beginning again

So, yesterday, I finally started my next novel, and I started it off with a bang. I wrote roughly 3700 words, though I’m pretty sure they’re mostly crap. It happens. Especially with me. It’s a fact: I suck at writing beginnings.

I don’t know what it is about introducing characters and plot and world-building and all that, but I just can’t do it well. The first two chapters of The Clockwork Giant went through a dozen revisions each, and I ended up cutting the entire second chapter in the final draft. So, when I started writing the sequel yesterday, I decided I’d skip the beginning and just get into the story. I had been putting off writing because I wanted the beginning to be perfect right off the bat. A very unrealistic goal. Rather than drive myself crazy trying to get the beginning right, I just jumped into the story right after the introduction stuff would happen. And I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. I’ve never started a book so strong.

book release countdown

So, only two weeks left until The Clockwork Giant release. I always wanted to publish a novel by the time I was 25. Looks like I’m ahead of schedule.

At the beginning of last week, I started my marketing efforts, sending review copies to book bloggers and advanced reader copies to my giveaway winners. People are reading my book, possibly at this very moment, and to be honest, it’s a bit surreal.

I’m already having dreams (nightmares?) about book reviews, and I know my husband is sick and tired of me asking if he thinks the book will do well. What if I get nothing but bad reviews? What if no one likes the book? What if it’s awful? etc. This all goes with my insecurity as a writer, of course. And I know that if the book was bad, my beta readers would have said something—right? Well, whatever the outcome of this release, it’s too late to turn back now. I queried about thirty book bloggers to consider The Clockwork Giant for review, and already, nine blogs have agreed to read and review it. I gave away eight copies of the book as part of the giveaway. Now I just have to wait for those people to post their reviews and hope that they liked it.

what i'm thankful for

When I got out of bed this morning, I was just going to do a simple post, wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. But, instead, I’m going to share with you what I’m thankful for. I think it’s good to look at your life and single out everything that’s good about it, rather than everything bad, like we so often do. I have plenty to be thankful for, and though my life isn’t perfect and there are a few dark spots, I’m still happy.

So, I am thankful for…

My husband, who is so supportive of my writing career, and who puts up with my melodrama and super emotional disposition. He makes me laugh daily, and I smile when I think of him. If there is a such thing as fate, I believe with my whole heart that we were made for each other.

thought going through my head: This is too silly.
What if I land on my dress and tear it?
Gah, Aaron already jumped. Okay then.
But I'm not happy about it.

giveaway winners!

So, I held a giveaway last week if you didn't notice. I had a total of 37 (I think) entrants over all four social networks.

A breakdown for you people who like numbers:

24 entrants on Google+ (I have 600+ followers)
6 on Facebook (29 followers. woot.)
8 on Twitter (260+ followers)
11 on the blog (95 followers)

A few people entered on every network, some just one, and others two or three. The giveaway was as successful as I expected it to be, though in unexpected ways. I expected more Twitter entrants and not nearly so many Google+ entrants. So that was a surprise, a good surprise. My collected experience now tells me that Google+ is a really good promotion/marketing tool. Your mileage may vary.

Now for the winners!

Facebook: 

Reece Hanzon 

Twitter:  

Rosemary Crawford

Google+: 

Peter Smalley
Harold Chester
Sonia Medeiros

and finally, the blog:

Angela Brown
Scott

*confetti*

So, as for you winners, send me an email to brookenomicon@gmail.com with your choice of ebook--.mobi for Kindle, .epub for everything else, and .pdf for you people without ereaders--and I'll send it right away.

As for you non-winners, I have a special something. Another drawing!

Robin McIntyre

You also get a copy of my book, so send me an email with your choice of format.

Now, really, for the rest of you... unfortunately, you have to wait another three weeks before my book becomes available for purchase. But, I will be having another giveaway the day after the release, so there will be another chance to win!

