Wednesday, August 30, 2006

New Contract

I'm exciting to announce I have offered a contract for my Colonial - PRETEND I'M YOURS. Highland Press loved this story, so they'll be publishing it. It will be available in both ebook and paperback formats. I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

Here is the blurb--

Lies have brought Charlotte Maxwell a breath away from her heart’s true desire. But the same lies might keep her from complete happiness.

On the precipice of the American Revolution, English woman Charlotte Maxwell is forced by circumstances to the colonial home of William Braxton, her delinquent brother-in-law. With her identical twin, Katherine, in desperate need of medical care, Charlotte will not rest until the blackguard accepts his financial responsibility—even if it means impersonating her own sister.

Little does she know that William’s only concern is for his secret.

William’s arrogant, selfish wife could end his life with one word of his traitorous actions against Mother England. But thrust together, the two find that each may have been mistaken about the other. Perhaps William isn’t as domineering as Charlotte was led to believe. And William is discovering that this Katherine is nothing like the bride he married, and instead everything he’d hoped for.


Phyllis Campbell
www.phyllismariecampbell.com

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Editing

The more I learn about craft, the easier it becomes to write the first draft. You tend to avoid certain bad habits that riddled your first works. So - what do I do with my old manuscripts? The stories are still great and I love the characters, but oh, my - the writing needs a lot of help. Time to rewrite, edit and polish. Yep, it's way easier to write fresh once you've learned the craft than it is to polish an existing first piece.

But - I'm hard-headed. I'm in the process of polishing/rewriting four early works. It's going fine, but it's so easy to miss things once you've written them down. Your eye just skips over those bad prose, cliche phrases and typos.

So - I'm now reading the work aloud, hoping this will help me catch those pesky items. I've probably read the work at least twenty times, because I want this work to be the best I can produce. That's part of my job as an author. Even then, my editor will catch all of the things I missed and for that, I'm eternally grateful.

Now - off to read some more.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Newsletter Buzz

In the next week we'll be sending out the September issue of our bimonthly newsletter. In it we'll be sharing some fun news and tidbits and we're also having a contest! This contest is only open to subscribers so please sign up for our newsletter and get in on the fun! Sign up is easy! Go to the bottom of the screen and sign up in the box provided!

Maven's Rebecca and Donica are busy getting their final edits done and making sure their October releases are ready! Donica will have the first book in her Elemental Desires series released. Elemental Desires: Storm Chasing is slated for a mid-October release! YAY!!!! And Rebecca's first book in her B*E*A*S*T. series, The B*E*A*S*T* Within, is also slated for a Mid-October date! COngrats ladies! We're all waiting with bated breath!!!!!

Phyllis has her August release, Holding out for a Hero available now from champagne books. THis book is getting some amazing reviews! Make sure not miss this or any of her other great titles!

Ciara's book Celestial Dragon is still raking in the great reviews! If you haven't gotten your copy yet, it's one you should make sure you grab soon! She also has a December release, Sarah's Brass Token, be sure to stop by her website and check out the information on this future release!

MM

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

New Website

The mavens are proud to announce our new website hosted by Freewebs. The website can be found at www.freewebs.com/magicmavens Please drop in and take a look around and then leave us a note on our guest book. Let us know where you're visiting from!

Huggles!
Mavens

Friday, August 11, 2006

Announcement from Becka!

I have some tremendous news! My Wolverine Chronicles, my fantasy series, has been contracted by Samhain Publishing! I cannot believe it, the wait is FINALLY over. :P See, I was once contracted on this series at New Age Dimensions, but that publisher went out of business back in February. I have since been waiting to find out the fate of these books, my "babies", if you will.

I had been waiting months and months for Mundania Press to get back to me, as I know their review process for submissions is lengthy. But when I sent a follow-up letter after four months with no reply, I decided to submit to Samhain. Samhain took about 6 weeks to get back to me. Still, 6 nail-biting weeks. :P

But I'm soooo happy to say that these books finally have a home, and I'm so very glad they are where they are. All the ladies at Samhain are so nice and supportive, that I love it over there. And I just know the books will be successful. Here are the titles of the books:

THE CRYSTAL OF MYNOS
THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE
THE WOLVERINE AND THE JEWEL
THE WOLVERINE AND THE FLAME

The title of this series will most likely change, as my editor pointed out that "The Wolverine Chronicles" conjures images of X-men rather than High Fantasy. I don't mind changing the name. Something snazzier would probably work better anyhow. It is kinda boring when you think about it. Everyone with a series has "chronicles" in their name. :P

We're thinking of putting the short story in with WatR, the first book as a long prequel. These books will be going to print, and I want the entire story told. If, by some weird twist of fate, it doesn't work out during edits, then Samhain will buy TCoM as merely a short story. But keep your fingers crossed that it can just be included with the first novel.

Anyhow, I'm so excited! I think I've finally come down off the ceiling, but I've still got a wide grin on my face! :D

~~Becka

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Progress on my sequel

Funny the things that help you get unstuck. Today was my first day back at the "day job." I teach, so it was an inservice day. For us that means a lot of "play." We spend an hour or two going over basic information for the new year, then we are divided into groups and we play. Today's game was reality TV and we staged a mock jeopardy game. All fun stuff. Then another hour of information, then lunch.

In the past we've held first day inservices at a camp, but today we were at the rec-center at the local college. So after lunch, we were given an hour to roam the rec-center at will and play by ourselves. Well, the writer in me curled into a comfy chair and started to brainstorm.

Amazing how a different setting can free your mind. I started to write on my antique laptop (the trusty ole spiral notebook - so, yeah, that means longhand) and before I knew it, I'd come up with one scene and one full chapter to add to A Noble Sacrifice. I'm sooo pumped. At present, the rough is finished, but I only have 80,000 words and a few holes to plug. This chapter will add action, but more importantly will help bridge the gap between "she doesn't want him" to "she's in love." Sigh. I need a box of tissues.

After the hour of play, we went back for more information and jeapordy, but all I could think of was how I was going to write those scenes and in whose POV.

I came home and immediately turned on the computer and added the brief scene. After supper and a bit of SVU, I sat down and wrote two pages on the additional chapter and it's really good. Whoo hoo. Okay, so off to finish it. I just needed a break to share my enthusiasm.

Ciara

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

ON EAGLE'S WINGS is on Amazon.com!

I was poking around Amazon just to see what I could see, and lo and behold, I found ON EAGLE'S WINGS!! I'm so stoked! Check it out:

AMAZON LISTING for ON EAGLE'S WINGS

I'm actually shocked to see it up there so quickly, as Amazon can take days, sometimes weeks, to post books after their available in print. But heck, I ain't complainin'! :P Yeehaw!

~~Becka