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C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

Late and Later

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I’m late this morning with my Monday post for a couple of reasons. One, I stayed up last night to watch a cult movie that was filmed in Santa Cruz, my neighborhood. The Lost Boys was a 1987 vampire tale with Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest. I know the trailer looks grim, but this is one vampire movie you’ll laugh through. Hoaky and fun. 


The second reason I’m late is about a little accident. It seems I’ve done in my right shoulder and to some extent my right hand and those five digits attached. I can only use that whole apparatus for a few hours before I have to stop, ice it, and down some pain killers. Long story. But I’m now in physical therapy and hoping for a quick recovery.  I’ll be putting a lot of things on hold for a while, so I’m putting up the “Gone Fishing” sign until after Christmas.



The Princess of Las Pulgas is on sale for .99 for Christmas. Here’s the coupon if you’d like to download it or share the sale. AU57U

 

I will post on Dec. 21 for the DECEMBER WEP, and I will try to get around to say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and any other holiday you decorate for and celebrate–just a little slower than usual.



Quote of the Week: (tangential to my post!) “Men and women are like right and left hands: it doesn’t make sense not to use both.” Jeannette Rankin, America’s first congresswoman

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Monday Miscellany: Super Cover Reveal Plus A Bit of Epub News About The Princess of Las Pulgas

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Cover Reveal for The Dragon Empire by Heather McCorkle
February 2013
Compass Press






Cover Design by CP Design



On Yacrana, dragons stand at the top of the evolutionary ladder instead of humans. Such an advanced species is not without its issues though.

There’s trouble in the Dragon Empire, the kind that could start a war between dragons and the races of people. Hidden factions of dragons believe they should rule the lesser races, not simply stand aside and allow them to develop as they will. Having lived so long in peace, the Emperors turn a blind eye, many oblivious that such attitudes even exist.

Despite being only an architect class, emerald dragon, Grendar is willing to risk banishment and death to stop that which his rulers refuse to see. The hope of peace lies not within the scaled breast of a dragon however, but within the hands of a group of people. But if the hidden factions have their way, these people won’t live to fulfill such a destiny. With a reluctant seer at his side, Grendar must leave his precious Empire for the outside world to save those that will one day save his kind. 

AUTHOR BIO
Heather McCorkle
I am an author of fantasy, in all its many sub-genres. Living green, saving endangered species, helping other writers, and supporting fabulous authors are a few of my passions. I am also a volunteer for the IS Foundation which works to make the world a greener place. When I’m not volunteering, writing, or surfing my social networking sites, I can be found on the slopes, the hiking trails, or on horseback. As a native Oregonian, I enjoy the outdoors almost as much as the worlds I create on the pages. No need to travel to the Great Northwest though, you can find me here, on my blog, and Monday night’s on Twitter where I co-moderate the #WritersRoad chat.
Author Links:

My News: After going at it for two years, I’ve gotten my rights back from the publisher that went out of business and **DRUM ROLL HERE** The Princess of Las Pulgas is now an ebook. You can’t see me, but imagine the jumping up and down. WAIT. Here’s a picture.

Since The Princess has been in hiding for so long, I’m giving away five ebooks to the people who Tweet, Like, Tag, mention . . . whatever on fb, Amazon, Tweeter or blogs.

This can’t be truly Monday Miscellany if I only talk about books, can it? So here’s two of my favorite quotes for the week.

“Meetings are indispensible when you don’t want to do anything.” John K. Galbraith

“A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.” John le Carré

Now I’m out of here. I’m tired of this “dangerous desk place,” so it’s time for a hike and maybe a few more jumps while I’m outside. What do you do to celebrate a victory, or reaching a goal? What do you think of Heather’s cover for her Epic Fantasy Novel?

The Princess of Las Pulgas

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I got my cover art for The Princess of Las Pulgas and I really love it. The hall of lockers, the girl with her face turned away is perfect.

I’m excited about seeing this work go from manuscript pages to galleys to ARC to book. It’s always such a rush when you look back over the years from the time when you first had the idea, then you thrashed through the first, second, third drafts wondering if you really did have a book after all.

Then came those critiques from writers you respect that sent you back to scenes to do them again and again. Those edits from your editor that cut right to the point and finally made the characters and the story come to life.

While it’s always the same process, it never really is the same. No two books come to the page in the same manner. No two books give you the same sleepless nights or the same hair pulling moments. But in the end there is a sense of having done what you set out to do. You’ve pulled together the puzzle pieces of plot, character, dialog, setting, description, narrative, tone, style and made it whole.

In the end, you found someone who liked what you did enough to invest time and money in seeing it through the publishing process.  Whew!

What’s it like for other writers out there? Have I described what you experience? What can you add to the process that I’ve left out? I’d love to hear from you.