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“Sorry Sass, this line ...

“It makes plenty of sense. ...
hyway
11:44:43 AM
3/14/07

... should have been written as "Your comment makes plenty of sense." Meaning that I understood what your were saying, not that my dialogue made sense.”

“Well, that was pretty much understood by everyone that read your dialogue, j/k.

Good job by the way:)”

“You should be sorry! (kidding).”

“Now that's what I am talking about! Thanks nimblefoot. A pat on the back and a knee in the groin all at the same time. :)”

“Gotta keep you guessing. No, I'm very impressed and feel somewhat threatened since my pulitzer seems to be slipping away from me.”

“ummm, dude, most people just call it a johnson or shlong, etc. never heard it called a Pulitzer.”

“That's why God put the knob on the end.”

“hmmmm, I'm trying to figure out how to use that to promote my boo, but I haven't had a stroke of genius yet. I'll keep thinking.”

“I wanted to let everyone know that I have been considering not bumping this up anymore. I'll let you know when I get closer to a decision which way I am leaning.”

“don't you think its pretty much milked dry by now?”

“heck no

I had hoped that some of you would actually read the preview and give me some serious feedback. Especially since I see people posting 10 paragraph replies to trolls posting nonsense. I appreciate the few that did give me constructive comments, but I had hoped for more. Then again, the resounding silence could be a reply in itself.”

“last night I got this review:

[quote][ No Rating ] 14 Mar 2007
by Catari Tassins
This is one of the best books ever written. The author has done a fantastic job. Exciting and with a well developed plot, it rocks!!!!!!!!![/quote]


At first blush I thought it was someone from Trail Talk trying to mess with my head. Then I recognized a similarity of the name to an online persona of one of my daughters friends (they all use male names and profiles when online to cut down on the idiots hitting on them). She was one of the first people (after my daughter) to buy my book. She liked it so much she bought a second to send to her cousin in Boston. I asked my daughter about it tonight and she confirmed it was her friend and that she meant every word of it. So thats pretty cool. It just looks like I wrote it myself, so thats bad.

This week my 13 yo daughter has sold 5 books at her middle school. She also put up a flyer and thinks she will get 3 more sales on Monday Smile. I plan on taking over the world one middle school at a time Smile.”

“I need some help. I am a terrible blurb writer. I have been talking to someone who has many successful books and after some back and forth discussion he has suggested the following blurb for the back of my book. Please tell me if this is enough information to make someone want to read Alter Rock:
*****

Modern unarmed submarine vs. ancient galleys...
A child of storm returns to defend his homeland...

Jackson Parker was never afraid of a storm. On his thirteenth birthday he learns why. Swept up by a hurricane he is transported to the strange world of his birth---a world of monsters, wizards and a great evil. To return to the earth he knows, he must join the revolution sweeping through the land.”

“I like the bottom portion but not the top. Too much weirdness to wonder about there. Is storm a place?”

“Same as Sass, I like the bottom but not the top. I don't understand what "modern submarines" have to do with any of the rest of it, and I don't think I know what an "ancient galley" is. Possibly I'm just stupid though.

Your own book, very exciting!! :-)”

“nope, not a place. The guy reduced all my hurricane talk to Child of Storm. Not sure about that myself. Although I thought my blurb was ok, I didn't feel it was much different than several other descriptions I have read. I need to punch it up, without giving away to much. Plus, he cut out my baby and left it cooling on the butcher shop floor - "Here he must save a nation or forfeit his soul." :)”

“Thanks, Lyra. I doubt that you are stupid, just not an area of knowledge you aren't familiar with. A galley is a seagoing ship powered mostly by oars. They might also have a sail. Think ancient Rome or Greece. Think iron or bronze ram plowing through the hull of a wooden ship. My main character has a small 3-man recreational sportsub and it gets sent with him to another world. It isn't critical to the book, but it does have some interesting scenes, the main one is being used to break a blockade of ancient roman styled warships.

