Attention: Readers! Opinions and thoughts please...

Good Sunday morning, all!  If you haven't already, please do visit with my good friend Jo Hall. She was my author spotlight this week.  Very interesting and warm author who writes Fantasy.

I've news!  I'm working the sequel to Curse of the Marhime as we speak. Actually, I'm reading Curse--yes, I am reading my own book *grin* --and making notes so I am refreshed of all the minute details and story threads so the sequel will be fresh and contain all the things YOU the reader want to know.  And of course, lots of new twists and turns.

What do I need from YOU the readers?  Simply this.  If you've read Curse, I'd like to know your thoughts on what you'd like to see moving forward.  Who was your favorite character? What parts of the story did you feel you wanted more information? To continue? As added incentive for your comments and thoughts:  Anyone whose suggestions I use or ideas I expand upon in the sequel will be 'acknowledged' within the credits! Yes! Your name will appear in my book.

If you haven't read the books, please do.  I would love to know your thoughts. Without the reader an author is nothing.  

I have lots more in store for you, and of course, if you've read Bestial Cravings, my companion short story, also part of the Roma Wolf Tales series, we have more of Vesta and Torr! So in short, new adventures, new characters, suspense, discovery, history, and future. What more can you ask for?

Back to work now.

Have a wonderful week!

D~

Good Morning! Just a quick note to let you all know and invite you over to Faith Smith's blog today. Faith and I are gabbing over champagne and chocolates and we may even have some special hunky guests dropping by. Isn't that right, Faith?

Have a wonderful weekend!

D~

Bestial Cravings attracting great reviews!

Good Morning!

I am very excited about the reviews Bestial Cravings is getting. This week its pulled in a 4.5 from LASR and a 4.0 from Ruthie's Book Reviews. Wow!

And though its dropped to the #5 spot at TWRP's main best seller list, it is still running at the #1 spot on both Paranormal and Black Rose lists. Yay!

Also, Bestial Cravings is up for Best book this week at LASR so please hop on over to the below link and vote for it if you have a moment. I would really appreciate it:)

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/recentrev.htm

In other news, my newsletter is just about ready to hit the mailboxes. If you'd like one, please sign up to the Dayana's Happenings on the right sidebar. It will be a fun read, I promise.

Also, "Let Freedom Ring" event is just about ready to go. I'm blogging over at the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers blog today about it, so why not hop on over and check it out.

I'd better get moving. So much to do, so little time! The errands and the garden await--not to mention a list of other things, LOL

D~

Updates and some thoughts on POV...

Bestial Cravings has dropped to #2 on the main Best Sellers List at TWRP as of yesterday, but hey! that's still good:)

The weather here is getting hot and humid. Dark Goddess that I am, I prefer the dreary, thundery, rainy weather *grin* And, of course, the Florida winter. This time of year we tend to stay in the old AC like the Northerners stay in during their cold months.

I've been pondering, plotting, and jotting ideas and events down for Book Two of the Roma Wolf Tales series. And for those who've read Curse of the Marhime , you know the book is in third person with only one POV character. The next book will be in multiple POV not really sure how many POVs but no more than four or five. I am really only considering three main this time around but we'll see how it goes:) I began the series this way because Pita was the main character as well, the catalyst for the story, and I wanted to challenge myself to keep at it. It was a test of wills to keep Niko's POV out of it, so for me as a writer, it was both a test and an exercise.

I am not a fan of many POVs in my writing. Nor do I like to read books with more than a handful of POV characters. I feel it confuses and convolutes the main characters who, in my humble opinion, are the most important. Also, as a reader it annoys me when I have to keep track of too many characters. So I guess we can say I write within the parameters I like to read.

In my experience, the editors I've worked with have been of the same mindset. Some are stricter than others but most prefer limited POV characters and headhopping within the story. Headhopping, as most know, is when the POV jumps back and forth between characters sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph. This is a strick no-no in my experience but there are bestselling authors that get away with it. They've earned the privilege, but us newbies need to stick to the basic rules, LOL.

I stick to one or two POVs per scene. If I do go into two POVs, I will transition as smoothly as possible from one to the other and split the scene between the two characters.

For a fast-paced scene, such as in a highly charged action scenes that are all happening at the same time with different characters, I've seen a spiraling POV used which does jump multiple POVs to anty up the fast pace. I've used it and read it in many action suspense-type books, and it really is an interesting concept. But again, I want to mention it still does not jump POV sentence to sentence or even paragraph to paragraph.

Whoa! Sorry...

I think I've gone a bit overboard and turned this into a discussion so I will move on with some more updates and then slink off to get some work done now.


Other things in the works are a newsletter I am working on putting together with all sorts of shares and information. As you may have noticed, I've set up a new Yahoo group as a venue to sign up for the newletter and share lots of other information such as new releases, events, guests announcements, recipes, craft articles, pictures, etc. Please take a moment to sign up. The loop is informational only. No need to worry about posting and keeping up with yet another loop:)

Look to the sidebar as well for upcoming guest bloggers. Next up is Donna Sundblad, author of Pumping Your Muse, a nonfiction, craft writing book used in current writing classes.

