I used to post a bunch of stuff on Mondays, but then there was this book thing that happened, and then some friends who published books, and then my vacation and Halloween . . . well, I didn’t have miscellany anymore. I had major themed posts. Today I’m back to a lot different stuff. I love that word, STUFF; it mean absolutely everything and nothing at all.
Stuff about Winning Books
Last week I featured Lynn Kelly’s new book, Curse of the Double Digits and she had a great giveaway. Well, the winners are:
J.L. Campbell/eBook
Medeia Shariff/eBook
Rilla Jaggia/Signed Paperback
Congratulations you three. Hope you’ll give Lynn a review on Amazon and Smashwords.
Stuff about Alligators Overhead
I was biting my nails last month waiting on the reviews to come in, but I’m more relaxed now. The reviews are great. Even Kirkus came back with some good words for my book. Go Gators! You’d think I lived in Florida.
Excerpts: McKenzie pens a swampy middle-grade story full of humor, hauntings, quirky characters and a mystery that continues to develop to the very end.
A short, fun story that will excite both young and old imaginations.
Stuff about Writing
I know VOICE is always one of the major topics when it comes to writing, but I think we need to give more attention to TONE. It’s how we define our characters, give them shape and bring them to life. Is your character sarcastic? His dialog, the way he reacts or thinks has to reflect that. If you break the tone of a piece it has the same effect as not carrying through with your voice. The problem with talking about TONE is that its not easy to pin it down and that’s because not all of us perceive TONE (sarcasm for example) the same way. Still it’s a factor in creating a story and I’d like more discussion about it. Do you have some good examples of TONE? How about examples of what happens when an author isn’t consistent with it?
Stuff about Promoting your Books
If you haven’t already seen Mark Coker’s Ebook Self Publishing Workshop, here it is. It’s a great overview and worth the time to read.
Stuff about Thursday Posts
Lisa Gail Green says
I'd love to see you elaborate more on the difference between tone and voice. π
Lynda R Young says
Yay for the good reviews!! They make the nail-biting weeks beforehand worth it π
Romance Book Haven says
Congratulations to the winners and glad you're getting good reviews!
Nas
Medeia Sharif says
Yay. I'm glad I won. π
Congrats on the reviews!
Tyrean Martinson says
Wow! That's a lot of stuff going on! Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and Congrats on your great reviews!!!
Southpaw says
Ah, the tone. You are so correct. Tone is hard but it is more difficult because of all our perceptions are different. Film is easier because of verbal and facial clues.
J.L. Campbell says
Hi, Lee, congrats on that positive review. I went over and read the full. It should help people make up their mind about reading. Made me want to read anyway.
Talli Roland says
Oh, thanks for the Corker video!
And wow, great reviews! Well done!
Ruth Schiffmann says
Congrats on the great reviews, Lee! Well deserved =D
Hilary Melton-Butcher says
Hi Lee – great post .. covering lots of interesting subjects – thanks for the Smashwords link – congratulations to the winners … and good luck to you and the promotional run up to Christmas ..
Thursdays posts look they'll be a popular theme too .. cheers Hilary
Carrie Butler says
I just read the Kirkus review. Wow. Congratulations, Lee! π
P.S. I hope you'll still be rocking the Thursday posts next March. That's when my book will be out. *grins*
Lexa Cain says
My goodness, your post was like a smorgasbord this time! I love the Kirkus review – congrats!
I have a hard enough time with voice, and I'm not sure I get what you mean by "tone." I concentrate on atmosphere and the tone of the book overall.
Great post! π
Samantha May says
It's good to have you back around here! I love the House picture π
Christine Rains says
The workshop sounds great. As for tone, sometimes it's difficult. In the end, you have to trust your readers to be able to catch it.
Jennette Marie Powell says
Congrats on the good review! I haven't yet had a chance to review Mark Coker's presentation, but I plan to give it a view when I get a chance – maybe after NaNoWriMo!
DMS says
Congrats to the winners! The Curse of the Double Digits looks great. Love all the "stuff" you posted here. π Congrats to you on the fabulous reviews!
~Stephanie
Kristen says
Sometimes "stuff" is more satisfying than a full long and involved post, isn't it? It's like when you get to fill up on appetizers and don't have to face a heavy dinner. π
M Pax says
I'll have to give Cokers workshop a view when I get my nose above water again. yay on the good reviews, Lee.
