No matter what you want to accomplish in life, educate yourself. I’m not talking elementary education or college, although both are worthy – might I say needed – to accomplish many personal goals. No, I’m talking about learning all you can when you try something new.
She had always been comfortable in the dark, had lived her life in the shadows. It was why they never saw her coming. Too bad her target didn’t believe in a low profile.
He moseyed down the street singing a silly pub song. He could have been a cause of fear; but he was slender and under six feet tall, and appeared to be a happy drunk. The few people he encountered at this late hour gave him plenty of room, but smiled at his grand gestures. All would remember him.
“I am convinced that the act of thinking logically cannot possibly be natural to the human mind. If it were, then mathematics would be everybody’s easiest course at school and our species would not have taken several millennia to figure out the scientific method.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson
“What works for thee won’t work for me.” is a saying used by my characters when learning to use magic. Each person must find what works for them. The same is true for writing. Some people write in parks, libraries, restaurants, wherever.
Not 
me.
I can do minor clean up work in public, and the distractions are amusing, not irritating. Art projects and research are possible in the family room, hanging out with the family.
Publishing a novel has been a dream come true for me; however, there have been lessons learned in the process. This is not a one-stop-shop. I’m simply noting a few things I’ve learned publishing my first novel, things I haven’t already mentioned.
Make use of Beta Readers. This I did, but simply called them willing readers. Who knew they had a real job title? I made a choice to break down my “betas” into the following categories:
Continue reading “Reflections on Publishing My First Novel”
I read a post last night titled A layman’s translation of food jargon… It addressed some of the topics I rant and rave over with friends, but haven’t posted about, until now.
Who doesn’t need a Do Over app upon occasion? Heck, there’s an app for everything else. It’s time for one that’s really useful.
In the past I’ve posted general hints and tips as I self-publish for the first time. I thought it was time to show some of the epic fails. This slide show contains examples of a few versions of my cover art to show the progression from initial thought to final product for the book cover.
Continue reading “The Path to Book Cover Art Is Paved With Errors”
On 1/5/2015 my first full sized novel became available to purchase as a digital book. It’s a full novel under my name. There’s something empowering about a dream realized.
It’s also a little scary. This isn’t a short story published with other hopefuls. This is a novel with just my name on the cover. Love it or hate it, it’s all me.
Continue reading “Bucket List – Check Another Item Off the List”
N. R. Tucker 