As always, thanks for dropping by.

Dayana~

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMIGOD!

Bestial Cravings is NUMBER 1, NUMBER 1, NUMBER 1 at The Wild Rose Press What a wonderful surprise! Thank you for pointing it out, Catherine!

My internet has been down and I had no clue!

Oh this is a great wake up call:)

A very happy, snoopy dancing,

Dayana

WOO HOO!!!!

Bestial Cravings is climbing in the 'Best Sellers' list at The Wild Rose Press' over all list. It is #1, as well, on both the Paranormal Best Sellers and the Black Rose List!

Wow! I am excited. You think?

I'd like to thank Catherine Bybee for having me over at her blog on Friday to unveil the release formally, and also Donna Sundblad who also hosted a promo for my new release over at The Book Hookup.

Thank you both:)

Other announcements.

Still working on getting Black Rose Line editor, Eilidh Mackenzie on board to give us a lesson on Scottish research--Do and Don't/Trues and Falses--Accuracy in Scottish history.

Also, Donna Sundblad, Fantasy Writer and craft non-fiction guru will be visiting talking about building your settings to read believable.

I have signed on for another multi-author booksigning in August, which I am very excited about, hosted by Mary Ricksen, author of Tripping Through Time. Will keep you informed as to where, when, and who:)

Gained some new favorite haunts this week. I've recently been invited to join the ladies at The Pink Fuzzy Slippers and discovered Roni Adams' new blog. Check them out.

Have a wonderful weekend:)

signing off for now...

D~

Release day has come and gone...

Believe it or not I spent the entire day yesterday down with a migraine. Never made it out of the darkened bedroom until midnight last night and finally was able to keep some soup down. Ugh!

Ah well...

Such is life. So much for enjoying the release of my new project, LOL Though a day late and a dollar short is not anything new *grin* I was thrilled to see Bestial Cravings up and available and that there seems to be some activity on it as far as purchase power. It was #2 on the Paranormal Best Sellers list this morning and #1 on Black Rose's list. Good news, I think.

Anyway, its off to the day job today since I missed yesterday. I thought I should put in an appearance though I'd love to sit here in front of this computer and put some diligent hours into working on book II of the Roma Wolf Tales.

Talk later!

Dayana~

Bestial Cravings will release in THREE MORE DAYS!

Happy Memorial Day! Don't forget to remember our men and women who make our freedom possible. God Bless America!



Good morning! I do hope you are sitting back have a wonderful start to your summer season. Tossing some burgers and dogs on the grill. Spending time with family and friends and, by George, I hope your weather is cooperating and maybe a dip in the pool, nearby lake or ocean is in order.

Me, I'm excited about my third Wild Rose Press release, Bestial Cravings.


Bestial Cravings is a companion short contained within the Roma Wolf Tales Series. Bestial Cravings is a stand alone story which was designed to introduce new characters into the mix for the upcoming sequel to Curse of the Marhime also available at The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:
Vesta Johns has everything going for her—except her health. Desperate to find the answers to her lethargy and her insatiable desire for raw meat and sex, she seeks out the help of her doctor, but Dr. Cohen can give her no answers.
Or can she?
Torrence Simiene is a medical consultant with a unique specialization. As an alpha werewolf, it’s been his job to aid Dr. Cohen’s distinctive patients through their transition from human to shifter, for years. This time, however, it’s different. Vesta arouses his primal lust, and he’s having a hard time keeping her at a distance.
Will the doctor’s plan of care offer the ultimate cure for Tor and Vesta’s bestial cravings, or further drive them apart?


I'm currently working on Book II of the Roma Wolf Tales Series. If you haven't already, please check out Curse of the Marhime, Roma Wolf Tales, Book I, where it all began.

For more information about these and other available books, contests, etc., please visit my website at www.romawolftales.com.

Well I'm off to celebrate the holiday weekend with lots of sunshine, hopefully. May yours be safe and chock full of fun.

Today I'd like to talk covers. Book covers that is:)

First I'd like to thank Lady V for stopping by yesterday and giving us her wonderful gift of contests all in one place. How great is that? She is the promo guru of contests so keep that in mind when you are having one. Lady V performs a wonderful service to us all. She promotes our promotions!

I'd like to discuss cover art and with that I'd like to share my newest cover. You may remember, I mentioned some time ago that I sold two more stories to The Wild Rose Press, and we've just completed the editing process of Bestial Cravings, a Black Rose Rosette Companion story to Curse of the Marhime as of yesterday. Coincidentally, I received my cover art, as well. As always, I am very satisfied with my artists at TWRP. They have an awesome art department but I will get into this more a little later in this article.

The cover is the first thing anyone sees when perusing books. It is the draw for the reader to pick up your book. No matter how great your story is, if the cover is ho hum the reader may never touch the book. I will tell you that I, myself, am attracted to a cover before I even notice the title. Cover art is so very important. In a lot of cases, the author has no say in what goes on the cover but in my experience many of the presses today do ask for your thoughts on what you'd like to see on your cover.

I've had the opportunity with all my books to be involved with my covers. The first book I'd published was a real eye-opener when I got to deal with the cover design. Being a small press, they didn't even have an art department, so I was on my own. I researched graphic artists and discovered that no way could I afford to even think about using a professional artist! Though disappointed and concerned that my first book, my baby, would go out there in less than perfect wrapping, I began to call upon all my contacts and peers for advise. I soon came upon a peer writer at the press whose wife dabbled in graphic art and offered to give it a go.

After discussing my ideas, she went to work but the design just didn't work for me, and she opted not to proceed with the project. So there I was again. How would I find an artist? At least one I could afford. Afterall, I was a struggling writer with no marketing dollars.

As luck would have it, we had a very talented author who also did graphic design and graciously offered to do my cover for me. We finally decided on a design, and I had a cover. It wasn't perfect and came out on the artsy side, but it worked for me at the time, though it really didn't capture the story's theme or mood as much as I would have liked.

One year later, I contracted my second book, Curse of the Marhime, with TWRP and discovered what it was to have an awesome graphic art department behind me. I still remember the day I received the cover art for Curse. I stared at the file for several minutes afraid to open the file. Afraid of being disappointed. I hesitantly clicked open and couldn't believe my eyes! The cover was better than I could have ever thought. It captured the essence of my story and exactly what I had imagined my heroine to look like! I was in awe. Then I was in tears. Tears of sheer joy. My cover artist for Curse is Angela Anderson.


After I calmed down and could actually think again, I did two things. I sent the cover to anyone and everyone I could think of, and I emailed Angela to tell how beautiful that cover was. I also asked if she ever free-lanced. She did! So I asked my previous publishing house if I could revise my cover art on the book I'd pubbed there. They agreed to allow it, and I hired Angela who once again did an awesome job capturing the essence of yet another book. I've since pulled the book from the publishing house to get it into a more romance oriented environment as though they gave me my first chance in the publishing world, they really don't publish romance books. SciFi/fantasy and craft books are more up their alley. They graciously returned my rights, so I will be persuing publication elsewhere. So I really can't post the cover for that one to show you at this time. Trust me when I say it was perfect.

I want to note that Nicola Martinez is the present cover artist for my new upcoming release, Bestial Cravings, and she designed my banner here on this blog and on my website. These women are absolutely the best. The entire art department rocks! Just take a look at all the covers on the catalog pages at The Wild Rose Press. I dare anyone to beg to differ with me.

All these covers turned out great because of two things. Specific author input and very talented artists. At TWRP, they want your input and will even allow you to send in stock photos to show them what you are looking for in characters, background, etc. One thing that needs to be said, though, is that no matter how specific you are about your characters, remember that the artists can not always be perfectly specific with things like hair color, style, eye color, etc. because they are dealing with stock photos. They will always work to get as close as possible, but there are limits.

Another key note I need to make here is that once a cover is done, it will not be changed. This rule is mentioned over and over again to authors because there is so much work that goes into a cover. The artist spends hours even days looking for just the right stock pictures, then because a cover is never just one picture, they spend hours layering the photos to create the perfect cover. That is not to say if something is wrong such as title, spelling of author's name or some technicality they won't change it. Of course, they will. Remember always be as specific as you can down to the fact that the heroine is the vampire and the hero is the werewolf. All these tidbits are so very important to the artist. They haven't read your story, and they don't know your characters, mood, or theme. You have to tell them. That is why you fill out the Manuscript Information Sheet. That is what they follow and use as their guideline to your perfect cover.

I hope this is helpful to you and, by all means, if you have any questions on the subject, I would be happy to answer them from my experiences.

Thanks for dropping by and taking a read, as always.

D~

Halloween Mini results...

Well, I suppose you can say I've really drug this one out but I truly couldn't help it. I am still torn between two stories, and I just can't choose between them. I have literally spent the entire day with this contest constantly pulling at the back of my mind.

I worked on the revisions and edits for two stories, Eternal Obsession, a Scarlet Rose short story and Bestial Cravings, a Black Rose short companion story to the Roma Wolf Tales series, that I have in the editing process with The Wild Rose Press, trimmed the hibiscus hedge at the back of my yard that has gotten really out of hand, and worked a multitude of other chores around the house and all the while in the back of my mind haunting me was, which story will it be?

I sat down about a half an hour ago and reread several of them and still the same two stories have me at a quandry. I decided to take a nice bath and further comtemplate the situation and it always comes back to the same thing. It seems I have a tie. Now what?

Well...the best solution is two winners, right? Ahh...but I have this other idea tickling the edges of my mind. How about we have a good old-fashioned vote? After all, we seem to be right in the crust of the season for that type of thing. I would like to post the two stories and have you, my readers, choose the winner. Now to do that I would have to have permission from all the authors who entered the contest in order to post the stories.

Would everyone who entered the Halloween Mini Tales contest consent to allowing me to post your stories? Now keep in mind that it will only be two of you, but I don't want to give away the who just yet, so I will need everyone's consent. What say you? Hopefully, you are all still tuned in to the blog, LOL. I'd appreciate if you would all drop in and comment as soon as possible.

Help me make this very difficult decision.

Let me know.


D~