Now that I've finally finished a round of editing on novel number one. I need to get my hands on a person willing to be a beta reader. I've had a couple of friends read it over for me, but we all know that friends tend to be nice and not 100% honest with their opinions in such matters.
I have tried to find a good crit group or someone I could swap beta reading duties with, but all prospects seem to fizzle out. I understand people are busy and most don't read as quickly as I do, but everyone seems to disappear on me. Is it my writing? Is it so bad that they figure it's easier to ignore me than to tell me the truth? I just don't know.
Finding a good beta reader or crit partner for that matter, is proving to be just as hard as finding a decent man. Someone who's honest and dedicated. Someone who enjoys some of the same things I do and who has a passion for those things. Someone who will give me the time and attention needed for it to be a good partnership. I'm more than willing to reciprocate!
*Sigh*
Who would have thought the two things would have so much in common? Can anyone point me in the right direction to find what I need? If not the beta reader/crit partner, than perhaps a good man? I'd be eternally grateful either way!
Goodreads
About Me
- MBee
- Educator. Aspiring author and budding photographer. Jack of all trades...Master of none. Yet anyhow. Current Works in progress include: The Other Side (YA paranormal romance), Embers to Ashes: a Destined Journey (YA fantasy) and Red Dust (YA soft sci-fi) Heavyweight (YA contemporary gay fiction)Tears of a Clown (YA contemporary spoof)
I am slightly behind in the word count, but I hope to make it up this weekend! Even though it's posted on my Nano profile, I figured I'd post my synopsis and prologue here for all to see (protected by creative copyright, yadda yadda don't steal my stuff :P )
Enjoy and feel free, as always, to post comments good and bad!
~~~~~~~~~
Young and spry
Power inherited by their stars
Will take them near and far
Betrayed by one
Yet sacrifice none
Forever their lives will change
Blood and tears will soak the land
When victory is at hand
Should they choose wrong
History will make a song
Of the day the Tenma died
There was a hole in the sky. Not a literal hole, but a gaping stretch of the darkest black where no star shone. A head turned reluctantly, to look around. There were several other patches of inky blackness void of starlight. The sigh that escaped wizened lips was long and pregnant with unspoken knowledge. A sharp piercing whistle echoed in the silent night, followed by the soft sound of flapping wings. A small owl landed on an outstretched arm, head cocked and eyes bright. It preened itself while a small tube was attached to its leg. The bird gave an indignant hoot as the arm swiftly moved up to give the owl the sign to be on its way. Taking to the air, it crossed the dark sky heading east toward the sleeping city.
“Master?” The old man sighed again when the younger voice questioned him.
“What is it boy?”
“I…I had a dream,” the boy said. “A lion fell from the sky. Followed by a ram and an archer and a scorpion. The sun went black and they began to fight. What does it mean?” A wrinkled hand rested heavily on the younger male’s shoulder. It squeezed him hard enough that there would surely be a bruise in the morning, but the boy didn’t flinch or whimper.
“It means that they’re coming,” said the man, his voice queer with sadness.
“Who’s coming?”
“The children of the prophesy. The ones with the power to break or save the land. The children with the power of the stars.”
Nano started at midnight and I'm slightly ahead of the game at the moment! In case you were wondering (if anyone actually ever reads this), I did get names for everyone. Some suggested by friends (THANKS!) and some I came up with on my own.
DISCLAIMER: If you share a name with one of my characters, please do not think I based them on your personality or how you think I see you. This is NOT the case! They are similar in name only. Thank you.
Slow reading month but that's because I finally finished editing one of my novels, made two costumes and a bunch of jewelry. Next month will probably be slow as well due to Nano, but that's OK! I did a count and I'm up to 161 books read this year! Maybe I can still make it to 200 by year end! We shall see.
November 1st is fast approaching! I have my Nano idea vaguely down. I'm going a whole new direction. After some thinking, I decided I wasn't ready to work on last year's sequel. I don't want to force that so I was relieved when another idea came to me on the verge of dreamland the other night.
This year I'll be writing a YA (possible MG depending on how...kid friendly I can keep it) novel I'm tentatively calling The Power of the Stars.
Short Nano synopsis:
Eight campers and two councilors get lost while exploring caves at Jenny Jump National park. They find themselves in a land called Tenma, where it's been prophesied that they have powers based on their zodiac signs and those powers will be used to save or break the land.
Ten characters are a lot, but I think I'm going to break it up by chapters, so we can get everyone's point of view. I have which signs/powers I'm going to use and what sex I want the characters to be but I only have three names picked out. That's where you guys come in. While I can certainly ponder it some more and come up with names I like, I think it would be more fun to get input from others. Then if it ever gets published you can say "HEY! I named that character!" If your friends are in disbelief, you can point them to this blog.
Here's the information on the characters, including the three I have already named. Wren and Noah are the councilors so they will be 16 and 17 years old. The others will range in age from 9 or 10 to 14 or 15:
| Name | Sign | Power | Sex |
| Kevin | Aries | climb anything | m |
| Taurus | super human strength | f | |
| Wren | Leo | master of cats (fire sign sun ) | f |
| Gemini | twin mind reading | m | |
| Gemini | twin mind reading | f | |
| Noah | Virgo | temp. hypnosis based on beauty/voice | m |
| Sagittarius | archer | f | |
| Aquarius | water manipulation | m | |
| Pisces | breath underwater | f | |
| Scorpio | master with whip/poisons | m |
You can leave suggestions here in comments or on FB or Twitter. Please just state the sign and the name so I know what name goes with who. I'll post final selections here before the 1st. Thanks! I'm excited to see what you guys come up with!
So...It's almost November 1st. Almost time for that frantic 30 day writing expedition. I'm excited for it, yet I have no clue what I'm writing about this year! I was thinking perhaps to start the Red Dust sequel, but I'm not sure I'm feeling it yet. I'm hoping after a re-read of book 1, I'll be pumped to continue the story. I do miss my characters and want to see what's been going on with them.
Luckily, I've got some time off at the end of this month, so I'm planning to use that time to prepare and go into Nano with my head in a good place and a story on the tip of my tongue!
It looks like there will be a good group for write-ins this year, which always helps me. I'm hoping to find some good people for a crit group after Nano is over as well. We'll have to see if we mesh well.
Stay tuned for Nano updates!
*Sigh* I'm such a slacker. I know, but better late than never? I have a good excuse! I've been editing editing editing! I'm almost done with the first pass at The Other Side. I'll make another post on that soon. Here's the book list for September!
Clockwork Angel – Cassandra Clare
The Iron King – Julie Kagawa (re-read)
The Iron Daughter – Julie Kagawa
Return to Paradise – Simone Elkeles
Paranormalcy – Kiersten White
Winter Passage – Julie Kagawa
My Blood Approves – Amanda Hocking
Fate – Amanda Hocking
Flutter – Amanda Hocking
Wisdom – Amanda Hocking
Switched – Amanda Hockign
The DUFF – Kody Keplinger
Immortal – Gillian Shields
A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin