And the winner is …

Last week I ran a poll asking YA readers which method of reading they preferred: e-book or paper book.  The overwhelming response of you that voted was:

86.67% of you prefered paper books

and only

13.33% of you prefer e-book.

This is awesome information for a YA author to know and have in hand when looking at publishing contracts.  Despite the digital world, it seems most readers still prefer real books to hold in their hands.

And now, on to the super-duper prize giveaway …

One lucky person who voted in the poll has won their choice of either an e-book OR paperback copy of the YA anthology by J. Taylor Publishing – ONE MORE DAY.

And who is that lucky winner?  Why it’s

LAURA THOMAS!!!!

Whoo Hoo!  Congratulations, Laura and thank you so much for playing along. An e-mail has been sent to you with all the details.

Thank all of you for participating and playing along.  Keep coming back for more awesome giveaways going on throughout the year!!

That’s ok…blame it on Mom

Today, the lovely and talented Danielle Shipley, author of many tales, is visiting my blog and is going to talk to you about the most influential person who helped her stay true herself, her dreams and her writing.  Danielle, we’re all ears (and eyes).

***

We can blame a good percentage of what I’ve become on my mother.

It was she who first got me hooked on books by reading aloud and letting me loose in the library. She who taught me how to arrange letters into words, and set me up with computer programs (and piano lessons) that trained my fingers to type like the wind. She who was always cool with me spending my free time on fictional character development and stories without a point. She who exposed me to the timelessness of fairytales, the allure of mystery, the thrill of heroic adventure, and the zany humor of my early mentors, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

And she didn’t limit my artistic freedom to my childhood. When I gradually came to realize that, more than a hobby only, authorship was what I wanted to do with my rest of my life, she never once told me to wake up, leave my imaginary friends behind, and go be a normal adult. Quite the contrary! She picked up books from the library about querying literary agents for me. She sat with me when I moped after yet another rejection came in, and squealed with me when the inbox actually contained good news. She brings me a cup of tasty grapes when I’m typing up a guest post about all the stuff she does for me. (Seriously. She just now walked in here and handed me a snack.) She lets me rant to her about everything I find irritating in the world of writing or the world in general, helps me brainstorm when I’m all tangled up in plot ideas, stays up hours past her bedtime to scrounge for votes when I’ve entered a contest to turn my fairytale tailor into a pony doll… I’ve little doubt I owe that victory to her.

She’s more than just a momma. She’s an intern in my self-publishing house and half of its marketing team. She’s one of my most enthusiastic cheerleaders, which is saying a lot, considering the squad also includes my ALL CAPS-happy writing besties and Will Scarlet. (If you’ve met the man, ‘nough said.)  She’s a solid line of defense between me and accidental starvation. Once I finally stopped being shy and let her read what I wrote, she became a fan of my writing. Naturally, she was a fan of the writer all along.

I’m not much of a rebel. If my mom had voted “nay” against the pursuit of my authorial dream, I may well have set that dream aside and gone searching for a new one, writing relegated to the realm of “hobby only” once again. Happily for me (and, I would suggest, for all of you), Mrs. Shipley’s got my back. I don’t expect you to love her for it quite as much as I do, but you can give it a go.

***

Ahh, to have such a person on our side is truly a blessing.  Thank you for stopping by, Danielle.  It was an extreme pleasure.

Want to know more about Danielle?  Keep reading.

 Danielle E. Shipley’s first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. …Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She’s also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she’s not living the highs and lows of writing young adult novels, she’s probably blogging about it at www.EverOnWord.wordpress.com.

Books by Danielle:

      

Be sure to pop by Danielle’s other locations on the web, take a look around and say hi.

Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for your chance to win a copy of One More Day.

 

“Wow, who are you, really?”

Today, the lovely and talented, Erika Beebe, author of the short story, Stage Fright, which appears in the ONE MORE DAY anthology, is guest hosting on my blog today.  Please give her a round of applause as she discusses the Mind of A Writer, Character Development, and Who Are We Really?

***

The mind of a writer is a funny thing. I can invent the most twisted story, shake it off to make dinner, at least mostly, and then I catch my husband leaning over a printed copy of my latest and greatest chapter as the words escape his lips, “Wow, who are you, really?”

Growing up, I didn’t like creepy. I remember being eight-years-old and watching A Nightmare on Elm Street at a slumber party … further back at five when I’d caught Jaws on the television and was unable to walk across the basement floor without dreading the image of a great white beast living a hidden existence under the couch. I’d leap from furniture to furniture in the basement until I made it to the stairs. Now here I am. I write YA creepy. :o)

And then I dream how to tame it.

