Tag Archives: ROW80

WANA Wednesday: An Interview with Maria McKenzie, plus ROW80 Update

by Jennette,

I have a special treat this week for WANA Wednesday. Today, I’m interviewing indie author and In Real Life writing pal Maria McKenzie. Her first book, The Governor’s Sons, was blow-me-away awesome! I have her new book, Escape, on my smartphone waiting to be read!

And now, here’s Maria:

JMP: Have you been published by a big publisher? Small press/epub? Independently? Please share your publishing experience. What made you decide to take this publishing path?

MM: I chose to independently publish my books. About two years ago, I tried to get traditionally published, but after multiple rejections I decided to try independent publishing, and I have no regrets. I knew other writers who were venturing there, but I think what pushed me over the edge was what agents and publishers were starting to ask for. One e-publisher asked that you submit your own artwork, and some agents were requesting publicity plans. Since more and more is required of new authors, I figured I’d do everything myself!

JMP: I don’t blame you! Those were all big factors in my decision, too. Now that you’ve tasted the control and flexibility that comes with indie publishing, are you still pursuing a traditional publishing contract, or perhaps an agent?

MM: No, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever try again. Right now I have complete control of all my projects, and I can write what I want.

JMP: Boy do I hear that. Big publishing is really risk-adverse to anything that’s a bit different, or doesn’t fit neatly into an established genre – which is definitely how I saw The Governor’s Sons. What do you do (or have you done) for a day job? Has this informed or inspired your writing in any way?

MM: I was a librarian for thirteen years. I resigned when I had my first child back in 1999.  I really enjoyed being a reference librarian and digging up facts, and I love history. Now I write historical fiction, and half the fun for me is in the research!

JMP: One thing I loved about your books is how I felt like I was there! It’s obvious how your former day job and love of research has served you well. What about other inspirations – have there been any particular events, places, things you’ve seen/heard/read that inspired the overall premise of a book, its events, or any of the characters?

MM: My first book, The Governor’s Sons, which I published last year, was inspired by Essie Mae Washington-Williams’s memoir, Dear Senator. Williams is the love child of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond and his family’s African American maid. Her story really touched me and made me think, what would have happened if a southern governor fathered a son by a black woman, and that son grew up to become a civil rights leader.

JMP: Dear Senator sounds like a fascinating read, and has been on my non-fiction TBR list since I read about it. What inspired your latest book?

MM: My latest novel, Escape, was inspired by my own marriage. Not long after I got married, I thought about how sad it would have been if my husband and I had known each other 150 years earlier. We were an interracial couple living in North Carolina at the time, and a century and a half earlier, we wouldn’t have been able to marry.

JMP: I thought about that with the relationship in The Governor’s Sons, too. Living in a post-Civil Rights society, it’s hard for me to imagine – but sadly true. Tell us more about your current or upcoming release.

MM: Escape: Part One of the Unchained Trilogy is my latest release, and here’s a brief synopsis:

Daniel and Lori love each other, yet to live as one in 1856, they must escape from the unyielding society that imprisons them.

Lori was born a slave in North Carolina, yet by chance was raised alongside Daniel in a wealthy abolitionist household. The sudden death of Daniel’s mother catapults Lori back into bondage.

Relegated to chattel on a rice plantation, Lori lives in constant fear under the tormenting scrutiny of Daniel’s wretched Aunt Lucinda.

After Daniel fails to convince his relatives to free Lori, he is compelled to devise a daring escape. Although a life threatening endeavor for both of them, Lori’s freedom is priceless to Daniel, and he’s willing to pay such a price for her love.

People have asked about the trilogy and the significance of the titles, so here’s that information in a nutshell:  The title of the trilogy is Unchained.  Lori was born a slave, but escapes from slavery.  Her granddaughter, Selina, who passes as white, carries the secret of her African American ancestry like a painful chain, bound around her heart. Only when she tells her family the truth can she free herself from the pain of that secret. Escape is part one of the trilogy. While Lori escapes from bondage, her daughter, Lavinia, escapes from living as a “Negro.”  In part two, Masquerade, Lavinia becomes a great actress in New York, all the while hiding her true identity.  Revelation is part three, and in this story, Lavinia’s daughter, Selina, reveals the truth about her ancestry. For what to expect in each part of the trilogy, visit the novel page on my website.