I have a new book out next week [officially] and a jousting tournament all next week to celebrate. π
Jemi Fraser says
The workshop sounds great – I'll have to check it out. Thanks!
Not surprised the gators are getting great reviews – it's an awesome story!
Bish Denham says
Thanks of the link to Mark Coker's slide show. I'll be studying it!
I can hear it already. "Do you Smashwords?"
Or: "Does she Smashwords or doesn't she?"
C. Lee McKenzie says
@Elizabeth it's so good to have you stop in and comment. Thanks
@Hi again, Emily. Thank you.
@Barbara I loved your comment.Y ou're so right. I fret about being misunderstood in my emails if I try to resort to sarcasm. What if someone takes that as an insult. Without facial clues and voice, tone can easily be misunderstood.
@Happy to have you and your book on my blog, Lynn. You're welcome here anytime.
@Kelly thanks for reading the review. Always great to see you here.
Kelly Hashway says
I saw your Kirkus review. It's awesome and much deserved. Congrats!
LynNerdKelley says
Congrats on that great review for Alligators, Lee! I love it! Thank you for hosting me last week and for announcing the winners today. You rock!
Barbara Watson says
Good point(s) about tone. It, like voice, can be tricky to develop, but other times it comes naturally. And it's so important. My husband and I have talked many times about emails and that our tone can be easily misunderstood. Same with writing a book, only on a much grander scale. So looking at how we're presenting tone is key.
Emily R. King says
Congrats to the winners!
I'm glad you're getting great feedback about your book. π
Elizabeth Varadan aka Mrs. Seraphina says
Oops, that was "well done!" not "well done?". Hasty fingers!
Elizabeth Varadan aka Mrs. Seraphina says
Congratulations on getting kind words from Kirkus Review! Well done? Glad to hear your book is out and being well-received.
I like your potpourri of offerings!
Joylene Nowell Butler says
I'm feeling a bit guilty because I've often used good reviews to revamp my logline or synopsis. Why is it that others can write my blurb better than me, the author can!
Great post, Lee. I'll be back on Thursdays!
Elizabeth Seckman says
Best of luck with the launch…glad to hear reviews are good!
First book I thought of on tone was "1984"…drab and boring were on every page. Even the characters seemed perpetually tired!
michelle says
I also like the word "stuff", as well as other words in a similar vein, such as, paraphernalia & mish-mash & caboodles… there are plenty more…
Some good questions regarding mood/tone/voice…
Angela Brown says
Reviews are always nail-biting situations. Heck, just doing my blog tour recently, I've nervously gnawed my nails down to withered nubs. Such a bad habit. Argh!
Glad your reviews came back positively π YAY!!
I hope you get to check around the blog and enjoy the great appreciation that's happening. Various bloggers are part of Tara Tyler and VikLit's Thankful for Readers blog hope.
C. Lee McKenzie says
@E.J. I found some interesting tips in Coker's book. It makes some very good points.
@Stephen will check that out.
@Libby of course. I'll contact you re: deets.
@Alex Will do! Absolutely.
@Beth,great question. I've always thought of mood as something a writer creates with his/her setting, voice, tone and theme. And to me tone is the attitude the author has toward the piece and wants to convey to the reader. It's very closely associated with mood, but I feel it's even closer to voice.
Beth says
Do you think mood is the same as tone?
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
Congratulations to the winners and glad you're getting good reviews!
Updates are good. (That's why I do the Ninja News with every post – so much happening.) If you could include our I Miss You Blogfest in Thursday's post, I'd appreciate it.
Libby says
I like all the hodge podge! And yes, sarcasm is better than killing people. Would you mention the release of Tough Girl some Thursday in January (the month it's published)? π
Stephen Tremp says
Great idea for Thursday Posts. Check out my blog today for the new Writers4Writers Group. We roll out our first event Dec. 6th.
E.J. Wesley says
Haven't had a chance to sit down with Coker's workshop yet, but plan to make time this week.
I'm with you on the reviews! I was so nervous, but now that they're popping up I'm kind of just looking toward the next book. Not that I'm not hoping for more good review! π
Glad 'Gators' is getting the good recognition it deserves!