So how do we go to sleep at night with all of these creepy plots and words floating through our thoughts?

Writing is a profession. When you love it, you know when to turn it on, and sometimes, when you absolutely need to turn it off. Sure, I’ll have ideas slip into my head in the middle of the night, or while I’m going about my day, but that’s why I always carry a notebook. I can scratch down a really great thought, tuck it back in my purse and finish wherever I am in the moment. But just like a counselor, or an architect, or a doctor, you know you could work all the time, every minute of your life if you let it consume you. So you learn how to stop, make a few notes if they absolutely won’t let you move on, and you go back to what you were doing in the present moment.

How do we write about fictional characters and plots we don’t actually live?

Research. For me as a writer, solving a character is much like solving an algebra equation or creating a chemical reaction in a laboratory. I read everything. I look at pictures and study people. I document facts and details with pictures and words, journaling down what I feel and think in a moment. Recently I wrote a chapter where my two main characters were boogie boarding in the ocean. I’ve been to the ocean many times, but the past doesn’t always help an immediate physical moment. Especially if I need to feel, taste or sense a particular detail in a scene. So what did I do? Today, writers are lucky. We have YouTube, Google Maps, and the ability to type in and search for anything. I can watch a how-to video and be in someone’s moment on the beach. I can’t always smell what I need to smell, but that’s where memory helps. If I’m setting my book in a particular physical location, I go to that location.  I need to see the community, feel the ground, and smell the air. Last point to make, lots of what I’ve lived slips into my words. If you know a writer, there’s never a guarantee you won’t be somewhere in a plot or a character. My ideas come from my life. My creativity takes them in new and strange directions.

So who I am?

Am I the girl you see when you meet me? Am I character in my book? Am I a mother, a wife, a career woman, a yoga instructor? My answer is yes. Life is a complicated mess, and no matter what profession we choose, parts of us come out in everything we do.

Related articles

• How to Make a Character Sympathetic in 15 Seconds (insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com)
• Look Ma – no writer’s block! (anaspoke.com)

“Life is a complicated mess.”

Today, I have the lovely and talented Erika Beebe guest hosting my blog.  Erika is the author of Stage Fright, one of seven short stories in the ONE MORE DAY anthology.  She’s going to chat with you about the mind of a writer, character development and the great question, who are we, really?  Be sure to ask questions and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for your chance to win a copy of ONE MORE DAY.

Please give it up for one of the loveliest ladies I’ve ever encountered.

***

The mind of a writer is a funny thing. I can invent the most twisted story, shake it off to make dinner, at least mostly, and then I catch my husband leaning over a printed copy of my latest and greatest chapter as the words escape his lips, “Wow, who are you, really?”

Growing up, I didn’t like creepy. I remember being eight-years-old and watching A Nightmare on Elm Street at a slumber party … further back at five when I’d caught Jaws on the television and was unable to walk across the basement floor without dreading the image of a great white beast living a hidden existence under the couch. I’d leap from furniture to furniture in the basement until I made it to the stairs. Now here I am. I write YA creepy. :o)

And then I dream how to tame it.

So how do we go to sleep at night with all of these creepy plots and words floating through our thoughts?

Writing is a profession. When you love it, you know when to turn it on, and sometimes, when you absolutely need to turn it off. Sure, I’ll have ideas slip into my head in the middle of the night, or while I’m going about my day, but that’s why I always carry a notebook. I can scratch down a really great thought, tuck it back in my purse and finish wherever I am in the moment. But just like a counselor, or an architect, or a doctor, you know you could work all the time, every minute of your life if you let it consume you. So you learn how to stop, make a few notes if they absolutely won’t let you move on, and you go back to what you were doing in the present moment.

How do we write about fictional characters and plots we don’t actually live?

Research. For me as a writer, solving a character is much like solving an algebra equation or creating a chemical reaction in a laboratory. I read everything. I look at pictures and study people. I document facts and details with pictures and words, journaling down what I feel and think in a moment. Recently I wrote a chapter where my two main characters were boogie boarding in the ocean. I’ve been to the ocean many times, but the past doesn’t always help an immediate physical moment. Especially if I need to feel, taste or sense a particular detail in a scene. So what did I do? Today, writers are lucky. We have YouTube, Google Maps, and the ability to type in and search for anything. I can watch a how-to video and be in someone’s moment on the beach. I can’t always smell what I need to smell, but that’s where memory helps. If I’m setting my book in a particular physical location, I go to that location.  I need to see the community, feel the ground, and smell the air. Last point to make, lots of what I’ve lived slips into my words. If you know a writer, there’s never a guarantee you won’t be somewhere in a plot or a character. My ideas come from my life. My creativity takes them in new and strange directions.