JMP: Maria, thanks so much! I can’t wait to read Escape, and I know I’ll be looking forward to the next book as soon as I finish it! Your blog has some fascinating stories about famous historical people – including some in entertainment – that no one knew were of African ancestry.

What about you? Have you ever read historical fiction featuring interracial romance? Do you find it hard to imagine a time when interracial marriages were prohibited in many places? Do you have any questions or comments for Maria? We’d love to hear from you!

Maria’s books are both available on Amazon as eBooks, and in print.

Quick ROW80 Update: I haven’t received the print proof for Home for the Holidays yet. I did get a chance to mark revisions for Chapter 4 of Hangar 18. So far so good!

What is WANA? It stands for We Are Not Alone, a guide to blogging, social media and networking for authors by Kristen Lamb. It’s writers helping writers, whether or not we’ve taken the course, and proving that we really are not alone!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

ROW80: One Big Goal Down

by Jennette,

Three to go! It took awhile, and I ended up learning some new software, but that ended up being fun, and I got the holiday anthology formatted for both e-book and print, and the print proof on its way to me already. For my first two books, Word worked out just fine provided I proofed the whole book to make sure it wasn’t hyphenating words in stupid places (which it does). But this anthology was my first time using CreateSpace, which flagged a couple of graphics that Word had reduced quality of for file size – to a lower resolution than it should have. Therefore, I switched to Adobe InDesign, professional page layout software that my day job employer thoughtfully provided along with the web design components I regularly use. I’ve been mostly out of the graphic design field for fifteen years now, so I’d never used it. However, the overall functionality was much the same as what I used to use way back then, so it was more a matter of learning the specific commands of how to do a particular thing, like set up page headers that could be different for each story. And wow, did it do a much better job than Word!

Here’s my week’s progress in detail:

  • Format and upload Home for the Holidays anthology if all materials are received –  Done!
  • Physical activity 5x this week – Done!
  • Hangar 18 – review and markup Chapters 1-3 – Done!
  • Get it Together exercises 13 & 14 – No
  • I got some more outlining done on my “just for me” project.

Here are my overall goals for this round:

  • Format and release OVRWA holiday story anthology – Done and soon to be released!
  • Revise Hangar 18 – revisions/markup started
  • Keep up with my exercise, five times a week. – ongoing
  • Finish the Get It Together exercises (description of that here) – completed sections 3 – 12
For this week, I’d like to:
  • Finish Home for the Holidays print book, and if proof received, correct if needed; otherwise OK it and make available for sale!
  • Physical activity 5x this week
  • Hangar 18 – review and markup Chapters 4-6
  • Get it Together exercises 13 & 14

If you’re participating in ROW80, how are you doing so far? If not, how are you doing with whatever goals you may have made?

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

WANA Wednesday: Fun Reads for the Young and Young-at-heart, plus ROW80 update

by Jennette,

This week’s WANA Wednesday is all for the young among us. But you don’t have to be a kid or a teen to enjoy these books – so if you’re young at heart, check ’em out!

Children’s author Lynn Kelley celebrated the release of Curse of the Double Digits with a great, online launch party last week! Curse of the Double Digits is about Becky, who turns 10 on the 10th day of the 10th month. She expects it to be magical. The whole class is invited to her party, including Chad, the cutest boy in the fifth grade. So is Darlenie-the-Meanie. Becky wants to look cute for her big day, but all her plans go wrong. Really wrong. The magic of turning ten disappears before she even has a chance to blow out her birthday candles. Things get so bad, she refuses to go to her own party. Becky wonders if the Curse of the Double Digits will jinx her forever.

Lynn is doing random drawings for a giveaway in the format of your choice, including print, on her blog and several others through the October 30th. More info at: http://lynnkelleyrandomactsofwriting.blogspot.com/2012/10/curse-of-double-digits-launch-party.html

We also have the release of The Seven Keys of Alaesha by Samantha Warren. In this Young Adult fantasy, Edith Myers has just about had enough. Her first day at a new school and she already has an enemy – Dana Blake, head cheerleader, tormentor  typical prom queen. But when Edith discovers a strange key, she finds herself embroiled in an inter-dimensional war. She and Dana must find a way to work together, or it could spell the end of the other world, and theirs.

Charles has spent centuries protecting the doors to his homeworld, Alaesha, but when he meets Edith, the quiet, quirky girl who stumbled upon a key, he must decide between saving his way of life and saving her.

