Blue Moon Rising boxed set

Update on Falcon Heavy Launch

 Alas, although the center booster landed on its barge at sea, it fell over on the way back to shore and requires repair. So not quite as perfect a launch as we had thought, but close enough no serious delays are expected.

Saturday night update: something went wrong late this afternoon with a test of the crew capsule - major amounts of smoke described as an "anomaly" seen over the Cape. Guess there may be a delay in our return to manned flight, after all. Sigh.

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I am happy to announce the availability of my Blue Moon Rising series as a boxed set. I also added a somewhat whimsical fairy tale Prequel to my Blair Bancroft Facebook page. To read it, click here.

MAJOR OOPS!  As I uploaded the cover above, I noticed something - not quite as bad as the famed cover where the hero had three hands - but definitely a goof-up.Take a good look - I'm sure you'll spot it. We are in the process of fixing it. (Oddly enough, on an earlier version in PNG, it was perfect. But something went wrong when it was transferred to JPG.)

Below is the blurb for the boxed set:


The Blue Moon Rising boxed set—Rebel Princess, Sorcerer’s Bride, The Bastard Prince & Royal Rebellion—is a classic saga of rebellion against an Evil Empire. There is something for everyone—from dashing spaceship captains and royal princesses to a boy sorcerer who can’t talk and a hardened rebel who just happens to be a werewolf. (Suspended disbelief required.) The four books also feature space battles, paranormal hijinks, and multiple romances (with emphasis on the four children of the King of Psyclid).

REBEL PRINCESS   
The people of the pacifist planet Psyclid have spent a millennium cultivating skills of the mind, while the people of the planet Regula Prime spent an equal amount of time developing their military might. So what happens when the Princess Royal of Psyclid (aka Kass Kiolani) decides to explore the “other side,” becoming a cadet at the Regulon Space Academy, where, in addition to teasing the Regs with her paranormal skills and attracting the interest of a Reg starship captain, she is interned as an enemy when Regulon invades Psyclid, and, oh yes, sparks a rebellion against the Regulon Empire.

SORCERER’S BRIDE   
Unlike her older sister Kass, the Princess M’lani has no interest in matters beyond Psyclid. No desire to fight the Reg occupation of their homeworld. Yet somehow she ends up the possessor of the most destructive paranormal talent in the realm, and not incidentally, married to Kass’s former fiancé, Jagan Mondragon, the Sorcerer Prime. M’lani and Jagan suffer more than a few dramatic (and very ugly) moments before they send the Regulons fleeing back to their home planet. Toppling the Empire, however, is a far greater challenge. At this point the rebellion stands:  one planet liberated, eleven to go.

THE BASTARD PRINCE
What to do with K’kadi Amund, the boy who communicates only through illusions? The boy who happens to be Kass’s and M’lani’s younger brother. Although approaching his twenty-first birthday, K’kadi is still inclined to lose himself in single-minded pursuits—from creating fireworks to stalking his first love, a warrior maiden from the plant Hercula. “Unreliable” and “weird” are among the kinder things said about him. So why does S’sorrokan, leader of the rebellion, consider him one of his most vital assets? Even when K’kadi comes into his own and achieves what was once his greatest desire, he discovers that growing up comes with a price.

ROYAL REBELLION
In the fourth and final book of the series, the rebels have taken a three-year timeout to plan, prepare, recruit . . . and produce the start of a new generation. All the Psyclid royal children and spouses (including two who are not mentioned above—avoiding a “spoiler”), play important roles when the rebels finally come face to face with Darroch, ruler of the Regulon Empire. Yet when the battle is done, the crisis is still not over. There is the inevitable problem of “What’s Next?” Will there be a new Emperor? Some form of democracy? Who will sit on the Regulon throne—the dashing leader of the rebellion or the “frenemy” rebel, who is Emperor Darroch’s legitimate heir?

For a link to the Blue Moon Rising boxed set on Amazon, click here.

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In case you didn't spot the mistake that was up on Amazon for almost two days, here's the correct cover:

(Sorry, no photo of my red face available.) 

