A Change

I'm not adverse to change. Most of the time I am okay with it. I understand that change leads to growth and new opportunities, but sometimes change is hard to swallow. This would be the case with the current situation at hand. For 19 years I've been a member of Maine RWA. I was there for the first meeting of the current incarnation and I was there for a couple of the old ones. In the beginning I was a very green young writer with lots of hopes, but not much else. I found myself sitting silently at meetings soaking up the knowledge of many great writers. I was brought into the group and friendships and family-like bonds were formed. I will forever think of the RWA members as family. They've seen me through many trials and tribulations and the birth of my son. They were with me for the good and the bad and I know that if I needed them they'd be there for me. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without their support, friendship and even love. But the last few years have been hard and I find myself at a crossroads as it comes to justifying my membership in RWA. I haven't been to a conference since the last Washington conference and I have a hard time proving that the cost is more important than the staples, such as food, heat, college costs, etc. In actuality, I didn't think the decision would be this hard. But in the end I know it's what needs to be done. I can feel some sense of satisfaction in that fact.

To my friends and fellow writers of Maine RWA I thank you for all that you have given me over the years. I may be back. I haven't given up writing. I don't intend to give up now. I wish you all the biggest success and all your dreams come true. You are very special to me.

Best wishes to all,

He was a... How will you be remembered?

Confession time: They pick on me in the lunch room because I read the obituaries on a regular basis. You've heard the comments before. "Are you trying to make sure you're not in there?" or "Are you checking to see if you have to come to work today?" But the answer for me is really very simple. I've always been fascinated by the way that people live their lives. I'm intrigued by the choices they make and the obstacles that they overcome. Good or bad. I read them because I know that someone passed and the world needs to acknowledge this change. Sounds morbid, but it's not to my way of thinking.

"I don't want my kids to remember that I was ever afraid to tackle something," I said to my father one day. "I want them to know that no matter what they want to accomplish they can take it on and do it. No matter how scary." My father sort of shook his head and then quietly said, "you're kids will never think that". Certainly, I've done some things that others would never understand. I've overcome a lot of fears in my life and I fight those fears daily. I was the kid that no one outside my family ever expected much from and yet, I've exceeded even my own expectations. I am thankful for all the things I have and not for the things I don't have. When I go I want people to remember me as someone who was not afraid. How do you want to be remembered?

I am fully aware that there are those that find me intimidating and often too plain-spoken. I always say that if you don't want to know the answer to a question, don't ask me. I don't lie. At least, not well. This creates conflict within me when asked for an opinion that I know will not be the popular one. But I pride myself on honest interactions with people. When I ask questions or interact it's because it's an honest interest. Not because I have some sort of ulterior motive or out of duty.

Today I was watching CSpan and they had an interview with author Brad Meltzer (from DeCoded show fame). During the question and answer he mentioned that at one time he'd hired a reporter to write his obituary for him. He wanted to know what it was that he'd be remembered for... I've included the video of the lecture below. I think you'll find it as inspiring as I did. How will you be remembered?

I just signed up for Indie ReCon. It's the first I've heard of it, but the presentations look great and the best part is it's FREE and you can do it in your jammies!

Check it out at IndieReCon.org

Happy Valentine's Day

You'd think that as a writer of romance I would be all gooey on the inside when it comes to this day. But the reality is that Valentine's Day is rather a quiet affair in our house and it doesn't hurt my feelings one little bit. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who shows me every day how much he loves me so I don't need one day to make a statement over it. The same goes for my beautiful daughter and son. I'm blessed. But more importantly, I try to make sure they know every day how much I love them. Even when it's wrapped around a sarcastic comment.

I'm spending my Valentine's Day enjoying a day off from work. There's plenty to do, so I'd best get a move on with my chore list. Hubby brought home some wonderful scallops that made ME melt (another romantic everyday gesture) and I've got a special treat to make the hubby and son for dinner. In the meantime, I thought I would share a great picture with you all. I've been doing a lot of genealogy lately and this fits right in with what I've been working on with that, as well as with my current book. I have no idea when it was taken, but it's my grandparents Marion and Leland Williams and it was taken on the road in front of their house. It's the only picture of have of them together so I treasure it. I hope you enjoy it as well.



Happy Valentine's Day to all... Blessings!

Changes are here...

After much thought I've decided that I need to streamline things a bit. In the past, TeaganOliver.com would forward you to a rather generic site that had book information, but not a whole lot about what makes me tick. It was on the Cup of Hot blog that I really showed my true self, as well as having the latest on book info. So, I combined the blog and the domain name and now you can read my latest blog hits at TeaganOliver.com and at the same time find information on myself and my latest releases.