So who I am?

Am I the girl you see when you meet me? Am I character in my book? Am I a mother, a wife, a career woman, a yoga instructor? My answer is yes. Life is a complicated mess, and no matter what profession we choose, parts of us come out in everything we do.

***

 If you have to have your copy of ONE MORE DAY right now, please click on any of the links below.

AMAZON – PAPERBACK     AMAZON – KINDLE     BARNES & NOBLE 

KOBO

In One Moment, There was Clarity

Every day that passes brings us one day closer to Christmas, and another day of the ONE MORE DAY blog tour rolls along.  Today, THE COVER CONTESSA is hosting our blog tour with a guest post by Kimberly Kay, a book review and a link to a Rafflecopter Giveaway, so make sure you stop by and see what’s going on.

There is also a big ONE MORE DAY Virtual Facebook Party going on tonight between 8  and midnight EST so make sure you stop by.  There will be lots of virtual cake, champagne and real giveaways and fun.

Today, I have the feature author of ONE MORE DAY, L.S. Murphy with me to answer the question I’ve asked all of the anthology authors:  If you could freeze one moment in time for all eternity, what would it be?  I can so relate to her answer.

***

One Frozen Moment

The first time I saw my daughter. That’s the moment I would freeze forever. In the moment, there was a clarity to the world I’d never experienced before. Life seemed worth living and the world was full of pure love. Every single day of my existence for the last five years has been an expansion on that one moment in time.

Everyone should experience something so pure, so beautiful they never want to let it go. Bean is mine.

Yeah, I’m a sap. J

Linda

***

It’s okay to be a sap when it comes to our children, Linda.   I still get all gooey inside when I think of mine and they are grown.

Want a copy of ONE MORE DAY?  Here are a few links.

AMAZON – PAPERBACK     AMAZON – KINDLE     BARNES & NOBLE 

KOBO

Want to connect with Linda?  Visit her on the web at any of her locations:

Website    Facebook     Twitter     Linkedin     Google +      Pinterest

And don’t forget to check out all the other works by Linda.  There are quite a few.   Click on the pics for more info from Goodreads.

  

Related articles

• One Publisher; One Author’s Life Changed Forever (jennykellerford.wordpress.com)
• A Bright Spot in Someone’s Day (jennykellerford.wordpress.com)
• Blog Tour:  One More Day by L.S. Murphy and more (http://lolabookreviews.blogspot.com/)
• ARC Review:  One More Day by L.S. Murphy and Various Authors (http://kookiekrysp.com/)
• Review:  One More Day (Anthology – Various Authors) (Total Teen Fiction.blogspot.co.uk)

If Only I Had One More Day…

ONE MORE DAY author, Kimberly Kay, joins us today to answer a question I’ve asked of all the anthology authors:

If there was a moment you could freeze in time forever, what would that moment be?

Kimberly’s answer will put time in perspective and break your heart.

Kimberly, my blog is all yours.

***

If I had to take one moment in my life to freeze and display to all the world, which would I select? That’s a tough question, particularly because my answer is on the tragic, rather than joyful, end of the scale. I would select the moment I learned one of the people I most admired had commuted suicide.

It was the day after I found out that my submission to this anthology was accepted. Looking at the text on my phone, I sat down on a desk as the waves of shock washed over me. I thought, “What was I doing last night, when he died? I learned that I’d made it into “One More Day”. One more day. If only I had one more day. If only HE had one more day.” The moment where I dropped to my knees on the floor and shattered?

THAT’S the moment I would display to everyone so that, hopefully, someone out there who was considering suicide would realize that they should not go through with it. They have a purpose. They have a place in this world that will never be filled should they leave. And most importantly, they are loved. Maybe by someone they aren’t even aware of. I don’t think this friend realized how much he meant to me and the rest of our fencing club, or to his friends and family. Long have I wished that he had indicated he needed help instead of quietly slipping away. I wish we could have–not just one–but many more days to spend with him. Most importantly, I wish he’d realized that more than anything, he could have saved himself by loving himself, trusting himself, and believing in himself. Instead, we who are left behind must spread that message to others, and help them realize they are valued. That’s why my piece in the anthology is dedicated to this friend, Tyler. Because, though, I can no longer show him he is loved, I can at least promise he will never be forgotten.