Kindle owners who are Amazon Prime members can borrow  The Seven Keys of Alaesha for free. For more info: http://www.samantha-warren.com/p/the-seven-keys-of-alaesha.html

My IRL friend Athena Grayson has released her romantic comedy Forever Material in print! This has been out a while in e-book, but the print version is new – and has a new, improved cover by yours truly. 😀

In Forever Material, bad boys are Barbara Whitehall’s business. She’s made a career out of teaching other women how to get over the bad boys–like her hunky neighbor–and find good men. Jake Mancini’s had his eye on the retail space next door to expand his martial arts studio, but before he could make a move, buttoned-up Barbara moved in. Now he has his eye on her killer legs and wants to make a move on her instead. Barbara’s killer legs might come with a tongue that’s murder on his no-strings social life, but if Jake can prove her wrong, she’ll have to close up shop. All he has to do is get close enough for her to fall for him…without losing his own heart. I read this when it first came out in ebook, and it’s LOL funny! So if you’re looking for a feel-good, fun read, I highly recommend Forever Material! More info at: http://athenagrayson.com/blog/all-about-the-books/

Finally, this just in! Shannon Esposito is celebrating the release of her newest Pet Psychic mystery, Lady Luck Runs Out, with a great contest, where she’s giving away not only books, but jewelry and some fun swag! In Lady Luck Runs Out, Fall tourist season in St. Pete has kicked into high gear for Darwin Winters, pet psychic, but that doesn’t stop her from getting tangled up in a new murder investigation. Rose Faraday, a gypsy fortune teller, has succumbed to a rattlesnake bite in her own condo. After a run-in with the victim’s traumatized cat, Darwin knows it was no freak accident. Can she find a way to prove it? Or will the killer get lucky and get away with murder? Contest details and more info at: http://murderinparadise.com/2012/10/release-day-contest/

ROW80 Update

My main task to complete this week is to finish formatting the Home for the Holidays anthology. I completed the ebook formatting on Sunday, and finished the print book formatting last night. Next, uploading in both e- and print formats. I hope to have it ready for purchase within a week or so!

I am also continuing to work on the Hangar 18 revisions. Chapter One is marked up, and I’m making progress in Chapter Two.

Fitness goals are 2 for 2 so far, so we’re off to a good start!

What about you – do you like children’s or teen books, even if like me, you haven’t been either for a very long time? How about funny romance or mysteries? If you’re doing ROW80, how is your week going so far? Know about any other WANA books that released recently that I’ve missed?

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Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

ROW80: Not Bad

by Jennette,

This week’s ROW80 goals were a mixed bag. I’d forgotten to take into consideration that my RWA chapter was having a long workshop on Saturday, so that cut into my goal time. I also missed a workout, but that’s not bad. Here’s how it went:

  • Format and upload Home for the Holidays anthology if all materials are received – I got the last story and sent out to the authors to review. Didn’t get that back until Friday night, but I still managed to get the ebook formatting done. Didn’t upload, but that’s because I decided to wait until the print version was up, so I’m going to consider this one Done.
  • Physical activity 5x this week – Not quite – but I got 4x in.
  • Hangar 18 – re-order scenes (this was probably the biggest revision), and print out for markup – Done!
  • Get it Together exercises 13 & 14 – No
  • I also got some more outlining done on a “just for me” project that I may write for NaNoWriMo

Here are my overall goals for this round:

  • Format and release OVRWA holiday story anthology – moving along!
  • Revise Hangar 18 – revisions/markup started
  • Keep up with my exercise, five times a week. – ongoing
  • Finish the Get It Together exercises (description of that here) – completed sections 3 – 12
For this week, I’d like to:
  • Format Home for the Holidays print book, and if proof received, OK and upload ebooks.
  • Physical activity 5x this week
  • Hangar 18 – review and markup Chapters 1-3
  • Get it Together exercises 13 & 14

If you’re participating in ROW80, how are you doing so far?

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

WANA Wednesday: Scary Stuff, a Train Wreck, and Vampire Lawyers, plus ROW80 update

by Jennette,

For this week’s WANA Wednesday, we have some books I can’t wait to read! In fact, I’ve already started the first one, and I’m really enjoying it!

