News about Chiaroscuro

One of my goals for this year was to publish my poetry collection Chiaroscuro. Last year I researched publishers, and compared their sites and stats.
I made a list of what I most wanted in a publisher. It wasn't about the royalty. It was:

• clear information
• print options
• listed response time
• ease of submitting (email)

I know self-publishing is an option, especially for poetry, but I’d prefer to go through a publisher for the formatting, marketing, cover book, all those things that intimidate me. It’s a process I’d rather not go through alone.
One of my top choice was SynergEbooks. I am very impressed by their website, and how much information they give in the process and what to expect, and what they expect of their authors.
I didn’t have to wait long after querying SynergEbooks to get a response. They were impressed with my sample poems. They were very upfront to answer the few questions I had, and less than a week later I was signing an Author Contract.
I am very happy to be working with SynergEbooks to publish my poetry book. No release date yet. It will be published digitally and available through the publisher website, as well as on Amazon.com and B&N.com. If it does well enough, there is a possibility for a print version.
In preparation for publication, I have created a site dedicated to my Chiaroscuro poetry book. I will be creating individual sites for each of my major projects, where you can learn more, read excerpts, and get news on their status.

Fairy Fridays on Facebook

This week I created my official Facebook Author Page. You can like me on the handy button to the left of my blog, or go to https://www.facebook.com/MaryWJensenFanPage. I've started up Fairy Fridays. Each Friday I will post to my Author Page something about fairies, whether it's a picture, something from one of my books, or other fairy fun.

English: A resin statue of a Fairy in natural surroundings. 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day

As a writer, my teddy pretty much attends work every day. But I figured this would be a great time to repost my Teddy Tribute.

Cocoa: the cuddly kind, not the edible kind
originally posted 11/14/07

I am grateful for teddy bears. My bear Cocoa was given to me when I was ten years old. My family was about to move to the other end of the state, and my best friend threw me a going away party. I got gifts from various friends, and the bear was what she gave to me. The moment I saw him I knew his name. Moving away from all my friends was very hard for me. That night after getting Cocoa, I fell asleep holding him. He represented all I was leaving behind.

Cocoa was always a comfort to me. I slept with him every night, even taking him on sleepovers and campouts. He soaked up many tears, and was always there. I've written two poems about him. The first one I wrote in Junior High and was my very first Haiku. It was sometime during High School that I wrote the second.

Brown, soft, and furry, 
He comforts me through the night--
My teddy Cocoa.

My Teddy
I live a lonely life these days,
There's not much that can comfort me;
Just a letter from a friend, my life-long journal,
And Cocoa, my cherished teddy.
A bear will always listen,
And never dispute a claim;
Won't ever tell your secret,
Or give away the game.
He'll always be there for you,
If you just want to talk,
Or need something to hold to,
Like algae to a rock.
He'll never walk away from you,
Or leave you all alone.
He's more a comfort to me
Than talking on the phone.
I love my teddy Cocoa,
He means so much to me.
I'm not complete without him,
Just leaves without a tree.

As a confession, I slept with him up to the night before my wedding. There were times I even took him to school with me. It was a comfort knowing he was there in my backpack, and I took him out during lunch as I sat at my locker. I didn't care what people thought. Even now, when I'm not feeling well or having a bad day, I will cuddle up with him. He's the one stuffed animal I won't let B  play with. So many memories wrapped up in one bear.

Upcoming Writers Conference

One week from today is the Muse Online Writers Conference, an annual online and FREE conference. It goes from Oct 7 to 13. This will be my sixth year attending. Check it out! You can read more about it and my experiences in my post on the Poetic Muselings blog yesterday about the Muse Conference.

Hope to see some of you there! I’ll be attending as my usual persona, feywriter.

Stepping Stones to Being More Than an Extra

English: Stepping stones. Stepping stones in Deepdale Beck (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Been making more of an effort to put myself and my work out there. Reviving my blog is one part of that. I have a poetry book I've begun submitting to publishers. And today I signed up for Writers Village University.

I need to step out of my shell. Writing doesn't have to be so lonely. There's a big community of writers out there. I merely need to put down my walls and step outside my comfort zone.

If you've been wondering some of the things I've been up to in my absence, I have been blogging over at Poetic-Muselings.net on a more regular basis.

NaNoWriMo Rebel

Last year I set a firm resolution not to participate in NaNoWriMo until I finish one of my current WIP’s. But that still hasn’t happened! So I’m going to use the community to push me to do so. Going to be a Rebel and use NaNoWriMo 2012 to finish one of my neglected novels.

And it doesn’t hurt that I found the most awesome AND gorgeous tracker to use. Check out what the talented Svenja Liv has created: http://svenjaliv.com/2012/10/nanowrimo-2012-word-trackers/

I’m using her Forest Fairy template. LOVE it!

You can find me on the official site, username Feywriter. Who else is in? What are you writing?

11 Questions and a Blog Award

*Dusts off blog so she can post shiny award*

Thank you, Heather Riffle, for the award. And the excuse to dust off my blog. Hopefully I still have some followers left after its neglect.

Now on to the fun stuff.

Rules:
-Answer the presenter’s 11 questions
-Choose 11 lucky recipients (who have fewer than 200 followers)
-Formulate 11 questions for them to answer
-Plaster the award on your blog

I’ll likely bend the second rule, but the rest I can do! Here are Heather’s questions for me:

1. Does music ever inspire your writing? Absolutely. I find Celtic music especially gets me in the mood to write fantasy. I’ve also become hooked on Radio Rivendell. Epic music for epic writing.

2. What is your favorite season? Autumn. Warm colors. Crunch of leaves. The weather is just starting to cool. The kid is back in school. The writer community comes together for The Muse Online Writers Conference, and NaNoWriMo. Fall may not be the usual time for new beginnings, but it represents MY beginning. I was born in November. So this time of year is also perfect for my blog’s revival.

3. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving. I was born on Thanksgiving, and it’s a time for food and family and fun.

4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?  And why? Ooh, this is a toughie. No, actually it’s not. There’s this island I researched for one of my novels. Sylt island, the northernmost part of Germany. It never gets completely dark at night in the summer. Miles and miles of beach. The smell of the ocean. Charming villages. So very magical.

5. Cats or dogs? Why? Cats. An obvious reason, I am more allergic to dogs. They are more self-sufficient. On a more emotional level, cats are comforting, playful, always bring a smile. They tend to be cuddlers, just like me.

6. Favorite color?  What do you think it says about your personality? Purple. Purple is creativity, passion, fantasy, play, and possibility.

7. Favorite movie? Why? The Avengers. Joss Whedon + Chris Evans + great dialogue + an epic cast + action + superheroes = AWESOME

8. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Why? What a wonderful follow up to #7. LOL I would choose flight. To fly through the air, up where it’s pure, traveling wherever I please.

9. If you could time-travel, would you? Where/When would you go? And for what reason? I would travel back to when Stonehenge was in its full glory. I want to see it whole, and learn how and why it was built.

10. Favorite food? German Chocolate Cake. If dessert doesn’t count, then homemade banana muffins.

11. Who/what is your favorite character (movie, book, TV) of all time? Hard to label just one. I must have a thing for bad boys, cause the names that pop into my head are Captain Mal Reynolds (from Firefly), Leesil (assassin from The Noble Dead Saga), Matrim (from Wheel of Time), and Raistlin (from Dragonlance). No wonder the male hero of my first book is a thief!

Not sure who to pass this on to. That may have to be a future post. I hope you enjoyed my answers.