Thanks to all of you who entered and those of you who have been with me since I first had the crazy idea to write a steampunk novel. You're awesome.

review: the shoemaker's son

“The Shoemaker’s Son” – Gayle Ramage

1807. As a young boy, Brogan O'Malley encounters the strange and enigmatic Darcy on the streets of Edinburgh. Ten years pass and Brogan, now a petty thief, meets her once again and is surprised to discover she has not aged one day.

A further ten years later, it's 1827, and Brogan's life has taken a turn for the worse. About to become involved with unscrupulous bodysnatchers, William Burke and William Hare, the reappearance of the ageless Darcy sees Brogan discover a secret that will change his life forever.

for the love of Thor

Before I go into today's post, don't forget to enter the giveaway. Win my steampunk novel The Clockwork Giant! For every ten people who comment, there will be one winner, and there are multiple ways to win.

So after five days of nothing but Skyrim, I suppose it’s time to get back to business. I’ve vowed not to touch the Xbox today, except in the case to move it when I clean up the disaster zone my living room has become. And while I will have to start using my brain beyond figuring out how to sneak through a cavern stocked with Falmer without being noticed, I decided that today should be a fun post. I haven’t done a non-writing post in a long time (those posts where I lament about not writing are technically still about writing). I used to do fun little posts about snippets of history or magical creatures because they fall under the category of my interests, and I think I should start doing those again. If only once a month or something.

It should come as no surprise to most of you that I love the Norse. I’m not sure exactly when my passion for helmed, hairy, fur-clothed men began, but that fascination has done nothing but grow over the years. Every archeological discovery regarding the Norsemen excites me—tombs, ships, houses, jewelry, gravestones. I’ve read all the Norse myths multiple times. I know the Elder Futhark (in fact, I made a set of Elder Futhark runes), and I’m slowly learning Icelandic. I once tried to write a novel set in a Norse setting (which indubitably failed). I dream of successfully writing a Norse epic someday, maybe after the Chroniker City novels are finished. And when I first found out that the next Elder Scrolls game would take place in Skyrim, the home of the Nords, I think I died of awesome.

the clockwork giant giveaway

[Sorry for the lateness of the post. My sleep schedule is all wonky after a weekend of Skyrim.]

It’s finally time for a giveaway!

In one month, The Clockwork Giant will be available for purchase, but what’s the fun in waiting until December to read it? I’m giving away an indefinite number of eARCs to an indefinite number of readers. It just depends on how many people enter. I think for every ten people who comment on this post, I will give away one copy. And, don’t worry, you can increase your odds.

Not only will the giveaway take place on my blog, but you can also enter through Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Each site will have a separate giveaway, and you can enter all four of them. Please note, however, while it increases your odds to enter all four, if you win one, then your name will be removed from the other three giveaways.

So how do you enter?

First, comment on this post. Easy peasy.

Second, tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Something along the lines of “RT if you want to win an eARC of the YA Steampunk novel THE CLOCKWORK GIANT by @brookenomicon”. Any sort of wording will work; just make sure you tag me in it. And it would be nice if you followed me too, but it's not necessary to win.

Third, comment on this post on Facebook, or post on my wall. It would also be nice if you "like" me while you're there, but that's not necessary either.

Fourth, comment on this post on Google+. If you share the post to your circles, be sure to include the link to the post so that people can comment on the original. And again, if you'd circle me, that's be awesome, but not necessary.

So there you are. Four ways to win an eARC of The Clockwork Giant. Enter by midnight, Sunday November 20th, and I'll announce the winners next Monday, who will have to send me an email or DM or whatever with their contact info so that I can get the eARC to them. 

Comment and spread the word!

About the book:

It's 1881, the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Chroniker City, the global hub of technological advancement in the modern world. Based off the British coast, the city is home to the most prestigious polytechnic university worldwide, a center of mechanical ingenuity teaching everything from clockwork mechanics and thermodynamics to electromagnetism and electricity.

Petra Wade, self-taught clockwork engineer, dreams of one day becoming a member of the Guild, an elite group of inventors and innovators who envision a future fueled by technology, but her ambitions will only come to fruition if she can find a way into the illustrious university—an institution reserved for men only. When she meets Emmerich Goss, an accomplished engineer newly recruited into the Guild, Petra discovers that he needs help building a top-secret, government-sanctioned automaton, and she is just the girl to help him.