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For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace  

New Index - Partial

FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH - 

Wednesday, April 10, c. 6:35 p.m. EDT

 Great excitement in our area this week. Only one previous Falcon Heavy launch - a test flight carrying Elon Musk's Tesla! This, the first launch with a payload, a Saudi communications satellite. In case you missed the significance, this is the rocket that is expected to put U. S. astronauts back into space, and excitement was high. (Though briefly dimmed by a last-minute postponement on Tuesday, leaving huge crowds of disappointed people to return the next night.)

I am content to watch the launches on TV before running outside to see the rockets soar above my neighbor's roof (at a distance of 35-40 miles). Conditions were perfect Wednesday night, both fiery rocket and vapor trail clearly visible for several minutes. Of the photos below, only the first Launch photo is "live" (on TV), as after that I was outside looking at the real thing. The other three photos are from the eleven o'clock news. 

And then the most incredible part of all . . . Although the fascination with rockets never wanes, we've become accustomed to successful launches, but returning the boosters to earth - particularly on land instead of at sea - is still mind-boggling. The cheers and applause were louder for the booster landings than for the launch itself. Pardon the split screen, but that's the way our local channel was showing the launch. Upper left - the two side boosters making perfect simultaneous landings dead center on their landing pads. (The center booster landed successfully on a barge at sea.)

Looks like we're finally on our way back to manned flight - later this year, we're told.

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MOSAIC MOMENTS - Partial Index (2011-2019)

As previously mentioned, I am plowing my way through organizing all my Writing and Editing blog posts since January 2011 into an ebook. Believe me, it ain’t easy! Today’s blog will be an Index of what I have accomplished so far, although the order of the articles may change in the final edition. Meanwhile, I hope this Updated Index (to be augmented over the coming weeks) will be helpful.

Grace note: The posts at the dates listed here are all “originals.” Any additions, deletions or revisions to the originals will not be available until the compilation of posts is published. The book will have three sections:  Writing, Editing & Miscellaneous. Here is the outline of the Writing section of the book.

WRITING - Index

1.  General
2.  Vital Puzzle Pieces
3.  No-No’s
4.  Writing a Series
5.  World Building
6.  Women’s Fiction
7.  Nuts & Bolts (mechanics)
8.  Writer’s Dictionary
9.  Rules & Rule-Breaking

Contents by Section

General
Writing Workshop - 9 articles - 12/6/14 - 6/28/15
Know Your Genre - 1/23/16
Birth of a Book - 2 articles - 12/1/18  & 1/26/19
Advice for Newbie Authors - 2 articles - 10/27/18 & 11/10/18

Vital Puzzle Pieces
Character Development - 9 articles - 10/15/12, 10/29/12, 11/5/12, 11/7/15,    12/5/15, 1/30/16, 2/6/16, 8/20/16, 8/27/16
Creating a Hero - 7/21/18
Creating a Heroine - 7/28/18
Creating Secondary Characters - 2 articles - 9/8/18 & 9/22/18
Point of View - 9 articles - 10/13/18, 12/9/17, 5/31/14, 6/8/14, 2/2016, 8/4/18, 8/25/18/9/1/18
Show vs. Tell - 3 articles - 7/21/13, 7/28/13, 2/2/19
Writing “Out of the Mist” - 4 articles - 7/9/16, 7/16/16, 8/19/17, 11/24/18
Transforming Truth Into Fiction - 9/4/16
The Importance of Names - 2 articles - 3/18/17 & 4/30/17
Examples of “Setting” - 3/7/15
The Difference a Word Makes - 10/15/16
The Sound of Silence - 7/30/16

No-No’s
How to Write a Bad Book - 3/12/17
How to Write a Mediocre Book - 8/26/17
Running Off at the Keyboard - 2/13/16
Signs of Amateur Writing - 10/1/16
How Not to Write a Book - 3 articles - 10/10/12, 4/4/15, 2/2/19
Rant - 6/23/18
Writing Mistakes - 3/4/11
Misused Words - 2 articles - 10/4/14 & 10/25/14

Writing a Series - 6 articles - 1/21/17 - 2/18/17

World Building - 4 articles - 12/18/13 - 2/1/14

Women’s Fiction - 3 articles - 6/15/17 - 11/4/17

Grace note: The index to Nuts & Bolts, Writer’s Dictionary, Rules & Rule-Breaking will be posted at a later date. Even later: the Editing & Miscellaneous sections.

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Blair's Regency Warrior Series (in order)

The Sometime Bride

Tarleton's Wife

O'Rourke's Heiress

Rogue's Destiny

The Lady Takes a Risk

(Book 6 coming soon*) 

*Tentative titles: The Defiant Countess, The Abominable Major, Lord Halliwell's Dilemma (Comments on the possible titles are encouraged!)

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For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here.

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, with background info on
the writing of Ghosts, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace  

 

Mosaic Reading

Hailey, at her 16th birthday party

Two "new to me" Authors:

I am a voracious reader—preferring stories with mystery, suspense & action, as well as romance. In the Romance genre, I read Historical, Contemporary, SciFi, Fantasy, Paranormal, Steampunk, & Alternative History. I am also particularly fond of classic  Mystery, Suspense & Thriller—though I prefer the stories that offer a strong dash of romance along with "whodunit" and plenty of action. (Sorry, no cozies.)

In the course of my reading, I am excited if I find a new author I really like once in three or four months. Incredibly, just this week, I found two. Neither is a new author—only new to me. In fact, when I saw an Amazon ad for a Mystery that sounded interesting and saw it was NUMBER NINE in a series, I groaned. Who wants to start with # 9? But it did sound intriguing, so I took a chance. I don't think I'd reached Page 5 before I was hitting "Home" on my Kindle, checking the name of the author, and planning to order Book 1 and work my way all the way back to #9. 

What was so special? As any author knows, it is really difficult to come up with a unique plot twist—I mean, absolutely everything has been done and done again, and yet again. But Anne Cleeland in her Acton and Doyle Mystery series actually comes up with some very unusual ideas. Her heroine is a plebian Irish Constable working for a modern-day Scotland Yard; the hero, an aristocratic Detective Inspector, whom Ms Cleeland endows with some highly unusual characteristics for either a hero or a Scotland Yard DI. (Avoiding a "spoiler" here.) In addition to these striking main characters, Ms Cleeland's has created an outstanding supporting cast and has an excellent bent for Mystery, a comfortable knowledge of police procedure, and an attitude that would quite curl the hair of most authors whose main characters are in law enforcement. (Perhaps closer to Barry Eisler than Linda Castillo?) And yes, the overall presentation of the three books I've read so far is clever, stylish, and far superior to the writing found in many mysteries.


The other book I picked up this week was a Victorian Historical with a dash of the Gothic. Frankly, there are a zillion Regency/Victorian/Edwardian Historical Romances out there, including a number of mine (as Blair Bancroft). I have my Tried & True favorites, but I'm constantly looking for a new voice, and constantly disappointed. But wow, not this week. I found the blurb for the first book of Mimi Matthew's Parish Orphan Series in the same place as the Acton and Doyle series—in an Amazon ad. Why I decided to read it when I've had so many disappointments, I have no idea. But again, within the first few pages, I was shaking my head and saying, "Wow, this one's a keeper." Marvelous characters, an ensemble cast, and well-written. Yes, there was a plot twist that made me squirm, and yes, it required a bit of suspended disbelief, but then so many Historical Romances do. Needless to say, I have already pre-ordered the next book in the series.

To repeat:  The Acton and Doyle series by Anne Cleeland
                  Paris Orphan Series by Mimi Matthews

And yes, both series are strong on Romance without straying into graphic sex. Definitely my kind of "read."

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For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here.

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, with background info on
the writing of Ghosts, click here. 

For a brochure for Grace's Editing Service, Best Foot Forward,

email: editsbyBFF@aol.com 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace  

Major Edits

 Those of us who live in Florida know what it is to live with both alligators and bears. (Although those who only visit Disneyworld, Universal, Sea World, etc., probably find that hard to believe.) So below are links to two videos. The first is an Alligator Video from Brownwood, FL, courtesy of ABC News. The Bear Video is homemade - outside my daughter's home here in Longwood, FL.