I have been told that my blurb is too generic, and that I should focus on the things that make it different than the other stories like it. the sportsub is definitely defferent.”

“Ohh okay! I think I was confused b/c when I think of storms and being "swept up," I think of the air first, not being under the water.”

“;-) he wasn't underwater when it happened :-).”

“I wish that child of storm part was changed to say something clearer like: a savior-child swept up by a storm is returned to his homeland to defend...

I need just alittle bit more detail to hook me.”

“I think a little more detail is needed too. I just wanted to see if I wanted to add more because I don't like slashing my baby, or if other unbiased, not weird, people thought the same way.

How about:


Modern sport submarine vs. ancient warships...
A child born of storm returns to save his homeland...

Jackson Parker was never afraid of a storm. On his thirteenth birthday he learns why. Swept up by a hurricane he is transported to the strange world of his birth---a world of monsters, nature wizards and a great evil. To return to the earth he knows, he must join the revolution sweeping through the land.

On mystical Alter Rock, he must liberate a nation or forfeit his soul.”

“I got my copy yesterday! I feel so privey...yall should get on the band wagon so we can all say "I knew hime when."

:-)”

“cool, have you read any yet, or have you been letting work get in the way?”

“Would Alter Rock be a large rock with a "religious" function or significance?

If so, it should be "Altar Rock." I keep getting hung up on that...sorry.”

“Dang it! Work gets in the way with every thing these days...can you spell TAX SEASON!!!”

“Fritz, its not an altar, its a place nature wizards go to alter their being. I went back and forth on the spelling for a long time before I decided on the odd spelling. If people can't recognize that the spelling is different for a reason then they are too illiterate to read my book anyway. :-) I would be a sad excuse for a writer if I misspelled my title, and I am not a sad excuse for a writer .... sad excuse for a human being is still with the jury.”

“hyway...you are not a sad excuse for a human being. And I am not too illiterate to read your book. :-) I am just literate enough to wonder about the spelling of the title. Literate enough to be dangerous, lol.

Glad to hear you made a conscious choice there. And congratulations on completing such a daunting project. Dream of many, accomplished by few.”

“Thanks, Fritz. I am thinking of putting a subtitle on the cover alluding to 'altering' so the reader knows it isn't misspelled. Something like:
"From the Dawn of Time young wizards have journeyed to the Alter Rock to change their souls for the awakening of their bloodfire. Now that The Rock is no more will the children be consumed by its power?"

Or something like that. I'm in a rush now, will work on it more later.”

“ooooo, that's promising!

Think this is about the reading level of a nice smart eleven year old? I'm up to page 18, btw. I keep on stopping myself because I forget that I only can read 65 pages and don't want to get hooked. But, I have a sweet nephew who will probably get a copy for his birthday, which I will ask to borrow after he's done.
It really is outstanding Hyway. I can't believe you did this. How'd you stop thinking about sex long enough to write a book?! ;)”

“His role model, Bill Clinton, could also compartmentalize his thinking:)”

“Don't be too impressed, though, Sass. Remember, writing on the level of an 11-year-old comes naturally to Hyway. He can do it in his sleep--in fact, he does exactly that all day long on TT.”

“Thanks Sass, whats even more impressive is that there is no sex in the book :). I have a question though, does the question mark at the end of "Think this is about the reading level of a nice smart eleven year old?" mean you are asking me if a smart 11 yo would enjoy it or if I agree with you that the writing is at the writing ability of a smart 11 yo as Fritz suggests? If the former, then yes, my youngest daughter is a smart 11 yo and she enjoyed it immensely even though there were some concepts/things she didn't understand. They were few enough that they didn't hamper her too much. The key here is that the 11 yo needs to be used to reading books that don't dumb down for 11 yo.

Thanks for the support nimble ... I think?

Fritz, keep it up with the zingers and you will soon be getting on my good side.”