Tales from the Mist doesn’t officially release until next week, but it’s available now. Tales includes short stories by WANA friends Rhonda Hopkins and Catie Rhodes, as well as several other popular indie authors. Tales from the Mist will take you on a journey into the dark world of the paranormal. These twelve stories vary in their degree of horror, yet all reach across the boundaries of their genres into the chilling realms of the macabre. Witches, ghosts, shape-shifters and vampire rats are some of the creatures that reign within these pages. Authors included are: Scott Nicholson, Rhonda Hopkins, Marty Young, Cate Dean, Tamara Ward, Meredith Bond, Catie Rhodes, Greg Carrico, Mitzi Flyte, Natalie G. Owens, *lizzie starr and Stacey Joy Netzel. More info, a fun interview with Rhonda, and a chance to win a free e-copy of Tales from the Mist at: http://libraryendofuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/10/october-tales-event-author-interview_6.html

The Naked Husband by Colin Falconer is about a man whose life becomes a train wreck, and I can’t wait to read it!

Mark d’Arbanville has the ‘perfect life’: a successful writer, he is happily married with a teenage son. But when he falls in love with another woman, Mark’s life unravels, exposing regret, estrangement and heartache. Yet as his marriage falls apart Mark still can’t let go. Nor can his lover, Anna, who won’t leave her husband. When Mark finally does make the break, the effect is catastrophic – his wife commits suicide. The circuit breaker comes when Mark finds his dead wife’s journals, and in their pages discovers a man – himself – he can barely recognize. The Naked Husband takes a candid look at the way men think, act and feel inside a relationship. Shocking, disturbing but impossible to put down, it’s a novel for every woman who ever found the reality of sex and marriage so different to the fairytale, and wondered why.

The Naked Husband almost didn’t get published – the author originally wrote it just for himself, as a way to work through some of his own life issues. As such, it’s said to be an emotionally-raw read, and one that gets the author emails every week, eight years after its original publication. It was a tremendous bestseller in the author’s home, Australia, but his U.S. agent couldn’t sell it here. Lucky for us readers here, the folks at Cool Gus publishing thought differently. It’s exclusively on Barnes & Noble now, and will be available elsewhere starting November 1. More info at: http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/australian-runaway-bestseller-rejected-in-the-us/

And finally, how did I miss Big Trouble in China by CC MacKenzie??? Maybe because it was released before I started WANA Wednesday, but I still want to feature it! (And read it!)

In Big Trouble in China, Anais Walker has one passion – law. And one goal – a glittering career with Gillespie, Pattullo & Hindmarch. Success is so close she can taste it. Until a lamentable slip of concentration jeopardises a billion dollar deal with the Chinese. Is Anais about to lose it all…

Famously ruthless corporate lawyer Marcus Gillespie has two secrets. He’s a Vampyre Prince. After two hundred and thirty years he’s found the woman for him. She’s beautiful, smart and with a body to die for. After six months of mentoring Anais, the time has come to move her from the boardroom to the bedroom. And when Anais makes a costly mistake, Marcus has the gorgeous lawyer just where he wants her…

But although passions run red hot in the bedroom, Anais refuses to give her heart or commit to a future not of her choosing. When an ancient enemy arrives in Shanghai, Marcus finds himself in a race against time not only to win her heart, but to save her life…

Big Trouble in China is the second in a series of three legal vampire romance novellas. More info on the series at: http://ccmackenzie.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/597/

And this just in last night! A big congrats to Emma Burcart on the publication of her short essay, “Wherever I am,” in Brave on the Page: Oregon Writers on Craft and the Creative Life. The book is a collection of essays about writing and the writing life. Emma’s contribution deals with teaching herself to get the words down, no matter where she is – something she blogged about not too long ago. More info at: http://www.emmaburcart.com/2012/10/im-published/

ROW80 Update: I tend to get more done in the latter part of the week, but so far, so good: I got the last thing I needed for the anthology, so that’s formatted and ready to upload to Smashwords… then I decided to ask the authors to give it one final proofreading. I’ve already received six of the nine stories back, so once I get the other three, all I’ll need to do is make the corrections and off we go!

I also got started on the Hangar 18 revisions – the scenes have been put into the new (original) order and now I’m ready to dig into the rest of the details.

Fitness goals are 2 for 2 so far this week, so we’re off to a good start!

What about you – do you like scary stories or barely-fictitious memoirs? If you’re doing ROW80, how is your week going so far? Know about any other WANA books that released recently that I’ve missed?

