is serious business. While it can be undertaken lightly, it does not get as positive results as the person who approaches it with due respect. Honestly, it is also pretty scary stuff too. There is the fear of rejection that runs rampant through either process that can really cut you down. There is the anxiety as to if your work is good enough to make sales just to break even, regardless of any dreams of profit. And that dizzying sense of free fall when you put your work out on the market is a real rough patch of ground to go over too. It is hard work. It is scary work.
But for how hard and scary publication is, it is also truly rewarding. There is no feeling like the one of holding your proof copy in hand, seeing that your manuscript has made it into print. The thrill of having successfully birthed a creative endeavor is ecstatic. The excitement of making your first sale is equally wonderful. Some people have compared the process to having a child. Honestly, having birthed two children, I think that is a brutally accurate description. Your heart is in your throat half the time. You work long hours, many of which are painfully tedious and you may find yourself questioning just what you got yourself into. You have times where you honestly question if you are competent enough to see that manuscript to completion.
It is grueling work. Some of it is terribly painful and some of it is breathtakingly wonderful. At the end of the day, no matter how much work goes into the process, you still have the accomplishment of completing a book. And that right there is just as much of a miracle as a newborn child.
Self publication is a huge amount of work as well. You have to take care of all those details yourself and fund them from the outset. Starting out in self publication is rough work. While it is tempting to think that the traditionally published author has an easier time of it, it really is just a different form of work. Unlike traditional publication, the self published author has a great deal more creative control over the final product that hits the shelves. You surrender a goodly portion of that control to the publishing house when you are traditionally published. For some people, the idea of determining what paper stock is best and how big the typefont should be is daunting enough to send them running for cover. And that is ok. Not everybody wants to handle that stuff.
In either case, you still have to go out there and work hard to market your book. You still have to the leg work of meeting the public, be it via the internet (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) or the old fashioned book signing at the bookstore down the road. You still have to make a point of doing the interviews and (if you're lucky) panel discussions at conventions. The idea that the publishing house will take care of it all and you just have to show up is a myth that, in my opinion, does a huge disservice to the work the authors who go through that route do independent of the publisher. The stereotype of the self published author begging family to buy books and putting out work that is mediocre at best is just as damaging.
Publication is serious business. While it can be undertaken lightly, it does not get as positive results as the person who approaches it with due respect. Honestly, it is also pretty scary stuff too. There is the fear of rejection that runs rampant through either process that can really cut you down. There is the anxiety as to if your work is good enough to make sales just to break even, regardless of any dreams of profit. And that dizzying sense of free fall when you put your work out on the market is a real rough patch of ground to go over too. It is hard work. It is scary work.
But for how hard and scary publication is, it is also truly rewarding. There is no feeling like the one of holding your proof copy in hand, seeing that your manuscript has made it into print. The thrill of having successfully birthed a creative endeavor is ecstatic. The excitement of making your first sale is equally wonderful. Some people have compared the process to having a child. Honestly, having birthed two children, I think that is a brutally accurate description. Your heart is in your throat half the time. You work long hours, many of which are painfully tedious and you may find yourself questioning just what you got yourself into. You have times where you honestly question if you are competent enough to see that manuscript to completion.
It is grueling work. Some of it is terribly painful and some of it is breathtakingly wonderful. At the end of the day, no matter how much work goes into the process, you still have the accomplishment of completing a book. And that right there is just as much of a miracle as a newborn child.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
6 Days and Counting!
Hello folks!
The big day is fast approaching and I have been having a devil of a time with the cover creator software I'm working with. The stock covers available from Create Space are nice, but not exactly what I am looking for. Thus, I am attempting to work through Lulu.com and having a bit of difficulty. My plan is to create the cover I want for the dust jacket to the hard cover edition and then use it for the soft cover version. I have the pictures picked out that I want to use but the software is being fussy. It is a frustrating thing but I think I will have all the details of the cover ironed out in the next day or so.
