The Dark Proposal – Re-Edited and Re-Released

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books, editing, Kindle, NA, New Adult, paranormal books, Smashwords, vampires

Today my book, The Dark Proposal, was re-released on Smashwords and Kindle. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was one of those self-published authors guilty of having a book in need of another edit. I did have someone edit my book, but I guess when I re-wrote a few scenes, I sent my novel into the Badly Edited Books category.

OK, it wasn’t that bad, but it was embarrassing knowing that my book had such problems. I saw it on reviews, and even friends and family were telling me about the grammar issues and typos. I wanted to avoid being lumped together with other self-published authors whose work brings out everyone’s inner Grammar Nazi. But, that was not the case.

I was looking to find an editor with reasonable rates to re-edit my book, when a fellow writer kindly did it himself. I won’t say his name, lest he gets bombarded with authors asking him to edit their work, which he doesn’t seem to want right now. But I am very grateful that he did this.

Also, I added a couple of short paragraphs in Chapter 13 that were in the first draft. Initially, it was a few long paragraphs where Claire reflects on her previous boyfriends, none of whom can be considered good guys. She notices a pattern in what attracts her to certain guys, which led her to go out with Daniel in the first place. It was a good passage, that takes place while she is out shopping in SoHo the day after she moved in with Daniel. But I eventually took it out when I felt those paragraphs slowed down the story. After I published The Dark Proposal, I decided I should’ve kept it in because it does explain Claire and the kind of guys she dates. So, I shortened those paragraphs to a couple with only a few lines each. Other than that, everything is the same. Oh, I also changed a few words to make Daniel’s interaction with Michel a bit more bromantic than before. I realized I has been too squeamish because guy-on-guy action, even briefly, isn’t as mainstream as female bisexuality. But so what? 🙂

So, behold my improved novel on Kindle and Smashwords. I’ll keep it on sale for 99 cents until June 21st, so you could add this to your summer reading. I hope this works out better this time. And if there still is grammar issues, I think I am going to cry hysterically for various reasons, LOL!

Wednesday Interview: Christine Meunier

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author interview, authors, books, equine industry, horses, interviews, self-publishing

Most writers write what they know. In the case of Australian author Christine Meunier, she wrote what she loved. Horses have been her passion from an early age, and she is beginning to write novels about the equine industry. Her first book, Horse Country, will be out on July 1st and it’s not just for those who enjoy horses. It is for anyone interested in New Adult books.

MC: Please tell us about yourself, especially about how you became to love horses.

CM: I’ve had a love for horses from a very young age and believe that that was something ingrained in me, rather than something that I chose to have an interest in over time.  It wasn’t until I was 13 years of age that I was blessed to be able to lease a pony and then have my parents buy him for me six months later.  Reign in my story Horse Country is based on my gelding, Pride.

I’m originally from South Australia but moved to Victoria with my family at a young age and have come to love living in this state.  I now live in North East Victoria, which is considered the horse mecca of my state!

Currently I’m studying an equine science degree and I teach horse studies at a local TAFE, having worked in the horse breeding industry since 2004.

MC: What made you want to write your novel, Horse Country? Was it to talk about the equine industry in Australia or just horses in general?

CM: I would often tell my parents about things that had occurred to me or friends at work and had them laughing about some entertaining events.  My mother kept on telling me I should write these down and that’s how the story started.

Now the main idea of releasing Horse Country is to invite others to discover how much fun it can be to work in the horse industry – anywhere around the world – and what great characters can be met, travel opportunities and career opportunities.

MC: You say your novel would appeal to the New Adult audience. Why do you think so?

CM: Horse Country follows the lives of four young women over a 6 year period.  Wes is the youngest, starting out at 16 years of age whilst the other three are in their late teens.  It follows the women finding their role in life, following their dreams and balancing work and study.  For this reason, I believe it fits the New Adult category.

MC: You are selling your book on your website. Do you have any plans to sell it on Kindle, Smashwords, CreateSpace or any other format?

CM: The book has be published through Lulu.com, consequently it’ll be available for sale from here, with a link provided to this from my website.  The book is also being organised through Amazon and ebooks should be available for reading via an iPad, Nook, Kindle, etc.

MC: What advice would you give to any aspiring authors?

CM: Write down ideas as they come to you!  It’s a great habit to carry a pen and paper with you – or have access to a word processing device if you’re a keen typist.  It’s sometimes the random ideas that generate a great scene or character.

Read a lot – about writing and publishing, as well as the genres you hope to write about.  This can help you to develop a feel for what’s necessary with regards to marketing your book and what has been published already in your genre.

Learn more about Christine and her work at these sites:

http://www.horsecountrybook.com/

http://www.facebook.com/HorseCountry