***

Kimberly, my heart breaks for you.  I am so sorry to hear about Tyler.  I pray for his family’s and your healing.  May your words touch someone else so another family and friends do not have to endure such overwhelming loss.

In honor of Tyler, I hope you decide to read a copy of Kimberly’s story, Sleepless Beauty.  I’ve included links below, or you can enter to win a copy through the Rafflecopter Giveaway.  Whatever you decide to do, please make sure you visit all of Kimberly’s location on the web and say hi and wish her well.

When Kimberly was younger, she was incredibly timid. She didn’t talk much because she was afraid of what others would think of her. Instead, she expressed herself through drawing. Eventually, art alone wasn’t enough. There were some things she couldn’t express with pencils, so she began talking, and when she did, she realized she had something to say. Now no one can get her to shut up! Worse, she’s discovered she can put those words into writing to share what she has to say with even more people.

Kimberly writes short stories and novels—usually fantasy fairytale retellings. Scattered within her works are things she loves: horses, fencing, archery, and so much more. With her friends, she writes fun fan-fiction that expands her creativity, (and shows what a nerd she is).

Through writing, she has found confidence and freedom.

Website        Twitter     Goodreads

 

AMAZON – PAPERBACK     AMAZON – KINDLE     BARNES & NOBLE 

KOBO

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• ARC Review: One More Day by L.S. Murphy and Various Authors (kookiekrysp.com)
• ARC Review: One More Day by L.S. Murphy + Others (bookarooju.wordpress.com)
• “Timepiece” or “ONE MORE DAY’s First Day, and its First Story’s Author!” (everonword.wordpress.com)

 

A Girl and Her Mom Share a Dark Rose Moment

Happy December 4 everyone!  Has everyone had their coffee or tea?  1st, 2nd or 3rd breakfast?  By the way, does anyone know what day it is other than Hump Day?  Why, it’s day 3 of the ONE MORE DAY blog tour, and today I have on my blog, Marissa Halvorson (she’ll be back in a few days for another post, so make sure you tune back in).

Marissa is one of the authors in ONE MORE DAY.  Her short story is titled, Dark Rose, and is really, really good.  I also believe Marissa is the youngest author featured in ONE MORE DAY, a sweet young lady still in her teens.

As with all the authors in the anthology, I asked Marissa one particular question:

If you could freeze one moment of your life and put it on display for all to see, what would that moment be?

Her response will warm your heart.  Take it away, Marissa.

***

That’s a pretty difficult question, because it calls for me to think about my whole life and choose only ONE moment. If we are talking the most personally important moment of my life, it would be the moment, at about 10:30 at night, when I got the email from J. Taylor Publishing offering me a contract for Dark Rose. It’s definitely the happiest moment, in recent years anyway, that I can remember.

I’m still eighteen and going to school, so I still live at home. My parents had already gone to bed and I was up reading or writing (I can’t actually remember what I was doing, but that seems about right) and my phone lit up with an email. I had been anxiously awaiting the response, so as soon as my phone lit up, I … well, in all honesty, I probably lunged for it.

I have never been so happy in my life (as far as I can remember). When you’ve been working towards something for the last eight years of your life with so many people telling you that it’s going to be a long shot, and that it’s going to be very difficult to get anyone to even take a second look at you, an acceptance even into an anthology is a huge victory.

Anyway, I’ve gotten off track. If I had to display any moment, it would honestly be the look on my mom’s face and the excitement in her voice when I woke her to tell her I’d received an acceptance. It really was one of the most exciting nights of my life.

***

Oh my gosh, how beautiful is that?  What a beautiful moment.  My mom passed away before she got to see my first work published so this really touched my heart.  How lucky for mother and daughter to share such a special time.

Here’s a little bit more about Marissa:

 Marissa’s dream of writing came about when she was ten, after reading a particularly inspiring story of dragons and elves. She instantly fell in love with the fantasy genre, and characters soon began to manifest to satisfy her adoration. It started with a forty page handwritten novel, which she dubbed “Dragon Girl” and continued on to more challenging (and better written) works.

Now, Marissa can often be found to be studying literature in English class, curled up at home with one book or another, or with her eyes glued to the computer screen as her newest set of characters manifest.

You can also catch up with Marissa at the follow web spots.  Make sure you stop in and say hello.