For the Alligator Video, click here.

For the Bear Video, click here.

Also startling, these Rules for Teachers from 1886 (posted to Facebook):

These helpful Editor definitions were posted to Facebook

by an author friend of mine:

DEALING WITH MAJOR EDITS

Perhaps the many "plotters" among us do not have to deal with this issue; then again, perhaps they do, at least on occasion. Certainly, it's something "out of the mist" authors like me run into from time to time.)

Sometimes we simply miss an important point. Sometimes we miss a VERY important point. I did this recently. I'd like to think it was because I was distracted by our upcoming cruise, but I have to admit I was better at "winging it" without mishap when I was younger. Sigh. Nonetheless, mistakes happen, no matter what age we are or how smart we think we are. The important point is to catch the mistake before you plaster it all over Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, or the sites of other Internet vendors!

I do not own a laptop. I got one of the early models, almost never used it, so have not repeated that mistake. (Laptops or tablets are great for those who use them, but for people like me who have to be holed up in a room all by myself in order to write Word One, what's the point?) Therefore, the only work-related things I took on my cruise were a legal pad and a pen, with which I planned to do that thing unheard of for a "seat of the pants" author—make notes on the remaining major scenes of my book. Wow! Was I in danger of turning into a Plotter?

No way, no how. But I would end up with far more scribbled notes than I usually have at this stage of a book (c. half-way). But the morning of the cruise—we hadn't left Longwood yet—I suddenly realized: Oh, wow, I missed something! I quickly scanned the last pages I had written, went back to check the two scenes before, and groaned. Sure enough, I'd written an action scene (an attack on the heroine), followed by two dialogue scenes with secondary characters, and then, knowing I needed to get back to the hero and heroine together, I'd written a pleasant one-on-one scene that forwarded their relationship . . . but WAIT! I had written it WITHOUT ANY REFERENCE TO THE ATTACK ON THE HEROINE! 

Slap upside the head! So that was my very first note when I sat down to work the first morning of the cruise (with a deluge of rain outside the porthole and me not envying the rest of our party who were ashore in Freeport, Bahamas!) And when I got home, I took that perfectly ordinary interchange, deleted almost all of it, and replaced it with something much more dramatic. 

Does this happen often? No, thank goodness. But I believe I've mention a few of the following in previous posts—but since I have acquired more than a thousand new readers in the last year or so, I will repeat the incidents below:

Many years ago when writing my first Romantic Suspense, Shadowed Paradise, I was about three-quarters of the way through the book when I realized the person I had set up in my mind to be revealed as the villain (and who had anonymous scenes throughout the book) simply wasn't strong enough. Oops. No other solution than to go back and insert a new character. Fortunately, this wasn't as difficult as it sounds as the "anonymous" villain scenes were already written and among the best writing I ever did. (Through all the editing, then, and later for the indie version, I never changed a word of those villain scenes.) 

Years later, there was a maypole I so wanted to include in The Blackthorne Curse, but it simply wouldn't fit. Heave ho, out it went! Yet another example: after a reader complained about the hero's fall from grace in The Sometime Bride, when I did the indie version, I added a Prologue which I hoped would make his unfaithfulness during wartime more understandable. (And which added even more words to a book already 140,000 words long!) Whatever. I liked my original beginning with the heroine at age fourteen, but I think the book is better with the Prologue. That's the great thing about Indie Pub—you're free to make changes!

Extreme Revision
Yes, sometimes complete top to bottom revision is necessary. While editing other people's books, I've had occasion to tell an author that she had to select one primary plot and stick to it. (The story leaped from one plot to the next with no connection whatsoever.) I have also edited a book that the author seemed to want to be a dramatic tale of war, except comedy and mundane family matters kept intruding. Again, the author needed to decide which story he/she was writing and concentrate on that aspect of the tale and not try to write two different genres at once. In a third example, I edited a book where almost every paragraph had too many words, drowning an excellent story in unnecessary convolutions.

All three books mentioned above required major rewrite. It happens—hopefully not to you.If it does, well, please see the Summary below.

