I wanted to post something on the blog that will give people a taste of the world and the characters of my novel Rell. So I’ve posted a prequel short story entitled “The Calling”. You can click here to read it, or find it under the short stories/flash fiction tab. Hope you enjoy it!
Rell- Available November 1!!!
So tonight I officially have the ebook version of my first novel Rell all formatted, loaded, and ready to rock on Amazon. All I have to do is hit the “publish” button and it will be live. I’m holding off because I think I can have the hardcopy (paperback) formatting finished within the next week. Either way, I’m setting a publication date of November 1 – even if it’s just the ebook version, my book will be available on that date.
Even if it only sells 3 copies, I’m proud of myself for taking this step.
Learning from other writers: Claudia Gray aka Concept Envy
I am currently reading (well, listening to) Claudia Gray’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham. I’ve read lots of Austen inspired stuff, but this book does something that I’ve never seen before – she comes up with a convincing way to put characters from all (or almost all, I’m admittedly not a Jane Austen expert) of Austen’s books in a single novel!
It seems like such an obviously cool move that I’m surprised there aren’t 100 books like this out there. It also reminds me of something I have frequently – concept envy. Concept envy is my name for the phenomenon when someone tells you their idea for a book, or what their current book is about and you think, “Wow, that’s a really cool idea, I wish I had thought of something like that.”
Maybe it’s because I feel like I haven’t quite mastered the whole idea of “high concept” books yet. But I frequently find myself with concept envy, and The Murder of Mr. Wickham is no exception.
Untitled, For Obvious Reasons
Pen trouble, scribble scrunch,
A blank catastrophe.
Orphaned notions
Dribble to naught.
Not a block
Blocks are solid.
Chasm? Void? Abyss?
What do you want?
If I knew the right word
We wouldn’t be here.
We’d be writing.
-Jenel Alan
Almost There…Baby Steps
I’ve been hesitant to post about this – because I said this last year and then hit a giant roadblock, but…if I keep on track with my “last read through” goals, my novel Rell will be fully ebook formatted and ready to rock by the end of this week. I’ve tentatively set a publishing date of November 1.
The next step is to determine if I think I can get the hardcopy formatting done in time to have that available by then as well, but I’ve decided that either way, I’m at least going to make the ebook available by the end of the year.
I have no idea if anyone besides my wonderfully supportive family and friends will even be interested in this book. But I’ve had enough positive feedback over the years that I have some hope. Hope that it will find it’s own little audience, however small.
Fall Haiku
A haiku in honor of the first day of autumn:
Pumpkin leaves, crisp air,
Cozy, yes, but I will miss
Salt water summer.
-Jenel Alan
Well Written Fluff
A couple of weeks ago when I was on vacation I read Katherine Center’s book The Bodyguard. I enjoy all of Center’s books, but her novel How to Walk Away is especially powerful, and definitely a more serious work than The Bodyguard. That being said I loved every minute of reading The Bodyguard – it was warm and fun and enjoyable and meant to be entertainment. It was also, in my opinion, very well written.
And I wish our society did a better job of honoring the talent it takes to produce that kind of book. Because good writing takes hard work and talent whether that book is a feel good rom com or a gritty hard-hitting critique of society. In fact, Center’s books fall into a category of writing where I want to slow down and take the book apart so I can figure out what she did, learn from it, and apply it to my own work. That’s the best compliment that I can give another writer – when I read a book and think, “How, exactly, did they do this?”
And yes, this kind of book may not change the very bedrock of society, but it transports the reader and brings them joy – and those are two very worthy goals, and big reasons behind why I myself want to read and to write.
Universal
We are each
A universe
Expanding and vast.
Comets dragging the dust
Of our pasts.
Black holes that eat
Our hearts to nothing.
Dazzling nebulas
Where we shine, glorious,
Against the dark.
This skin you see
Is just camouflage packaging.
We are, each one of us,
A universe.
-Jenel Alan
Read, Read, Read
Stumbled across this quote by author Lisa See and it made me smile – “Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.”
I read a lot of books. My Goodreads goal for this year is 200 books and even that feels like not enough. Books fuel me in so many ways, they give me glimpses into other lives and other places, they help me understand myself and the world. I’m constantly learning new and amazing things.
And if Lisa See is right, I should eventually be a pretty good writer – or at least a prolific one.
“Tree” is Not Enough
The breeze breathes life,
Flicker and sway
To my arboreal neighbors.
My gaze makes them art,
Wonder.
They tell me to chill,
Wonder.
Green is not enough. Tree is not enough.
My friends deserve a language whole
To explain one liberated leaf
Dancing gold and dark along the road.
-Jenel Alan