Website   Facebook     Twitter

Interested in trying your luck at winning a copy of ONE MORE DAY?  Click Rafflecopter Giveaway to enter, and good luck!

Can’t wait a month to see if you win?  Head on over to one of the links below and grab a copy.  Maybe two or three.  It’ll make a great gift for the holiday.  🙂

AMAZON – PAPERBACK     AMAZON – KINDLE     BARNES & NOBLE 

KOBO

Thank you all so much for your support.  Please come back tomorrow to see what moment in time Kimberly Kay, author of Sleepless Beauty, would like to freeze forever.

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• “Anthology” or “So Many Stories, So Little Time to Wait!” (everonword.wordpress.com)
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One Publisher; One Author’s Life Changed Forever

Today is Day 2 of the One More Day Anthology blog tour and the 7 authors are as busy as mall Santas, making their rounds in cyberspace, introducing themselves, making connections and spreading cheer.  Today, I have the lovely Erika Beebe, author of Stage Fright, with me to answer one question:

If you could freeze one moment of your life and put it on display for all to see, what would that moment be?

Erika, the stage is all yours.

***

The one happy moment I wish I could re-share with the world?  The moment where I did so many happy dances and celebrated until my cheeks were flushed and bright red?  The moment J. Taylor contacted me about my story Stage Fright, in One More Day. I’d had so many closed doors for so many years and that one moment changed me. It gave me confidence, faith, and a true belief in turning the impossible into possible. I’ll always be grateful for that email.

***

That’s lovely, Erika, and what great words of encouragement to other authors out there.  Goes to show, all it takes is one leap of faith for a door to open.  And for your reading pleasure, here is a little excerpt from Stage Fright:

***

They warned me about the stage.

It stretched out, long, black and ice-hard with a curve around the edge, and Mean Girl, one of the cast members, stood at the perfect angle, a little behind me off to the left, but where I couldn’t escape her sneer. “Do you remember the last time you danced on the lake, right before the blizzard in the spring?” my best friend Jess had asked the night before, in a long overdue FaceTime chat—the closest we’d come to seeing each other in months. “Feel the ice, and dance.”

I sucked in a huge breath of air and pictured that day in my hometown, instead of the stage; the sky overhead had darkened, the rolling clouds pushed by a wind so strong, it whipped my long dark hair around my face. I remembered braiding my hair quickly and pulling my green stocking hat down over my ears and forehead. After grabbing my skates, I’d slung them over my shoulder and walked to the edge of the frozen lake. I can do this.

***

Want to read more?  Click one of the links below to grab your copy in e-book or paperback, or, if you’re really daring, enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for your chance to win a copy of ONE MORE DAY.

Don’t forget to stop by Erika’s homes on the web and say hello. She’d love to talk to you and share her journey to publication.

Website    Twitter     Facebook     Goodreads

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ONE MORE DAY Kickoff

December is a very busy month.  There’s food to be bought, baking to be done, lights to put up and…a book to promote?

Yep, in the middle of all the fixings and trimmings, the strands of tangled Christmas lights, ensuring the dragon is well-fed, seven YA authors (myself included) are preparing for a whirlwind internet tour of the new anthology by J. Taylor Publishing, ONE MORE DAY.  There will be virtual parties, giveaways, games, virtual cakes and good eats throughout the month of December, and everyone is invited to travel with us and join in the celebrations.

Not sure what ONE MORE DAY is about?  From the back cover…

 What if today never ends?

What if everything about life—everything anyone hoped to be, to do, to experience—never happens?

Whether sitting in a chair, driving down the road, in surgery, jumping off a cliff or flying … that’s where you’d be … forever.

Unless …

In One More Day, Erika Beebe, Marissa Halvorson, Kimberly Kay, J. Keller Ford, Danielle E. Shipley and Anna Simpson join L.S. Murphy to give us their twists, surprising us with answers to two big questions, all from the perspective of characters under the age of eighteen.

How do we restart time?

How do we make everything go back to normal?

The answers, in whatever the world—human, alien, medieval, fantasy or fairytale—could,maybe, happen today.

Right now.

What would you do if this happened … to you?

***

Sounds great, doesn’t it?  The book releases December 2, 2013, and to kick off the blog tour, I asked each of the authors a simple question:  If there was one moment in time you could freeze for eternity, a moment you’d love for everyone to see, what would that moment be?  From December 1 – 7th, you will find each of the authors’ answers right here, so I hope you drop by to experience those moments.  Sprinkled throughout the month, you will also find various guest posts and/or interviews by some of the authors so you’ll have more than one opportunity to get up close and personal with them.