If you want to find out more information about my paranormal pursuits you can follow me at www.gotghost.blogspot.com or for all things vintage at www.cranberryhornvintage.blogspot.com .

I hope you enjoy the visit.

Amazon’s At it Again

In case you haven't heard... Amazon’s At it Again Check out this post from Nina Pierce on the latest changes at Amazon that have most indie pubbers scratching their heads and trying to figure out the next course of action.

What To Do When Your Story Sucks

I didn't do too badly last year. I did manage to publish STEALING DARKNESS in April and OBSIDIAN in December. I wouldn't call it bad by any stretch, but wasn't there something missing? Something I promised, but couldn't quite deliver? Yup, it was the second book in the Darkness Paranormal Novella series.

So what happened to it? It sucked.

Oh, I wrote the story, but when it came right down to it I found that it wasn't the story that I was trying to tell. Somewhere along the way the magic in the story got lost and so did I. I started at point A... so where the heck did the point B go? I don't know.

Is the story lost? Nope. But it is still sitting in limbo until I can figure out just where I veered off the track with it. For now, I'm still hoping for the magic.

Reviews: Getting Perspective

Is this not an awesome cover?!
My longtime friend and fellow author, Michelle Libby just released her hot new book Crash and Burn from Lyrical Press. Anytime that you release a new work it's the equivalent to sending your child off to kindergarten and hoping you won't get a call from the Principal because they bit someone (long story). Still, there is that heart stopping rush that goes along with the fear of rejection. No one likes it. But one bad rejection is not the end of the world.

Offset the Balance...
Sounds like an odd thing, but the more reviews you have the less impact one bad review can have on your book page. We all have friends and relative who buy our books... ask them to write a review for you. Amazon likes to have that sale behind the review, but the more you have posted the better those little stars are going to look at the top of your page when a possible reader checks out your available book list.

Another option is to offer the book for review. Someone is going to balk at this, but it's incredibly hard for an author to get reviews. Not comfortable with offering that book for review? Offer an additional title. But keep in mind that when you offer that book out to John Q. Public for review you need to take what you get. It is what it is.

I would also add... as a reader, whenever I come across a book with all perfect reviews it tends to make me a bit suspicious. No book is completely perfect, nor is it going to satisfy every reader.

Author Pages...
Amazon has a great tool for authors called Author Pages. Don't have one? Set one up. They are easy and give your possible future readers a place to gather more information on you. Within the space for your bio I would also include any previous blurbs about your work. This page is going to consolidate all your available titles onto one page. If you are Indie pubbing, I'd suggest including some of that Author info in with your book information during set up. Use the available space to your advantage.

Book  Description from Stealing Darkness:

About the Author:
Few things in life can prepare a writer as well as growing up on an island in Maine. As a Romantic Mystery and Paranormal Suspense writer, Teagan relies heavily on her experiences in Maine and in her background as a paranormal investigation and spirit intuitive.

Teagan lives on the Maine coast with her husband and two kids, where she spends her time gathering stories. She's a frequent speaker, contributing her knowledge of writing to organizations such as Romance Writers of America, Maine RWA, New Jersey RWA, New England RWA and Rhode Island Romance Writers.

Other Available Titles:
Three Truths, a sweet paranormal set in Salem. Available in paperback and Kindle format.
Obsidian, a romantic mystery set on the coast of Maine. Available in Kindle format.

Negating the Negative...
If you receive a review that you feel is unfair and damaging you have the option of hitting the button next to the "is this review helpful". I would suggest have fellow readers and authors go in and tag unfair reviews as well. We are entitled to our opinion, but not at the sake of damaging a person's career. No one book will fit everyone's taste. Conversely, if you like a book then take a moment to post a positive review. And remember, don't post anything that will tip the reader off to cliffhangers or summarize a plot to the point where they no longer want to read the book.

Ultimately, we have no real power over public opinion. It is what it is. We can only write the best book we know how to do and to make each work better than the last. I was watching a biography of Jennifer Anniston this morning in which she said that she never pays attention to reviews. I guess if it's working so well for her then I'll just have to follow her lead.

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

If you are a writer, you've probably battled a time or two with acquiring just the right inspiration for a story. But it was just that dilema that led me to start off OBSIDIAN with a bang.

Let me tell you a fairytale...

Once apon a time, so very long ago, a writer (Me) decided that she wanted to write a mystery, but she was in need of a place to start her story. She'd already decided that she wanted to write a mystery with a Coast Guard officer. This was really important to her since her dad served on Lightships. But she needed a place to start and she was having a problem coming up with ideas.

