And for my NEXT trick.....

I've been trying for years to get my husband to read my books. He's not a big romance fan, but I don't usually write the hunting and fishing type thing he likes to read.

Then the brainstorm struck when I was going through and checking my links in my pages at The Northern Bard (a couple of which need to be fixed at this point). A few years ago, as something of a joke, I wrote a couple of tales about a character we had named "Superburnerman". The tales are actual things that have happened to Superburnerman's mild mannered secret identity, but the tales are done with a little tongue-in-cheek, comic book styled dramatics in the telling.

I mentioned the brainstorm to my husband and daughter, whom I'll call Thing 1 and Thing 2 for the rest of this blog so you can follow along.....

Thing 1, my hubby, started suggesting some of the tales in which the reality was stranger than fiction, the tales that we tell our friends that always get the "this didn't really happen, did it" look.....

Thing 2, the girl child, started talking excitedly about some comic book styled drawings that could be included in the book, and she's already started to work on some concepts just for the main character....

Over the past few days, as I'm tying up the last few things on A Wild Tiger's Heart, both Thing 1 and Thing 2 keep coming up with more exciting tales and more interesting art works to accompany them, and I haven't even started the collection of stories yet.

We do, however, have a working title and a by-line:

"The Sort Of True Adventures of Superburnerman"

"Most of these stories are true. The names were changed to protect the innocent and the identities of those who might be considered criminally insane."

As soon as I confirm that the last "fixes" on the last book have been put into place, I'll be writing some interesting stories to gather into a collection. 

*rubbing my hands together in the way I find so annoying when the fly on my desktop starts doing it back*

This next book should be fun!

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

I've been paying attention to the news again while I make my choice as to which thought to follow next.  This is never a good thing, because it just gets me all fired up about things I can't change....like the police departments across the United States.

In the mid-west, we have primarily black neighborhoods being patrolled by white officers who seem to think it's fine to shoot unarmed people rather than arrest them and have to deal with a trial.

All over the United States, there are stories of injustices served up by power-mad police officers, such as a recent one coming out of the next town over in which a 17-year-old girl filed charges against a 30-year-old at a group home, but instead of bringing the summons to the accused and getting a signature that he'd been properly served, they sent the summons through the mail.  The accused, much like the witches in Salem, Massachusetts, is sitting in jail, unable to make bail or provide for his family, for not appearing for a court date that he didn't know he had to appear for because the post office lost the summons letter.....

There are seriously days that I fear for my country when these are the people who are supposed to be upholding the laws that our crooked politicians put onto the books...........

The calm before the next brainstorm

As the hard work on "A Wild Tiger's Heart" starts to wind down, leaving only a book trailer and considering a couple of new offerings for this release (namely a hard cover option and an audio book option, both of which people have asked me for over the summer), I have a breathing space for the moment. A slim moment in time when the characters from the last book begin to quiet and sink into a dark corner, but the characters from the next adventure aren't talking to me yet...

Time for meditation, which usually works best outside. One problem with outside at the moment...

I live in Maine. It's snowing. A nice meditation outdoors could mean a couple of body parts being sacrificed to the God of Frostbite. 

Maybe I can meditate inside, despite the fact that I need to play music to cover the odd sounds the old farmhouse makes.

That odd "thump thump" as the snow falls off the metal roof onto the ground.

The slight "clink" as a mouse, passing through, knocks two glass objects together in the cabinet.

The occasional odd, high pitched yelp from the Shih Tzu/Pomeranian cross as the Bengal mix cat pranks him yet again, not really hurting the dog, but scaring him yet again. (I almost feel bad for the dog, as I suspect he'll have a heart attack some day from this, but it's so fun to watch the mini-tiger stalk his prey.....)

But I really don't have a nice, long piece of continuous music on any of the media that I have available. I mean, I could use a good, long period to shut down the conscious thought and just drift a while..... 

As if on my wavelength, a new acquaintance posts a lovely piece of music:

http://youtu.be/DTl3pHq8bzU?list=LLhX_JQqsOqLkZSowSUmv-Jg

Over an hour of meditation type music. How very nice! I think I'm going to like this new acquaintance!

The dog's high-pitched yip blends in very nicely, becoming part of the music........



Addendum: After the meditation.

I had been fussing about an introduction to the book in a video "trailer". I managed to realize what I wasn't doing right and finished it. It's up and running here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN4-Rq-EJ2w&list=UUUjfL8rZjhcdwAtz_7W-p2w

As if the Universe was telling me I did the right thing, the book arrived....and the spine is the perfect width.

Alas, there were a couple of minot formatting gaffs, but it will be able to be corrected by the November 30th release date.

Not a bad day in the neighborhood........

Another Brief Pause for a Message from Our Sponsor....*grin*

Here in America, it's Veteran's Day.  We, as Americans, reflect on the many people who have served our country in the many wars over the 200+ years we've been a country.

This is my dad, Robert L. Dow, who joined the Navy right out of high school:

He served during the Korean Conflict stateside while several of his nephews, who also joined up, went overseas.  (If I haven't already explained about my screwed up family tree, where my father, the youngest of nine children, had nieces and nephews before he was born, I'll have to address that at another time, but.....)

This is my husband, who was in the Air Force right out of high school:

My father-in-law, cousins, and many friends could also appear here if I had pictures of them in the service, as I seem to have a lot of people I associate with who thought it honorable to defend the U.S., no matter what stupid crap our politicians demand that they do......

I am honored to have known so many honorable people in my life and hope to know many more, even those who have served for other countries in their military. Those who offer to give their lives for their families and friends always have a place in my heart.

Happy Veteran's Day, America.

On your mark, get set, PUBLISH.....

Yes, that's right!  We're officially in the last couple of weeks before everything goes live for "A Wild Tiger's Heart". The files have all been uploaded, they're being reviewed by the printer, Nook and Kindle for any issues, and should go live for November 30th.

With all of that going on, it must be time to dust off the old book trailer skills so that we can have an intro before the book goes live....


No rest for the wicked....


"And she's off, rounding the first corner and picking up the music discs for the background sounds......"

UPDATE November6, 2014:  The Kindle version is up and running!  You can pre-order for the November 30th release date here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P9W11D4

There was a minor glitch with the cover that the art director has taken care of, so with any kind of luck, the paperback will be printed for a test run within the week, and Barnes & Noble will also hopefully produce the link to the Nook version soon.  Thank you to all who have been  watching this happen through the blog or through Facebook.  I really have enjoyed all the feedback and look forward to any comments that might help me to write the next book.

Update November 8: We are now live on Nook! Here is the link - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-wild-tigers-heart-debi-emmons/1120692607?ean=2940150555815