In the middle of all the ONE MORE DAY posts here, I will also bring you a few interviews and blog posts for other authors who have their own books they’re proud of and want to show off.  After all, the spirit of the holidays and Christmas is not about tooting our own horns.  It’s about helping others and giving them boosts, applause and accolades whenever we can.

J. Taylor Publishing has a list of many of the blog stops and the dates which you can find here.  There is a virtual Facebook party on December 6, 2013, beginning at 7 PM CST.  There will be giveaways, fun contests, and a lot of fun to be had, so sign up and I hope to see you there.   I am also in the process of setting up a Goodreads giveaway, so stay tuned for more details.

Whatever you do, please make sure you visit each one of the ONE MORE DAY authors’ websites, take a look around and leave a message or several messages throughout the month.  Don’t forget to like their Facebook and Twitter pages.  We would all love to hear from you because without you, our words, our stories would be homeless.  We bow to our readers’ stupendousness.  You guys completely rock my world.  On behalf of Linda, Erika, Anna, Marissa, Danielle, Kimberly and myself, thank you for your support, and have a wonderful holiday season.  Hope to see you around the internet and don’t forget to bring your friends!  The more the merrier!

Author Websites:

L.S. Murphy

Marissa Halvorson

Kimberly Kay

Erika Beebe

Danielle Shipley

Anna Simpson

J. Keller Ford

 

Related articles

• ARC Review: One More Day by L.S. Murphy + Others (bookarooju.wordpress.com)
• “Anthology” or “So Many Stories, So Little Time to Wait!” (everonword.wordpress.com)
• ARC Review: One More Day by L.S. Murphy and Various Authors (kookiekrysp.com)

 

Tangibility of the written word

J. Taylor Publishing’s ONE MORE DAY young adult anthology debuts December 2, 2013, which means my short story, Dragon Flight, will be available to millions of people to read.

Millions of people.  What a mind-blowing concept. As a writer, that’s all that really matters – having my work out there for others to read and share.  Sure, I’d like to top the best-seller lists.  I mean, who wouldn’t like to be spoken of in hallowed greatness among YA fans of Cassandra Clare, J.K. Rowling, and Suzanne Collins?  And while I’d like to have a theme park named after my novel, I think J.K. Rowling already cornered the market on that one.  I do envision movies, however.  Epic movies, with an all-star cast, maybe even directed by the great Peter Jackson himself, but I digress.

For now, I am thrilled knowing two of my short stories are out there and someone, somewhere is or will soon be reading them.  The Amulet of Ormisez is available in e-book and in one week, Dragon Flight will be available in paperback and e-book, which just makes me jump up and down and squeal and do the little Snoopy happy dance.  The idea of being able to hold and sign a book featuring a story of mine just blows me away.  It is the ultimate high for this author.  I’ll actually be able to give something tangible to my friends and relatives as presents this holiday season.  It’s personal.  I can write a note inside.  I can hand it to them.  There is nothing virtual about that.

I don’t know how I can explain what this means to me.  I guess the only way is like this.  We all know how great it is to Skype with our friends and loved ones.  We get to see them, talk to them, laugh and cry with them…but it will never replace actually holding each other, touching each other, laughing and crying in the same room with each other.  To give the gift of a virtual book conjures the same meaning for me.  I’m not sure I’m ready to move into a virtual world, where everything we experience is on a reader, online, and someday, in a hologram.  We’re losing our personal touch with people.  We’re losing how to interact with people face-to-face.  I think we’re becoming too tech savvy, so much so that we’re losing what’s ‘real’.  And in our eagerness to progress, move on and be ‘up-to-date’, we’re losing valuable lessons, skills and a tangible form of art.

While I see the importance of e-books and I understand all the arguments for them, they can’t replace the authenticity, the sensation of holding a real book. There is something magical in turning the pages, experiencing the freshness or age of a book.  Hiding under the covers with a flashlight as a child, so you can stay up to turn the last page of the chapter.  To pass on and share a book without needing permission.  I am in love with reading, but I’m also in love with books.  Tangible books.  Pages that will yellow with age, bindings that will crease and tear and perhaps even unbind from all the times it’s been opened and read.  That’s what I want to happen to the books containing my writings.  I want them to be well-read, loved, cherished, seen by many – not sitting in a dark reader to never be stroked, loved, needed and perhaps read only once before being cast into cyberspace.  What a heartbreaking fate for some of life’s most beautiful words.