The Next Big Thing

THE NEXT BIG THING is a chain of book and author recommendations. Each author answers some questions about their work, then recommends other authors...

1. What is the working title of your next book?

The Chronicles of Anaedor: The Lost Ones. It's book three in a series of four books. Books One (The Prophecies) and Two (The Return to Anaedor) have already been published. If they weren't, I'd be annoyed if I were you.

2.  Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was living in the city at the time, which was not my favorite place, being that I'm a country girl at heart, but it had this wonderful park full of ravines and streams that totally saved me. One day I was walking through the park, contemplating life, when I imagined that a creature was peeping out from beneath a rock, watching me pass by. Kind of creepy, I suppose, but it jump-started my idea of the hidden, underground world of Anaedor.

3.  What genre does your book fall under?

That's an easy one. It's YA fantasy.

4.  What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Anyone really cute so maybe I'd get to meet them. I think any of the actors from The Lord of the Rings movies could work, especially Viggo Mortensen. I'd put him in the part of Frio, Amoral Hunter, and resident hottie. Though Viggo would have to go blond.


5.  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In Book Three, 16-year-old Lavida Mors, prophesied savior of Anaedor, has to cope with mischievous Lost Ones, a ruthless Hunter determined to use her powers for his own benefit, and a ravenous, giant squid.

6.  Will your book be self-published, or represented by an agency?

I am going through Hive Collective, a publishing company that works with authors to publish their works.

7.  How long did it take to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Maybe 8 months? It's been about 8 years since I wrote it, so I'm not exactly sure.

8.  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

If I were savvy, I'd say the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia series, and The Hunger Games. But really, my books are only like the first two. Its only resemblance to The Hunger Games is that the characters in the books often get hungry.

9.  Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Staying home to raise three boys inspired me. If I didn't have writing to keep me sane, I would have lost my mind long ago.


10.  What else about the book might pique the reader's interests?

It's full of magic and mystery and adventure. There's some romance, but it's not too gooey for the boys. You'll find weaponry and intrigue, strange, mythical creatures, and a battle with a giant squid. The book starts out with homicidal Pixies bent on taking out Lavida. She uses a spatula to fight them off, then locks them up. Unfortunately, they escape. That's when the fun begins!