“My daughter sold 3 more books at her middle school today. I might have to buy her a ice cream or something.”

“Ok, hopefully only the people that care are opening up this thread, because you know I care about maintaining perfect thread decorum. Anyhoo, here is my next attempt at a subtitle, I'm thinking this would go above the title in much smaller letters:
*

Powered by the blood of a god spilt in anger. Used to transform the bloodfire of countless young wizards. Now its power has been broken.

*
So what do you think about this to clear up the spelling choice?”

“I actually went backpacking this weekend. had hoped sacco or crazygurl had read there copy and told me how well it serves as a fire starter or as a liner for a bird cage.”

“whoops I am on wildbills account.

anyhoo, this is hyway dropping off wildbill after our springer mountain trip.”

“I just sold the last of my 30 book order, except for 3 books I placed in a downtown coffee shop yesterday morning. I even have those sold if I want to go take them back, but I think I want to see how they sell on their own without me talking it up. So counting my review copy and 2 online sells from here thats 30 books sold and 3 waiting to be sold at the coffee shop. I don't even have enough left to try a book signing anywhere.

Guess its time to order more if I can squeeze the money out of the household budget. I need to wait though because I am working on a new cover. I think it looking pretty cool. I am waiting on a piece of fantasy artwork a friend is doing for me.

Yo sacco, I haven't seen you online lately. You should have got your copy long before now. I hope it didn't poison your brain and make you forget the way to TT.”

“well done hyway!

where can i get a copy of part 2?”

“pry it out of my skull :). So you are saying I should start writing the sequel?

Actually, the ending used to be pretty cut and dried, but then later decided that there was so much more available that I did a rewrite of just the last few pages to make it a trilogy if I chose to write more.
last edited: 7/03/07 3:00:08 PM”

“Can't wait for my copy to arrive!”

“cool, did you just buy one today? Thank you.

and thank you again, sacco. If you want to send me an email to gush over it you can do that at hyway9 at that yahoo dot com place.”

“Creek Dancer, (and sacco and crazygurl), I just discovered that in the process of formatting my book for publication I lost the last 2 stanzas of the ballad/poem that starts the story. Just so you know it is 1 of 4 parts of a continuing ballad that plays out in the rest of the book. I am going to fix it in the POD version online, but I can't do anything about the ones already printed. Sorry.

Anyhoo, this is how it should read (the left out stanzas are bolded):

Of Gods and Mortals
You shall hear tell
And about the place
Where down they fell

Mystic Altar Rock
Place of legend
It’s fateful story
Unimagined

Throughout the heavens
Were none so close
As Sael the God and
Brother Morose

They traveled the Stars
To Worlds unknown
Always together
Never alone

Adventure they found
Trouble more so
But as one they stood
To face each foe

Till this world they came
Seeking plunder
Instead they found Briar
Child of Grunder

Morose was stricken
His heart, he lost
To Briar the Princess
Despite the cost

In secret they wed
God to Mortal
But with this union
Came a Portal

From the Granite ground
Rose a Tower
Green in color this
Rock of Power

”

“Oh man, now I really can't wait for my copy to arrive. Should be soon! Got my notice yesterday that it has been shipped.”

“man hyway...how did that happen?

but I am impressed. I am tempted to order one for my kids school. what age group? if I would order one [after my trip] would it have the full poem? heeheehee

btw: guess you IM'd me yesterday? crosscut! he's alive!!”

“I didn't IM you. Is crosscut still kicking?

And yes I think it should be corrected by then.”

“I wanted to say Guess who IM'd me! you knew that thou, and that's not why I am replying.
What age group? I wasn't able to find any info on that”

“I have had rave reviews from 10 year olds to 50 year olds. haven't tested anyone younger or older”

“I finally got my copy! I was hooked after the first chapter. Great book hyway!”

“Thanks, Creek Dancer. I had you at hello :)”

“Creek Dancer, maybe I shouldn't ask, but did you finish the rest of the chapters?”