The Audiobook of Uneasy Lies the Crown

It's here! It's here! It's here! The audiobook of Uneasy Lies the Crown: A Novel of Owain Glyndwr is now available on:

Amazon.com and Audible.com.

(Updated 8/28/13 - if you run to Amazon or Audible, both sites have the audiobook at a HUGE discount right now. Don't wait!)

A few months ago, ACX, the audiobook arm of Amazon.com, extended a very generous offer to me to help fund production for this audiobook. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time, so I didn't hesitate to accept.

The process was glitch-free from beginning to end. I opened up auditions and had one within the first day. While I was truly impressed with the narrator, I kept sampling from the ACX-approved narrators who had English/Welsh accents listed and stumbled upon Kyle McCarley's profile. When he sent the audition piece, there was just something about the quality of his voice that brought to mind Iolo Goch, the Welsh bard who tells the story of Owain Glyndwr.

There was lively debate in my house over which narrator to use. I even recruited friends for their opinion. The verdict was evenly divided. So I did that thing my husband can't quite understand, but has learned to trust me on: I listened to my intuition. I hired Kyle.

I can't sing his praises enough. He kept me apprised of his progress at every step of the way. When the chapters started coming in, they came quickly.

There were numerous names that were tricky to say, but he took the extra time to work out the proper pronunciation on every one. Let's just say I've been saying a few words wrong in my head for years. Now I know better. Spelling Welsh words like Treffgarne or Aberystwyth, or even English ones like Beauchamp is far different from knowing how to say them.

My thanks to Kyle for being so easy to work with, to Sarah Woodbury for helping with the pronunciation guide, to ACX for their generosity, and to my liaison at Amazon who connected me with ACX.

Until later,
Gemi

Pre-order Available for In the Time of Kings

I'm happy to announce that my newest novel, In the Time of Kings, is now available for pre-order for your Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

The release date is Sept. 14th. It will also be available at that time on other e-book retailers and in paperback.

In the Time of Kings is a departure from my previous Biographical / Historical Fiction in that the main characters are fictional. While this presented a new set of challenges for me (as in I had to come up with an entire plot from my imagination), it was also liberating. This time, I got to choose how the story unfolded, how it ended and what layers were woven into it.

While this is primarily a love story about Ross and Claire -- and about Roslin and Mariota -- it's also about learning to let go and forgive, as well as discovering connections to our past in ways we never knew existed.

I'll blog more later about my inspiration for this book, but for now, here's the description:

*****

What if you could remember another life?
What if you could re-live it and find love again?

Professor Ross Sinclair has everything he could ever want. Reunited with childhood sweetheart Claire Forbes, Ross can finally begin to heal the pain of his childhood and live in the present. A honeymoon in Scotland is the perfect beginning.

But when tragedy threatens Claire’s life, Ross’s dreams come to a crashing halt. He must now face the possibility of a future without her. Then, in one unfortunate moment, he’s hurled back to another time and confronted with even bigger problems.

Suddenly, it isn’t 2013 anymore. It’s 1333. The English have laid siege to Berwick, Ross has a wife he barely knows, more enemies than friends, and a past that brands him as a heretic.

Only on the battlefield can he prove his innocence. But if he does that, he’ll never get back to 2013. He may not even survive the fourteenth century.
*****

Happy reading,
Gemi

Books on Writing and Self-Publishing

I'm often asked about how to become a writer and get started publishing. I believe the old ways - write a book in solitude, send out hundreds of agent queries via snail mail, maybe get an agent and then wait while dozens of editors take eons to mull over your creation - are long over. You can still do it that way, or attempt to, but really your best bet at building a career in writing once you have a polished and edited manuscript is to simply publish it yourself.

While that may sound easy, the reality is that becoming a successful writer - someone who can make a living at it and maybe then some - takes long hours. Others can point out the steps to publishing or provide advice, but it's up to each writer to put in the time and increase their chances of reaching readers.

So to help out those who've asked me and those who are wondering just how you do it, I'd like to share a list of books that I've found helpful. Before I do that, though, I need to mention once again that the best place on the internet for writes to learn about the digital publishing world is the Writers' Cafe at www.kboards.com.

Totally new to publishing and don't have time to sift through all the threads at Kboards? I suggest starting with David Gaughran's books: Let's Get Digital and Let's Get Visible.

Writing the Novel
They Can't Put Down

A wonderful guide to how to create fiction, from plotting to pacing.

" Why do some novels become spectacular bestsellers while others fall flat? In this concise (31,000 words) guidebook, bestselling author Patricia Ryan reveals the key elements of those page-turners that earn a place of honor on our keeper shelves. Learn how to avoid pitfalls like obscurity and over-writing while utilizing story questions, empathy, and more, to keep your readers enthralled."

2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love

While not about publishing, this is a great tool to help boost your productivity. I was stumbling along this past year when I read this one and learned that a huge part of my problem was that I wasn't thinking things through before I wrote them. Once I started doing that, the floodgates were flung wide.

"In addition to updated information for Rachel's popular 2k to 10k writing efficiency process, 5 step plotting method, and easy editing tips, this new book includes chapters on creating characters that write their own stories, practical plot structure, and learning to love your daily writing."

 

How To Be A Writer In The E-Age - And Keep Your E-Sanity!

This is from one of my favorite novelists, Catherine Ryan Hyde, and blogger Anne R. Allen. This one takes you through all the stages of becoming a writer in the current market, from where to find critique partners and how to set up a blog to more advanced questions like how to deal with criticism and what to do after publication.

 

 

 

The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing

One word: Inspirational.  No matter where you are in your self-publishing journey, READ THIS BOOK! It contains advice and stories from several highly successful indie and hybrid authors, like Liliana Hart, Jacinda Wilder and Theresa Ragan, all of whom work incredibly hard. Reading this book made me realize that we really do make our own luck.

 

That should keep everyone busy reading for a while!

Until later,

Gemi

Cover Reveal: In the Time of Kings

Here it is! The Big Cover Reveal for my new historical fantasy/time travel romance, In the Time of Kings. The cover was designed by Damon at Damonza.com. He does great work with typography and I have no idea where he found the image, but I LOVE it!!!

I'll give a shout when the pre-order button is up on Kindle, but expect a publication date of mid-September. In the Time of Kings is now undergoing final proofreading. Completing it has taken much longer than I anticipated, but I had to let the layers weave themselves into the story.

On the surface, this is a love story between Ross and Claire ... and between Roslin and Mariota. But it's also a story about forgiveness, letting go and how we're all connected to the past - sometimes in ways we never would have imagined.

*****

IN THE TIME OF KINGS

What if you could remember another life?
What if you could re-live it and find love again?

     Professor Ross Sinclair has everything he could ever want. Reunited with childhood sweetheart Claire Forbes, Ross can finally begin to heal the pain of his childhood and live in the present. A honeymoon in Scotland is the perfect beginning.

     But when tragedy threatens Claire’s life, Ross’s dreams come to a crashing halt. He must now face the possibility of a future without her. In need of a reprieve from his bedside vigil, Ross sets out to meet with a local historian to uncover the secrets of his family tree. In one unfortunate moment, however, he’s hurled back to another time and confronted with even bigger problems. 

     Suddenly, it isn’t 2013 anymore. It’s 1333. The English have laid siege to Berwick, Ross has a wife he barely knows, more enemies than friends, and a past that brands him as a heretic. 

     Only on the battlefield can he prove his innocence. But if he does that, he’ll never get back to 2013. He may not even survive the fourteenth century.

*****

 More soon!

Until later,

Gemi