Tag Archives: fantasy

Thought of the Week: The weather in Consolation is nicer than here.

This week’s Thought of the Week is already late as it is, and that’s mainly because I just don’t feel like I’ve had any thoughts this week. I had one, I think, just before the weekend, but I can’t remember what it was. I have a list just for these kinds of thoughts – the ones that would make a good Thought of the Week – but I forgot to write it down there, too. In fact, forgetting is a bit of a problem for me. No, I’ve been feeling utterly thoughtless, and not a bit tired; despite getting more sleep than usual, come 8:00 PM and I just need to collapse.

So what’s left to talk about, when there aren’t any other subjects of discussion? The weather, of course.

It’s been beastly here. I’ve spent the better part of my life in climes where 80°F is hot, and a cool breeze pervades on most days. I’m used to a bit of sun peeking through clouds, and lots and lots of rain. Instead, it’s been consistently 95+°F for the past week, with humidity somewhere in the 70% range. I suppose that’s the real killer – the heat I can stand, but the humidity destroys me. It sucks at my soul, I swear. Incessantly sweaty, sticky, muggy and lethargic, even the slightest exertion and I’m absolutely drenched, a sensation I despise. Now, I realize that it could be a lot worse and most of you will say I have no grounds to complain (especially those who live in such unfathomable regions of the world as Texas), but for me, this is intolerable.

They plant these in Cornwall because the English think it's the same as Spain.

They plant these in Cornwall because the English think it’s the same as Spain.

What’s curious is that, in attempting to escape such meteoric oppression, it turns out that I created a world whose weather is, for me, just right: Consolation. Consolation is the homeland of the protagonist of my book, The Redemption of Erâth. Now, I never thought about it until now, but Consolation reflects the kind of weather that I long for. Summers are filled with long, sunny days but not that hot, and the winters are crisp and clean, with just enough snow. Spring is fresh with the scent of flowers and pollen in the air, and autumn ends the year in the warmth of reds and oranges and golden trees. There is rain, but it isn’t humid. It’s a wonderfully dry country, even when it’s wet. A paradox that is only solved by one place in the world: England.

It’s not where I’m from, but it’s where I grew up, and the English weather is my home. The English complain bitterly about the weather, of course – mainly because it’s gray and cloudy and miserable most of the time (much like Consolation in its later years) – but they complain even more vociferously about everyone else’s, and so really those clouds are home, and no true Brit ever felt comfortable in Naples or San Diego, really. That’s why they all retire to Cornwall, where they can pretend an extra two days of sunshine (for a grand total of seven per year, of course) make it a Mediterranean climate and serves as an excuse to plant palm trees.

So I suppose all of this is for nothing, other than to say that without even thinking about it I created a world whose weather reflected my own personal tastes. I find that fascinating, because in all the time and effort I put into creating the world of Erâth, I never once considered why I had the weather be the way it was. I looks like I might have just been homesick.

Those of you who have created worlds (and those of you who can’t stand the weather of the world you’re in) – what is your ideal weather like?

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The Redemption of Erâth: I hate my book. That’s a good thing, I think.

I have spent so ridiculously long on The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation that I feel like I’m starting to lose my mind. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read the damn thing; every single read-through reveals further plot holes, continuity errors and typing mistakes. I’m starting to doubt my characters’ motivations; suddenly their behaviors don’t make any sense. Distances don’t add up to the time it takes to travel them. All these things that I didn’t pick up the last time I read it. And all of this has left me with one gut feeling:

I hate my book.

Sure there are some parts that are well-written, and Chapter 20 still makes me cry, but damn what an awful book! I ought to drag the whole thing to Trash!

And of course, that’s exactly how it should be. After all, I can’t claim to have done all I can if I don’t hate what I’ve written by the end of it. What it leaves me with is the knowledge that I’m going to need to hire an editor. A real one. Someone who will not only go over the manuscript line by line, but point out the redundancies, the plot holes and the little inconsistencies that I just keep missing. Someone I can just give it to, and forget about it for a while. Because frankly, I just can’t take it anymore.

Agh!

Now, the funny thing is that this leaves me in a bit of a quandary, as there are several options open to me and I don’t know which to choose. Maybe you can help – I’ll lay them out for you here.

  1. Submit the manuscript to my publisher as-is. It’s had an editorial review from the publisher letting me know the strengths and weaknesses of the book; it’s been through a dozen or so revisions by me, and passed through the hands of a ‘friend’ editor. I’m still not 100% happy with it, but people who read it seem pleased.
  2. Have it edited by someone whom I don’t know for $xxx. This person is someone I’ve met via my Satis Facebook page and who has an Editing Services page of their own. She’s offered to edit it for the above price; her previous works are not in my genre, and mainly are for a single person.
  3. Have it edited by a friend’s wife’s editor. Yes, you read that right. The wife of an acquaintance from work is a professional writer (i.e. has four novels already published). He’s offered to ask her to ask her editor about editing my book. The cost may be more than Option 2, but significantly less than option 4:
  4. Have my publishing company edit it for a further $3,500. Yep – you read that right, too.

One of the problems I have is that I don’t know the market. I don’t know what editing services ought to cost, and what you should expect for how much. Another of my problems is my inherent lack of people skills. I don’t know how to choose one option without offending the others! I feel edgy about sending money to an unknown party that I’ve met over Facebook, though Option 2 seems very nice. I’m an exceptionally trusting (and gullible) person, and whilst I have a good feeling about this person I also am aware of the dangers of the interwebs. Option 3 might be more expensive, but it’s someone who (presumably) I can trust. Option 3 equally doesn’t typically edit my genre.

Option 4 isn’t really an option.

So what do you think? What should I do to make sure my awful, wonderful book is as good as it can be?

Help!

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The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation Book Cover Concept

It seems like it was ages ago that I said I was working on the ‘final’ edits for The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation, but the truth is I’m still sweating away at it. Every time I read it I see something new. Largely they’re things that could be left, like a few commas too many (I love my commas), but even so I’m still finding the odd spelling or grammar mistake, and it’s driving me nuts. I’ve edited it myself a dozen times, had it edited by a good friend, and I’m starting to consider whether or not I might want to outsource before publishing, just in case. The big problem is being able to afford it.

Anyway, along with the text editing comes a second difficulty, and that’s the cover artwork. I was discussing this with a friend who thought she might be able to whip something up, but in the end she was a little too busy, which I understand completely. I am by no means an artist, but I’ve done my best to come up with something passable. I’d really like some feedback on this, and/or advice on where and how to get a really good cover illustration. My publishing company will offer cover design, but I’m restricted to two stock photos, and I’m not impressed with the selection they have to choose from.

Here’s what I’ve created so far, with my meagre Photoshop skills:

Rough draft for the front cover of The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation

Rough draft for the front cover of The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation

It’s essentially two photos of my own, with a hand-drawn sketch of a wolf with red eyes layered on top. I threw a watercolor filter over the top of it all to try and gel it together so it’s not so obviously fudged. For me it’s pretty damn good, but I think it’s a far sight from being publishable.

Ultimately the cover wouldn’t even have to be in this form of layout; the key elements are moorland, dark clouds and a fierund from the book (huge beast wolves with glowing red eyes). This is simply the best my limited imagination and skill can come up with.

What do you think? Would you buy that if you saw it on the shelf, or would you pass it by as something utterly amateurish?

And if you laughed at the cover, just wait until you read my dust jacket blurb!