The hardest part for this project is not the cover. It is writing the blurb. I am looking at the manuscript and finding myself at a little bit of a loss for how to condense the whole story into a brief paragraph. There are so many elements at play in this book that I am worried that my efforts are going to come off as jumbled chaos. I am not going to let myself get extremely upset over this, because I have several wonderful people who are my sounding boards.
The title of book two of the Umbrel Chronicles is The Dragon Child of Evandar. I will be sharing some details about it as the week progresses and providing a preview of the final version of the cover. At the end of the month, the paperback and hardback versions will be released. For a limited time, they will be offered at a discount after the release date. I will let you know more about that as it gets closer to the big day.
Thank you all for hanging in with me and being patient.
Blessings,
Deborah
The big day is fast approaching and I have been having a devil of a time with the cover creator software I'm working with. The stock covers available from Create Space are nice, but not exactly what I am looking for. Thus, I am attempting to work through Lulu.com and having a bit of difficulty. My plan is to create the cover I want for the dust jacket to the hard cover edition and then use it for the soft cover version. I have the pictures picked out that I want to use but the software is being fussy. It is a frustrating thing but I think I will have all the details of the cover ironed out in the next day or so.
The hardest part for this project is not the cover. It is writing the blurb. I am looking at the manuscript and finding myself at a little bit of a loss for how to condense the whole story into a brief paragraph. There are so many elements at play in this book that I am worried that my efforts are going to come off as jumbled chaos. I am not going to let myself get extremely upset over this, because I have several wonderful people who are my sounding boards.
The title of book two of the Umbrel Chronicles is The Dragon Child of Evandar. I will be sharing some details about it as the week progresses and providing a preview of the final version of the cover. At the end of the month, the paperback and hardback versions will be released. For a limited time, they will be offered at a discount after the release date. I will let you know more about that as it gets closer to the big day.
Thank you all for hanging in with me and being patient.
Blessings,
Deborah
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Progress is being made!
Hello, dear Reader!
I have been working on editing book two and getting it ready for publication later this month. As I am working through this process, I can not help but be amazed that this is becoming reality. I am humbled and delighted by the fact that I can create these stories to be read by you. I am excited as book two of the Umbrel Chronicles marches closer to publication.
For the last month, I have been doing line edits. I anticipate being finished with them some time next week. This is the third round of line edits. The general editing was finished a little while back. My beta readers are going through one of the final versions of the manuscript. When I hear back from them, I will be incorporating their responses on how to improve the manuscript into the final version. I should have the cover finished approximately a week before it is time to send the book off.
Like the first book, this cover will focus on the season and major setting of the story. This is going to be a theme through the series. In each cover, you will have a clue as to a major detail of the story. It is my hope that if I get picked up by a publishing house to continue this theme through out the series. Until then, I will be doing the best I can with what I have.
Your readership means the world to me. I appreciate your time and I sincerely hope that you enjoy my efforts. If you are interested in contacting me to discuss the possibility of some form of collaborative project set in my little world, feel free to contact me.
I have been working on editing book two and getting it ready for publication later this month. As I am working through this process, I can not help but be amazed that this is becoming reality. I am humbled and delighted by the fact that I can create these stories to be read by you. I am excited as book two of the Umbrel Chronicles marches closer to publication.
For the last month, I have been doing line edits. I anticipate being finished with them some time next week. This is the third round of line edits. The general editing was finished a little while back. My beta readers are going through one of the final versions of the manuscript. When I hear back from them, I will be incorporating their responses on how to improve the manuscript into the final version. I should have the cover finished approximately a week before it is time to send the book off.
Like the first book, this cover will focus on the season and major setting of the story. This is going to be a theme through the series. In each cover, you will have a clue as to a major detail of the story. It is my hope that if I get picked up by a publishing house to continue this theme through out the series. Until then, I will be doing the best I can with what I have.
Your readership means the world to me. I appreciate your time and I sincerely hope that you enjoy my efforts. If you are interested in contacting me to discuss the possibility of some form of collaborative project set in my little world, feel free to contact me.
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