  

~~~~~~~

After buying all my books, you might want to check out these other great authors:

1.  Paul Byers  Paul writes adventure books full of non-stop action. He sums up his latest book, Arctic Fire, with the following words, "A world running out of natural resources... A madman's lust for power... A plan to level an American city with thousands dead... A new World Order rising... An ordinary man's struggle to stop it, if he can only survive long enough!"

2.  Dorine White  Dorine writes middle grade fantasy and has her first book, The Emerald Ring, coming out in May. Here's a synopsis: Twelve-year-old Sara Guadalupe Bogus's ordinary life turns upside down when she discovers an emerald ring once belonging to Cleopatra. Soon after trying it on, strange things start happening to Sara. She has troubling visions, can understand animals, and can transform herself into an Egyptian cat. All that seems pretty awesome until a strange man shows up in town. He's hunting for the emerald ring, and will not stop until he gets it.

3.  Stephanie O'Brien Stephanie, author of My Fugitive: A Wartime Suspense Novel, gives us this glimpse into her book: "She didn't want to get involved in the war. The soldiers and rebels were none of her concern, except for when their firefights threatened her and the people she cared about. But when an earthquake struck her seaside town, leaving a prisoner trapped among the wreckage, she couldn't leave him to die. Even if saving him meant risking everything."

Come Explore Anaedor!

The Battle to Become Published

I just published a new e-book(let), and boy, was it a battle getting it out there. First of all, when submitting to Amazon, I screwed up the title. Of my own book! I accidentally called it, The Battle to Become Published: When Great Expectations Go Awry, rather than its real name, The Battle to Become an Author: When Great Expectations Go Awry. And yes, you're all probably going to remember the first title...it's what I typed more times than I care to admit when searching to see if my book was up on Amazon yet.

Yes, it says the title right on the book

My mistake was rather ironic, being that getting this book published was a huge pain. We mainly had problems making the lists work right (which Kindle Fire 8 now supposedly supports). We also had trouble with icons not showing up or showing up as
some other weird symbol, plus the electricity kept going out, of all things. 

I won't bore you with all the other issues we had, but I will say that we had one last biggie. Other than the book misnaming fiasco, things started out well. I submitted my finished e-booklet and about 12 hours later my Kindle account told me that my book was live. But when I went to Amazon, there was no way to buy it. You could see the book cover, the title, and the author, but no Buy Now! button. I sobbed a little, then contacted Amazon. They were nice and told me exactly when I'd hear back from them about the problem. I submitted my book on Sunday, contacted them on Monday, and heard back from them on Thursday. It was a long wait in Kristina years, but at least I knew when I'd get an answer.

Always Be Prepared

Here's what they said:

"At this time, certain MOBI files generated using third party applications are not supported on our website. For best results, we suggest you to upload your content in MOBI format generated using KindleGen tool.

KindleGen is a command line application to convert files in HTML/EPUB files to a Kindle supported MOBI format. You may download KindleGen tool from the below link."

Agggh!

I thought it was my title screw-up holding the book back, but it turned out to be more complicated than that. Apparently, Calibre - the conversion tool we used - only supports up to version 6 (I think that's right; I'm not exactly known for my computer prowess). However, in the end, as scary as those two paragraphs looked, we only had to change one thing. Sounds simple, right? Let's just say, luckily for me my husband (GorKee) knows what he's doing.

So here's a synopsis of the booklet (it's not very long, hence the $1.99 price, but it is chock-full of goodness):

Bleak and Gloomy Outlook

Are you looking to find an agent and/or get published? Are you a published author frustrated with the whole process? Or have you simply heard the horror stories and are looking for a ray of light before plunging into the fray? In this short booklet, author Kristina Schram discusses how one’s unrealistic expectations about becoming an author can contribute to feelings of negativity and isolation. Dr. Schram offers a real-world discussion of this growing issue, humorously incorporating her own experiences throughout. She also offers insights and ways to cope with the increasingly difficult battle to become a published author. Come prepared to challenge your own expectations, to laugh and to cry, and to battle against the forces conspiring to keep you from reaching your writing potential!

 

Funny, huh?

I hope to be laughing all the way to the bank some day.  I really do.

 

Kristina Schram

highly traumatized author of, wait for it...

The Chronicles of Anaedor: The Prophecies (Book One)

The Battle to Become an Author: When Great Expectations Go Awry.

Authors - Build Yourself a Platform and Stand Above the Crowd!

A little over a week ago, I attended the annual NHWP Writers' Day.  As an author myself, I've always encouraged writers and authors at all levels of experience to get involved in your local writing community.  You can learn about writing technique and how to market yourself as an author.  You can network with a myriad of interesting people and hear Pulitzer Prize winners read from their work.  You might also meet your future agent or publisher!  Most importantly, writing conferences get you out of the house, which is essential for your average, introverted, near-hermit-like writer, like myself.

At this year's conference, I learned about the importance of generating publicity and about developing a good PGP (protagonist, goal, problem).  The most useful bit, however, came from the workshop, entitled, "It's all about Platform, Baby!" on how to build an Author Platform. Catherine Blake, president of Sales Protocol International, presented the workshop, which served as a great motivator to get me working on my own platform (apparently having a sparkly throne no longer cuts it).

An Author Platform is a piece of work that presents the author's credentials and expertise (basically your strengths) along with a relevant personal story that ties into the author's life and background (e.g., after meeting so many young boys who say they hate reading, author, Mary Contrary, decided to write stories targeted specifically for these boys). Your platform is meant to convey that you know what you're doing and have the goods to make it as an author. According to industry experts, platforms are becoming a must-have, and as I always listen to the experts, I determined to build myself a platform right away (preferably out of brick - sticks and straw have proven unreliable and leave you vulnerable to Big Bad Wolves).