Enter, the writer's husband, who decided one day that it was okay if his boss put his 24 foot Bayliner in their side yard with a For Sale sign on it without asking his wife.
   "It will only be here a couple weeks," he said, not really thinking it was a big deal. The wife shook her head and consented (reluctantly).

A month later, the boat was still in her side yard and hubby was not answering questions as to the actual time the boat would remain.
   "That boat is worth more than all three of our cars," the wife said with a shake of her head. The stress of having such an expensive play toy in her yard was wearing her nerves thin. It was gaining a lot of attention, some of it unwanted and mostly by strangers.
   "It will be out of here soon," the husband responded.

Two more weeks went by and the boat was still there and the wife's nerves were now at the end of their mooring line.
   "I want it gone," she demanded. But the husband didn't want to tell his boss to get it out of the yard. So, there it stayed.

The wife, being a storyteller by trade, decided to take out her aggressions on the computer generated page. She promptly blew up the boat (fictionally, of course) and felt MUCH better. But the boat was still there.

And then, Fate decided to have a hand in the situation. One day, while the couple was at work, theives stole the VERY expensive outboard motor off the boat. The wife refrained from say "I told you so", but was very happy when the owner came and finally removed the boat from her yard.

Ultimately, the writer (Me) channelled her frustrations into a great opening scene. This scene became the beginning of her very first published novel.

The boat... never came back (thankfully), but you can read all about it in OBSIDIAN....

Happy Release Day to me!

I've waited a long time for OBSIDIAN to find a home on the ebook shelves! Today is the day!

Click here for link to Amazon

Tune in tomorrow for the real story behind the opening scene!

Covers! Ugh!

Covers. They are the bane of my existence, but without a good one you truly can't do much with a book. It sounds trivial to say, but it's that two seconds of recognition that initially pull in a possible reader. Especially, since the invention of the ebook. There is no more of browsing the local bookstore to read back copy or check out the latest release rack. We lost our only big chain bookstore within a 20 or so mile radius. We still have small bookstores that are great, but more and more I see people carrying around their Kindles, Nooks, Sony, etc. We've become the instant society, and as such, that means those 2 seconds are crucial to grabbing a reader.

This was the original book cover for OBSIDIAN when it was released from Five Star.

The cover Gods were nice to me and didn't put a goat cat or strangely awkward people on the cover. I was very thankful. This time around I needed a new cover. And while I loved the original cover (orange is my favorite color) the rights to it are still owned by Five Star. Now I had to come up with a whole new thing. The problem was that I have no extra money with which to hire someone or to buy a pre-made cover. Besides that, I wanted a cover that would convey what I wanted for the book, not what was someone else's interpretation.

Enter Gimp. Gimp is a free online graphics program that you can use to manipulate pictures. You can Google it. Once I figured out the size I wanted (Amazon suggests a cover that is 1275x1650). Size is important with cover because your image will come across as a thumbnail and you want to have something that will stand out, be readable and convey the right image.

I was lucky that I had an image that would work for the story. In this case, the picture was taken at Land's End, Bailey's Island, Maine. It was close to what I wanted, but I still had change it some to give it a title and a new look. I layer a filter over it that darkened the edges, making the sharpness of the rocks stand out. I also lightened the filter in the center until it drew the eye inward to the picture. I made the title as big as I could without making it look clumpy and the same with my name. I picked fonts that were classic and easy to read when they are shrunk down. I think one of the biggest problems that people have is that they get carried away with fonts and then it just becomes unrealistic.

Before you post it to Amazon it is important that the image is compressed into a single image (basically, this is sandwiching the layers together to make 1 image) and then I save it as a .jpg file.

If this sounds like a lot, then I'd suggest that you have someone do it for you. I've used programs like FrontPage and others when I worked for a publisher. But if this intimidates you I'd see if maybe you can swap jobs with someone. Editing for a cover or such. Or find a good cover designer like Sabrina Foreman. She did my cover for Three Truths and I was very happy with it.

Yeah!

It's Official! OBSIDIAN will be released TUESDAY (NOT Wednesday), December 18th on Amazon as an ebook!

This is where I've been for the last month, editing OBSIDIAN and getting it ready for publication as an ebook. It was originally published in 2007 as a hardcover from Five Star and later in large print edition. In case you aren't familiar with Five Star they are a Maine publisher that deals mostly in the library market. I was lucky to get in at toward the end of their romance line. They've since discontinued it. But I am glad that this book will gain a new life and hopefully new readers, and just in time for Christmas!