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Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

ROW80: Great Week!

by Jennette,

I had a successful ROW80 week! Last round, I let myself get over-optimistic about what I could accomplish, and didn’t meet a lot of my goals. This round, I started slowly, with goals I was unlikely to fail. It worked! Here’s how it went:

  • Format Home for the Holidays anthology if all materials are received – otherwise, get as much done as possible. – I’ll consider this one met, as I did get the last story on Monday, but am still lacking one more item. I have everything else formatted for Smashwords (which is where I always start) minus the “note from the group.”
  • Physical activity 5x this week – Done!
  • Finish list of major revisions for Hangar 18 – Done!
  • Get it Together exercises 11 & 12 – Done!
  • I also got some work done on a “just for me” project that I may write for NaNoWriMo, so that’s a plus.

Here are my overall goals for this round:

  • Format and release OVRWA holiday story anthology – moving along!
  • Revise Hangar 18 – list of major revisions completed
  • Keep up with my exercise, five times a week. – ongoing
  • Finish the Get It Together exercises (description of that here) – completed sections 3 – 12
For this week, I’d like to:
  • Format and upload ebook of Home for the Holidays anthology if all materials are received – otherwise, get as much done as possible.
  • Physical activity 5x this week
  • Hangar 18 – re-order scenes (this was probably the biggest revision), and print out for markup
  • Get it Together exercises 13 & 14

If you’re participating in ROW80, what are your plans for this round?

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

WANA Wednesday: Happy Birthday, WANA1011!

by Jennette,

It’s a very special WANA Wednesday, as my peeps and I celebrate our first birthday!

What is WANA? It stands for We Are Not Alone, a guide to blogging, social media and networking for authors by Kristen Lamb. Many of my author friends have taken the  WANA class, either with me, or another offering, and I met them online at one of the many WANA hangouts. A year ago this month, around a hundred of us started the two-month long “Blogging to Build an Author Brand” class, hence the “1011” designation. A year later, a bunch of us are still networking and supporting each other, and the 1011 group has picked up a few more “WANAs” from prior and later classes. Many of us have books published, and for me personally, the support of my writing friends – both those from the class and otherwise – has been invaluable.

So, Happy Birthday, WANA1011 – and thank you for all your support and friendship!

Several of my WANA friends have new releases too! Check these out:

Diane Capri announces the release of her latest thriller with “Fatal Enemy,” a new Jess Kimball Short Story.

Jess Kimball hadn’t been in the same room with Richard Martin for more than a dozen years. Worse things than Richard had happened to her since she’d seen him last. He’d find out soon enough that she wasn’t a gullible sixteen-year-old anymore. She was his enemy now and he was hers, whether he knew it or not.

Jess decided long ago she would never yield to him again. Richard Martin would make his choice tonight. Would they become fatal enemies? In this tense battle of nerve and guile, who will survive? More info at http://dianecapri.com/2012/09/fatal-enemy-new-jess-kimball-short-story-now-available/

YA author PJ Sharon is celebrating the release of her new YA dystopian novel, Waning Moon.

In the year 2057, in a post-apocalyptic world where three quarters of the population has been wiped out by a global pandemic, and a polar shift threatens the remainder of earth’s inhabitants, sixteen-year-old genetically altered teen, Lily Carmichael, faces bigger challenges—escape capture by a rogue government agency, save her family, and avoid falling in love. PJ is going on a blog tour for Waning Moon, where there are going to be some great giveaways! More info at: http://www.yabeyond.com/2012/09/28/party-time/

Multi-published pet expert Amy Shojai releases the first of her “Thrillers with Bite.” In Lost and Found, animal behaviorist September Day has lost everything—husband murdered, career in ruins, confidence shot—and flees to Texas with her cat Macy to recover. She’s forced out of hibernation when her nephew Steven and his autism service dog Shadow disappear in a freak blizzard. When her sister trusts a maverick researcher’s promise to help Steven, September has 24 hours to rescue them from a devastating medical experiment impacting millions of children, a deadly secret others will kill to protect. Shadow does his good-dog duty but can’t protect his boy. Finally September and Shadow forge a stormy partnership to rescue the missing and stop the nightmare cure. But can they also find the lost parts of themselves? More info, book video, and opportunities to win a copy of Lost and Found at http://amyshojai.com/lost-found-a-thriller/