Together, they craft the clockwork giant, and as the deadline for its completion nears, Petra finds that she can love more than gears and mainsprings.

And there's a nifty little book trailer in the sidebar if you have a minute to spare. 

brb... skyrim

So, at the precise moment of you reading this, I am doing something along these lines:

I have been waiting for this game since there was just a hint that it might just happen. And oh my god Nordic setting? Did you see the dragons? Dragons! And the beauty of the landscape, and the utter brilliance of the new graphic engine. And a men's choir singing the theme in Draconic. Draconic, people. How cool is that? I will not lie. The main theme makes me tear up a bit. Just a bit though.

This one actually does make me cry. Don't make fun.

And here are some more videos for your viewing pleasure. Check out more at www.elderscrolls.com

distractions

I’m one of those scatter-brained people who can never seem to get anything finished in a reasonable amount of time because of how distracted I get. Especially with chores. Halfway through folding a load of laundry… I need to go look up this really obscure fact right now. *drops towel and goes to computer* *opens browser* Now why did I come back here? *opens Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Blogger* *An hour later, husband comes in asking why I haven’t finished the laundry* Oh… I… umm… forgot?

I almost always have three or four projects going on at once, and I can’t focus on just one for very long. I get excited about it. I itch to work on it. And then I start, and about a third of the way through, I get another idea for a project. Then I want to work on it, but a third of the way through, another idea comes strolling into my head. For instance, earlier this week, I started a craft project. I bought all the materials I needed, and then some, and I sat down to work. And I haven’t touched it since Monday. Other things were more important, and now my sitting room is a disaster zone.

changing gears

Last week, I tried working on the sequel to The Clockwork Giant again, and things were going nowhere. I couldn’t write because the plot was a bit ho-hum, spawning one of last week’s posts (go big. go bold. go dangerous.). But even though I knew the plot needed work, I couldn’t seem to plot properly. Things were just a mumble-jumble in my head, with no sense of order to rope in the chaos.

So I changed gears. I knew I needed a better plot, but I didn’t know where to start. So I started doodling the inside of a PBV-1 (technological terms!), and after drawing the gauges, instruments, and controls, I started to fill in the scenery. Then, there were other PBVs, airships, explosions, and bullets raining from every direction. Well, that’s interesting, says my muse Victor. So I ask him, How can we get Petra there? And ever-so-dutifully, Victor started giving me more images—airships, an EMW (more abbreviations!), a battlefield, and the Guild council chambers. I didn’t write any new scenes. I kept on with the drawings, and when I ran out of steam on one thread, I started another. Only when I had a good number of drawings did I start transcribing the images to scenes, which actually only turned out to be ten. But those were ten scenes I didn’t have before.

review: death cloud

Death Cloud – Andrew Lane

It is the summer of 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. On break from boarding school, he is staying with eccentric strangers—his uncle and aunt—in their vast house in Hampshire. When two local people die from symptoms that resemble the plague, Holmes begins to investigate what really killed them, helped by his new tutor, an American named Amyus Crowe. So begins Sherlock’s true education in detection, as he discovers the dastardly crimes of a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent.

go big. go bold. go dangerous.

So, two weeks ago, I officially started writing the first draft for the sequel to The Clockwork Giant, but since starting, I’ve written very little. Yes, last week, we installed laminate floors, and as a result of that, I had a lot of projects to do during the day that couldn’t wait until I was done writing for the day. That said, I don’t think I would have gotten much written anyway. Something’s wrong with my plot, and until yesterday, I didn’t know what.

Now, being NaNoWriMo, this is as good a time as any for this post. Oftentimes, writers come to a standstill in the middle of a project. All of a sudden, nothing makes sense. It’s all crap. Every last bit of it. Might as well scrap it and start over. When I was a pantser, this happened to me all the time. I just sort of wandered around until things made sense. Oh, that’s what I was trying to say? Okay, now I can write properly.