While it's a good idea to have an author platform, creating one isn't exactly a piece of cake. The one thing most of the attendees at the workshop struggled with was how to develop a platform as a fiction writer.  We fiction writers don't have the years of experience that give non-fiction writers the expertise to write their book.  For example, John Green, a Landscape Architect and avid gardener for 30 years, introduces his book, Gardening for Geeks!  Obviously, Mr. Green has the goods to back him up.  Personally, while I've done all sorts of things, I really haven't done anything that demonstrates my expertise in making fantasy worlds (other than that I love to daydream about ruling the universe).

Or have I?

After sitting down and working on my resume (a very useful tool for building your platform), I started to see how much my past experiences relate to what I want to do AS AN AUTHOR.  I started to focus less on what I write (although there was some of that) and more on the skills that show I can do this job.  My goal was to make the reader think - Here's an individual who never gives up, who has and will continue to market her own book, who can talk to people and run workshops, and who can even protect me in battle with her tomahawk-throwing skills.  She's AMAZING!

Or something like that.

What I've done with my platform is different than what I've seen other authors present (visit your favorite author's web page and read their bio to see what I mean).  I'm not sure if my approach works, so let me know what you think.  Ideally, I'd like to strike up some conversations about this process and give feedback so that everyone can benefit.

To view my story/platform and resume, click on the link below. 

My Platform

When you've learned all you can, I want you to get cracking on building a platform that will help you stand above the crowd (but no thrones, please - that idea has been taken)!

A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine and a...Book?

Here in New England we are getting nailed again and again with snow and wind and cold temps.  So when an opportunity came up to attend a Literary Evening (from 6-9) at Zorvino Vineyards, I jumped at it.  As a SAHM (stay-at-home mom to the uninitiated), getting out and about for events other than something school/grocery shopping/library-related is rare.  You'd think I'd have all this time with all my kids in school full-time now, but actually I find that 'the bus is here' time arriving more quickly with each passing day.

With being a SAHM, and it being February, and a hard winter to boot, I'm ready to get out of the house.  What better way to accomplish that than to do a book signing where other adults will be milling about sampling good wines and discussing fine literature and, of course, buying books.  They can buy a bottle of wine and a few good novels for themselves, and then buy a signed copy of The Chronicles of Anaedor:  The Prophecies to salve their conscience for leaving the kids at home.  Doesn't that sound like just the thing?

I've always loved vineyards, especially after visiting wine country in California (which sounds achingly tempting right about now).  But I'm always surprised at the number of vineyards located right here in New Hampshire.  Such spots always seem so beautiful and relaxing to me, even in the winter.  On February 11th, I can't wait to grab the hubby, my box o' books and a handful of book markers, and head on down to Sandown for a night on the 'town'.  Entrance is free, there will be a cash bar and free samples of their wines, and several raffles to raise money for four local libraries.  I plan to enter a few of those raffles myself...or better yet, I'll have the hubby do it for me because I'm sure I'll be getting overrun by people wanting to buy my book (one can always dream).

The reason I'm writing about this event isn't just to brag about the fact, if it doesn't blizzard, that I get to attend it (that's only most of the reason).  For those of you who are aspiring to be authors or are already authors (self-published or otherwise), you have probably discovered that in this day and age you have to think outside the box in terms of marketing and selling your book.  That means considering other venues for getting your book out in the public eye.  Personally I think having a book event at a vineyard is a genius idea (though sadly it wasn't mine)!  Even better, these sort of events are not just about you selling your book and the vineyard selling its wine, it's also about raising money for a good cause.  I love libraries so any event that raises money for them is awesome in my book

So put together a plan, then get out there in your community and search out those venues that might consider doing business with you.  Be sure to contact other authors you might know and you've got yourself an event!  And if you happen to live anywhere near Sandown, NH, I hope to see you enjoying yourself at Zorvino's Literary Evening!

Cheers!

New Hampshire AuthorFest 2009!

I am so excited! These last couple months I have been a part of organizing NH AuthorFest 2009, and I'm pleased to say that it's coming together very nicely! It's been a lot of work, but I'm finding it to be very energizing. We're going to have several authors, a couple publishers, and even a VP of Marketing for a publishing company. The event is being sponsored by Waldenbooks, the Lilac Mall and two local authors, Jeremy Robinson, and myself!

Our goal: To inspire future generations of readers.

The Date: August 15th from 11:30 to 3:00.
The Place: Lilac Mall, Rochester, NH

The Timeline:

11:30 - 1:00 Author Signing and Meet & Greet
1:00 - 1:30 Hunter Allain, who's hearing impaired, will be signing Last Night at the Zoo
(Leslie Allain will be reading)
1:30 - 2:30 Author Panel Q & A
2:30 - 3:00 Award Ceremony (to award the Leaders Inspiring Readers award)

The Guests:

Jeremy Robinson – Action/Adventure
Kristina Schram – YA Fantasy
J. J. Hebert – Inspirational Adult Fiction
Jon Merz – Action/Adventure
Jeffrey Derego – Sci-Fi
Renee Mallett – Local Interest (Paranormal)
Gary Turcotte – Local Interest
Scot Stone – Fantasy
Brooks Sigler – Chick Lit
Marianne O’Connor – Local Interest (Paranormal)
Rebecca Horan – Memoir
Phil McGrail – Publisher, YA Fantasy
Stan Tremblay – Publisher’s Assistant
Dan Boucher – Book Reviewer
Beryl Donovan – Librarian (Gaffney Library, Wakefield, Director)
Carol Corbett – VP of Marketing & Publicity

Possible Attendee:

Nora LeDuc – Mystery/Romance

Our goal is to promote literacy, to make people excited about reading, and to encourage others to help those who need support in learning to read, whether they be children or adults!

Hope to see you there!