My RWA chapter buddy Macy Beckett is celebrating the release of her debut novel, Sultry with a Twist, from Sourcebooks. Even better, the book made Barnes and Noble’s must-reads list for October! In Sultry with a Twist, June Augustine hightailed it out of Sultry Springs nine years ago with her heart in pieces. Now one thing stands between her and her dream of opening an upscale martini bar: a bogus warrant from her tiny Texas hometown. Now she’s stuck in the sticks for a month of community service under the supervision of the devilishly sexy Luke Gallagher, her first love and ex-best friend. If Texas in July wasn’t already hot enough, working side-by-side with June would make any man melt. Luke wants nothing more than to strip her down and throw her in the lake—the same lake where they were found buck naked and guilty as sin all those years ago. In their heads, they’re older and wiser. But their hearts tell a different story. More info at http://macybeckett.com/books/adult-novels

ROW80 Update: One of my goals this week is to format Home for the Holidays, an anthology of holiday stories my RWA chapter will soon release in print and ebook. I received the last edited story Monday night, and have the Word document assembled and styles set. Almost ready to upload to Smashwords, once the committee approves! Look for a cover reveal here soon. So, good progress so far.

What about you – have you read any good books lately? If you’re doing ROW80, how did your first couple of days go?

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

My Town Monday: What’s Up with the Saturn Society? And ROW80

by Jennette,

I’m not one to blog about my books very often, but some of my recent email tells me it’s time for an update. (I figure this fits into My Town because so far, all of the Saturn Society books take place in my home town, Dayton.) Readers want to know, what’s going on with the Saturn Society? Namely, when’s the next book coming?

There are common reader expectations here. Currently, there are two Saturn Society novels. Books typically are either standalone, or come in threes (or more). Duologies are rare. But the fact is, there isn’t a third Saturn Society novel in the pipeline – at least not yet.

You see, traditional publishing was the only viable path to readers until a couple years ago. Writers were typically advised to only write one book in a series, one that could stand alone, for a couple of reasons. One, the book might never sell, so why put a lot of time and effort into a second that would definitely not sell?  Two, even if that first book sold, there was never a guarantee that a second would. Sometimes debut authors would get a two- or three-book deal, but they often didn’t. And if that first book didn’t sell well, the second would not be purchased.

So back to the Saturn Society. Time’s Enemy was the third book I’d written, but it was the one where I was really figuring out my process. Among other things, I learned that I could not write a book without outlining or pre-planning, when I ended up with 600 pages of rambling with no ending in sight (but I had a lot of fun!). However, I still loved the story, and there was enough usable material in there for a book. Or two, I realized, when I tried to write a synopsis.

So I reworked it enough to come up with a real antagonist (also missing from those early drafts) and a logical ending for the first book. Although Time’s Enemy was still too long (150,000 words – yikes!), I dutifully pitched it to agents and editors while I worked on Time’s Fugitive. I knew the odds of selling them were dismal, but I loved the story too much not to finish it. I never bothered to give Time’s Fugitive a complete revision until I decided to publish last year. However, I wrote it with the possibility of an out for my antagonists, on the off-chance that readers would want a third book.

So there’s my long-winded explanation of why there’s no third novel in the Saturn Society series.

Yet.

Because it does appear that readers want one! I have a couple other projects on deck right now that are closer to being ready to write, so those are going to happen first while ideas for a third Saturn Society book percolate. Who knows? There could be more after that – I’ve set up some possibilities for books and series for other characters, too.

In the meantime, I’m offering a little something to hold my readers over. “Time’s Holiday” is a short story that gives a fun glimpse into the background of a couple of minor characters. Hopefully, this will entertain existing readers while pulling in new ones.

In “Time’s Holiday,” seventeen-year-old Taylor Gressman sneaks away on Christmas Eve, hoping to find the angel who saved her life a few weeks earlier. Instead, she takes an unexpected trip back in time, and finds herself in the midst of a murderous street gang. Now it’s up to Taylor to ensure that she and a newfound friend don’t become the gang’s next victims, and in the process, learn that giving is the best gift of all. There is also a brief excerpt here. This is not your typical sweetness-and-light Christmas story. It includes a bit of true crime based on the “Christmas Killings” that happened in Dayton in 1992.

“Time’s Holiday” is currently available for free on Smashwords, and will eventually be available on other major retail sites. It will also be a part of the Home for the Holidays anthology that my RWA chapter will soon release.

On another note, it’s time for ROW80 Round 4! This is “the writing challenge that knows you have a life,” where writers set goals and report back on our progress twice a week. I typically haven’t done the Wednesday updates, but am going to try to get back on that bandwagon this round, since I’ve changed my posting days to Monday and Wednesday, instead of Monday and Thursday. The Sunday updates will continue. Round 4 ends right before Christmas. Last time, my goals were a bit, shall we say, ambitious. So this time, I’m going to step back a bit. Maybe. Here are my overall goals for this round:

  • Format and release OVRWA holiday story anthology
  • Revise Hangar 18. This one was on deck for the last round, but the changes needed after beta reads were more extensive than I thought, so this is going to take longer.
  • Keep up with my exercise, five times a week.
  • Finish the Get It Together exercises (description of that here).

I’d like to get a new book planned and possibly started (maybe even do NaNoWriMo?) but I’m not ready to commit to that just yet. Same with finishing How to Think Sideways, which really goes along better with working on a new book. The great thing about ROW80 is that we recognize that life happens, things change, so our goals can change too.

This week is mainly going to be taken up with #1, so I want to get that formatted and done, although I’m waiting on one more story. So for this week, the goals are:

  • Format Home for the Holidays anthology if all materials are received – otherwise, get as much done as possible.
  • Physical activity 5x this week
  • Finish list of major revisions for Hangar 18
  • Get it Together exercises 11 & 12

If you’re participating in ROW80, what are your plans for this round? And either way, do you like holiday stories?

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

ROW80: Gone!

by Jennette,

And it’s a wrap! As usual, I greatly overestimated what I thought I could do. But I still feel good about Round 3. Here’s how it wrapped up:

  • Work through Lesson 18 of How to Think Sideways – done through Lesson 12.
  • Complete Saturn Society short story – ready to submit to anthology. Done!
  • Release Times Two (combined ebook of Time’s Enemy and Time’s Fugitive) – waiting until I get other projects done
  • Complete Get It Together exercises and data gathering – completed sections 3 – 8.
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts per week – ongoing
Obviously, none of my bonus tasks got done. But most importantly, I got my story finished and ready to submit! The deadline’s this Saturday, and I just got feedback back from the last beta reader, so I’ll incorporate what I like from that. I did make progress on How to Think Sideways and Get It Together, if not as much as I’d like. I also made my fitness goals more weeks than not, so I consider that a win!

How did you do, if you’re doing ROW80? Are you up for joining us for Round 4? It starts October 1st, so get those goals ready!

ROW80: Going, Going…

by Jennette,

I’ve done a lot of walking the past few days. Friday night, my husband, daughter and I walked the 5k of the USAF Marathon. Yesterday, I took my daughter on a campus visit of nearby Miami University of Ohio, my alma matter, and anyone who’s gone there knows that a lot of walking is a way of life. It was a good visit, and I had fun traipsing down Memory Lane while she looked forward to the future.

Today, I’m doing a little more of looking back over the past week for my ROW80 update, which is itself going, going… as next week is the end of the challenge.

This week didn’t go too badly. Here’s what I accomplished:

  • Read Lesson 12 of How to Think Sideways – Done!
  • Short story – collect/write front and back matter for standalone release, start working on cover – Done!
  • Get It Together exercise 9 & 10 – No
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts – I technically didn’t do one interval and one short workout, but I’m totally counting the 5k and Saturday’s walking, so – Done!
  • Format a friend’s book for print if she gets me what I need – Didn’t get the material from her

Here are my goals for the quarter overall:

  • Work through Lesson 18 of How to Think Sideways – done through Lesson 12.
  • Complete Saturn Society short story – ready to submit to anthology. Done!
  • Release Times Two (combined ebook of Time’s Enemy and Time’s Fugitive) – waiting until I get other projects done
  • Complete Get It Together exercises and data gathering – completed sections 3 – 8.
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts per week – ongoing
  • BONUS: Release Hangar 18: Legacy – Needs revision based on beta reads – waiting until I get other projects done
  • BONUS: Plot out and begin writing first book in new series
And here’s what I hope to accomplish this week:
  • Read Lesson 13 of How to Think Sideways
  • Short story – edits based on final beta reader’s feedback, and cover design for standalone version
  • Get It Together exercises 9 & 10
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts
  • Format a friend’s book for print if she gets me what I need

How are you doing, whether or not you’re doing ROW80? Are you on track for your overall goals?