Summary.
Often, only the change of a word or two is needed to improve your work. Sometimes, the addition or deletion of several paragraphs. And on occasion, a whole scene may need rewriting. Hopefully, you won't encounter the editorial suggestion that your whole book needs rewriting from the top. But if you do get this advice, don't ignore it! No, it's not necessary to leap into revision without thought. Think about what your editor said. Do not reject the advice and plow ahead, your mistakes still intact. Ask yourself:  Is the editor right? Maybe not about everything, but about most of the criticisms . . .? Then buckle down and get the job done, step by step. One sentence, one paragraph, one chapter at a time. Do what you have to do, because you will learn a lot. It's highly unlikely you'll ever make those same mistakes again.

If you don't have an editor, you have to be particularly sharp. You have to pay attention, learn to be critical. How do I make this sentence better? Have I written enough description to paint a vivid picture? Have I given my characters the correct reactions to scenes that went before? Am I tying all the ends together, or am I skipping from pillar to post, irrevocably confusing my readers? 

Editor or no, you CAN do this. The only fatal error: putting your book out there without any editing at all.

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Blog Book Update

Some time ago I mentioned that I was attempting to organize eight years of blog posts on Writing and Editing into a single book. I am happy to report I've finally discovered a method that makes sense and work is under way. Hopefully, sometime before the end of the year, my posts will be available in book form, properly organized by subject, and indexed. Still working on cover, title, and sub-title, but I've begun to see a faint dawn, if not bright light at the end of the tunnel.

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For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here.

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, with background info on
the writing of Ghosts, click here. 

For a brochure for Grace's Editing Service, Best Foot Forward,

email: editsbyBFF@aol.com 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace  

 

Photo Blog

We took a short cruise during Spring Break week, but not many pictures to show for it, as it rained the entire time! We all agreed, however, that after the many cruises we've taken with perfect weather, we were long overdue.  Interestingly, as I looked at the formal group photo, I realized this was the same group of eight that cruised the Med in 2015, previewed by three days in Barcelona and followed by a day in Venice and four days in London. The girls, naturally, are now far more grown up. This is the first cruise they were allowed to wander on their own (each with a companion from school). Our total group, with the girls' friends and parents on Grand Classica was NINETEEN. A really long table at dinner. (That's me hiding between Hailey and Susie on the right.)

Grace, Susie, Mike, Gloria & friend, Clara. Front: Riley, Hailey, Cassidy

 A good story goes with this one. When Susie and I went to order this formal portrait, Susie said something about it being too bad Gloria was wearing her sunglasses. The photographer took a close look at the photo and said, "Wait a minute." He came back with a pair of glasses he had found. Susie checked them and yes, they were prescription. When we took them to dinner that night, sure enough, they were Gloria's. Needless to say, when I picked up the finished photos, I thanked the photographer profusely for having such a discerning eye!
FYI, if there was one thing I didn't need on this trip, it was my sunhat!

Palm Beach Harbor - blowing in the wind - and mist!

Mike counted SEVEN boats on the deck & sides of this private yacht in Palm Beach Harbor. Note the size of the cranes on the forward deck, plus four boats, including the black one peeking out from behind the cabin cruiser (center).  There was also a helipad on the aft deck. Wow! When I took this pic under lowering skies, I figured it would be my best photo of the trip - and it was. FYI, a crewman told my son-in-law that yachts like that cost a million a foot!

Our view for the remainder of the trip

Fortunately, Spring Break was not over when we got home, and Susie took the girls off to our favorite Caspersen Beach in Venice, FL, where we used to live. So finally, some time at the beach. FYI, it was still raining when we returned to West Palm, deluging us for about the first twenty miles of our trip home. After that, nothing but blue skies. Not a bad trip as the boat's amenities, shows, games, and food were great. A good time had by all.

Sharkey flies again! - I used to fly Sharkey #1 at Caspersen's myself.

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Next week: More Editing Examples, including Major Revisions

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For a link to the Contest questions, click here.

For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here.

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, with background info on
the writing of Ghosts, click here. 

 

For a brochure for Grace's Editing Service, Best Foot Forward,

email: editsbyBFF@aol.com 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace