There is another giveaway to be found on the LibraryThing.com too... It is for the eBook version from Smashwords. I have 200 eBook copies I am giving away in the Member's Giveaway on the site. Stop by to enter to win your copy soon before the giveaway ends. Request to win your eBook by Jun 06, 9:20PM on LibraryThing.com http://www.librarything.com/er/giveaway/list Add Comment 
What have I been up to lately? Well for starters, I have revised the first 14 chapters of ‘Friends of Choice’. I guess that is a start. If only I had worked on it more in the past few weeks, I’m sure I would be done by now. So, if I haven’t been working on the revision what have I been doing with all my time? The other job has taken a forefront the past few weeks. It was called overtime… I don’t like working overtime anymore. I think I worked too much of it in my younger years so it is no longer one of my favorite past times. But it does come in handy when you need the money. Like the first week when I had to work on Saturday, it was just in time to pay the car registration. Then the next time a couple of weeks later the muffler on the car developed a hole in it. Again the money was there just in the nick of time. What ever happened to the me money one is supposed to get when they work overtime? Did I let the me money get by me? Hell no! I bought me a new cellphone. Now all I have to do is learn how to work it. Maybe you will be seeing me more often on twitter. You may never know… In the end, I am still plugging away at ‘Friends of Choice’. I have to finish it up real soon. It is time to start on the next book and I think it is going to be good, real good. All I have to do is stay focused and try and have it done by … (Kait says use goals)… September… yes, the next goal to finish up the next book will be September. That will leave me two months to ready myself for Nano Wri Mo. This may seem like a long way off, but it is really not that far away. Hopefully ROW80 will once again keep me focused on getting this goal done. Two years have passed since I published my very first book. They say that the more you write the better you become at the craft. This I have seen first-hand with my own works. I am very happy with the way “Aaron & Keja” came out and now that “Witch Book” is done, I am exceptionally happy with this book as well. I have come to a small stand still with my works in progress once again. This time I seem to be having a hard time deciding which manuscript I should be working on. I have fans that are looking for the next Orgarlan book and then there are other fans that are looking for the next “Friends of Choice” book. After teeter tottering between the two different story lines I have decided to take two steps back and give my very first book “Friends of Choice” a major overhaul before beginning the next book. I have even been reconsidering giving the title a rename. My discovery when I opened the file was an eye opener. My writing style has changed so much since I published this first work that it is not just going to get a little once over, but instead it is getting a major overhaul. Some said the grammar was off with the book or the spelling was off. I don’t think that was just it. The whole style was off. So today I have reedited the first eight chapters of the book. Many of the sentences were reworded without losing the meaning of the paragraph making the book easier to read. I’m not done with it yet either. I still have another fifteen or so chapters to go. This was after working on the story all day long. So the question is, do I change the title of the book now that it is copyrighted as it is or do I leave it? Can you even un-publish a print book with Create Space? I have read the forums and they say how easy it is to change the title of your eBook but they say that if you wish to change the title of your print book you need a whole new isbn for the book. Dilemmas… I don’t need the answer as of yet. I still have a lot of work to do on the re-edit. But as I have said many times before, “Friends of Choice” was my experiment and learning experience. Every time I come back to this book I have another experience to learn. Have a great ROW80 week…  "Why do they always ask why us chickens cross the road. Don't you know anything? It is to get to the otherside." I know it has been a while. As with everyone else, I too have had lots going on. First off, I finished “Witch Book” just a couple of weeks ago. You can now purchase the second book in the Orgarlan Saga on eBook. The paperback is still to come. It has not yet appeared on Barnes & Noble or Apple, but in due time it will be there. I had a little bit of a setback when I was creating the Smashwords file. (Which I worked on all weekend) I think I have it now. Somehow my document became a little bit corrupted and I had to purge the file to fix it. This only took me about 12 hours and half a head of hair before I figured out what was wrong. Now I wait for Smashwords to approve the file for their Premium Catalogue. I have not really begun working on the next piece. There was a moment or two when I considered starting up a different type of work in progress, but I think I will save it for NANO Wri Mo instead. Then I would have plenty of time to think more about the plot for the story. So what am I going to work on next? Why “Dragon Claw” of course. This will be the next and last book in the Orgarlan Saga. I opened the file tonight to see what I already have done for it. I may have to change a little bit, but maybe not. I will leave it as it is for now. (There’s that rule: First Draft – Don’t worry about what it says or looks like…just write) Right now the file is at 8k words. Not bad for a small head start. (I started writing it before “Witch Book”) So that is where my work in progress is at. Other news: My son is home now. It is nice having him here. Next step is for him to find a job. He is having a tough time with this, but he keeps looking. He has had one or two bites, but nothing has panned out for him as of yet. I am sure he will find something soon. The April/May giveaway is now happening on Goodreads. Here is another chance to win a signed paperback copy of Aaron & Keja, the first book in the Orgarlan Saga. This Giveaway ends on May 12th. Stop by Goodreads.com and enter to win!  It is Easter! That means that Spring is now in full swing. It is time to start planting those spring time bulbs. Our fruit trees will be blooming soon. The Witchhazel already has bloomed and it sure looks nice with its burst of yellow blossoms. Even the new chicks are getting big. It is almost time for them to join the rest of the flock. All we need now is for it to get just a little bit warmer. Am I ready to write. Not really. Once again I have come to that crashing halt now that "Witch Book" is done. Next up, I need to write a plot outline for "Dragon Claw". This will be the book where Aaron, Keja, and Chancy return to the story line. I wonder if they will meet up with Monika and the rest of her cousins? Could the Time Dragon make another appearance? I will have to keep all this in mind as I begin building the Outline. How is your progress going with your works? Shhh…don’t tell anyone… but I have a secret… Did I get your attention? Do you want to know what my secret is? In Orgarlan there is a secret book that was written many, many years ago by a troll named Hestate. It contains every spell ever known to the races of Orgarlan. This book was thought to have been lost quite some time ago. Now it has reappeared. It was acquired years ago by a human witch named Grecha and she managed to keep the book a secret for most of her life. Are you still interested? Do you want to know more? It is here, or at least in eBook… Witch Book (the next book in the Orgarlan Saga) No, Aaron, Keja, and Chancy did not make it into this episode. They will make it into the next book instead, after things are stirred up a bit for Lord Ky’debaul. I still can’t believe it. I wrote this book in about 4 months thanks to ROW80. I want to say thanks to all my Round of Words in 80 Days Supporters once again. If it had not been for all of you cheering me on with this book I probably would still be only half way done. So thanks so much for your support. This is my second year with ROW80. I don’t think I can stop taking part in it. It is starting to become a way of life. I am sure this is Kait’s intent for all of us ROW’ers… My goal for this coming round will be to write for a minimum of one hour a day. (Kait, I liked your idea, so I hope you don’t mind if I follow in your footsteps with this.) I have to start a new work with this round too. I can go in two different directions with this. One direction is to continue writing about the Orgarlan Saga… The other one is to work on my next book using the characters from my “Friends of Choice” book. If I choose to work on this book then I need to do lots of research… If I work on the next Orgarlan book then it would be a lot easier. One of the benefits of writing fantasy is that one can make things up as you go. I will just have to keep brain storming for the next couple of weeks and see which story floats to the surface first. Happy Rowing and see you next time!  Now Available on Kindle and at Smashwords.com Product Description: A couple of lesser demons play a game of Shell with a very special grimoire. Darmin wants the book of Hestate but Monika inherited it. With this book she can destroy Lord Ky'debaul and take his castle and his throne. Monika fears her Aunt Grecha is mortified by her failing the rite of passage with a binding cloth her cousin has switch on her. She leaves home in search of someone else who is willing to teach her how to use magic. As time passes, Monika learns her Aunt has passed away and has left her estate behind to Monika’s care. The most important part of this estate is the secret magic book of Hestate, a book that has been handed down through the ages and left in the care of one of who will protect the book from being misused. What’s the greatest inspiration you have received to keep writing? Mine recently came when a former reviewer contacted me to ask me if I had written the sequel to Friends of Choice yet. The question had come as a big surprise and never expected anyone to contact me about that particular book. I don’t consider Friends of Choice to be read for entertainment purposes. It was mostly written for me to release some fears and anxieties I was feeling after some of the choices my kids had made over the years. This book was my therapy for me. So when this reviewer said she was looking for the next book I was very surprised and found a new channel of inspiration to keep on writing. I do have people asking for the next book in the Orgarlan series. They had been asking ever since I released the book six months ago, but this was the first for Friends of Choice. Since I had finished the first draft of Witch Book I kind of fell off the writing wagon. The manuscript has just been sitting there, being ignored. Today I decided to get that butt back in the chair and push to get the first edit done. Nope, it’s not done yet. But I did get four out of six character sketches done. When I am done writing this blog, I will get back to work on it. But, I may have to stop for a little while to watch Once Upon a Time. I so love that show. So if anyone is interested; when I finish Witch Book I will be working on the sequel to Friends of Choice. I already know the basics of what the book will be about, but I can’t tell you. This title and book will be kept secret until it is ready to be released. Only a close few will know what the book is and what it is about. I will be looking for critics and beta readers for the book, preferably those who are familiar with drug abuse, former users or counselors, police or medical personal, or social workers. If you are interested just send me an email lnelson_547@comcast.net and when the plot outline is done I will be happy to share this with you before I begin writing the first draft.  
Geesh… ROW80 check-in is here already. Where did the week go? Last week I worked and worked on the current project trying to get the first draft done, which I did. Since then I have not opened the file. Instead I have been trying to figure out how to tweak the cover design a bit more. Just when I figured out how to do it, I never saved it. Now I can’t remember what I did to get what I had. First I gave Adobe in Design a try, just the free 30 day trial to see what the program was all about. It did not work well for me. The software is just too complicated to work with. Then at the recommendation of Mike, my other half, he told me to give Paint.net a try. Wala… that was the perfect program for me, except I can’t remember how I did what I did….lol I’m still not even sure Witch Book is the title I want to call this story. I mean it does have a duel meaning and all but it does not have a nice smooth sound to it like Lunar Magic had. So I may go back to the thinking draw to come up with a different title. Maybe this week will spawn an effort on the second edit. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, because this story is not to be just a good story. I want it to be a great story. The romance scene is really to vague and short. Again this will be an area I will focus on when I do the coming edit. That’s all I have for now. Hope you all have a good week with your ROW80 and may the weather be bright and shiny. :) | Linda NelsonAuthor of  ArchivesMay 2012  Dragon Claw
The Boardgame of Death
Wish Away
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