Elizabeth Drakes's Site

Fantasy Romance

Books

Revisions, Revisions, Revisions

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I am swimming in revisions right now.

I received the latest draft of Knight of Valor back, and it looked like a field of poppies with the amount of red comments on it.

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Amount right.

Sad, really, for an eighteenth draft, though most of the comments revolve around letting the hero’s personality shine through and maybe showing a bit more of the broken side of his character.

He, of course, wants no part of that. He wants to be the strong silent type that you can rely on. Which he is, but he’s also been through hell and back and survived. He’s not the naïve and idealistic youth he once was. And that’s okay. Both he and I need to be more comfortable letting some of those broken pieces show through, at least for the reader.

So, yeah, this has been an exhausting rewrite.

But, I will say, the story is better for it. I feel like the changes I am making help better convey Sir Marcus’s character and explain why he is my favorite of all the heroes I have written to date.

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Or the eighteenth

It will probably take me at least the rest of the month, maybe longer, to finish the rewrite. Then, I need to walk away for at least two weeks.

Four would be better so that I can look at the manuscript with fresh eyes.

Okay, all right, sort of fresh eyes. After nineteen revisions, I’m not sure I’ll ever have truly fresh eyes for this piece again.

I have updated my goals in Wunderlist to track the extra revisions I need to put in.

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Not exactly what I wanted to show you, but it’s real.

Yeah.

It’s basically two more months’ worth of work.

And yes, my OCD would really like to call February finished, except it isn’t. There were things in that month to accomplish to launch Knight of Valor in April. Just as there are things in March I was supposed to do to get ready for a book launch as well.

But, you can see if you add the progress of February, March and April together, I am a little father ahead than where I had planned to be this time in mid-March.

I am not sure I can do the extra things needed for Knight of Valor and stay on track with my other writing goals this year. Plus, I still don’t know what else will throw me off schedule.

And that’s okay.

I am making progress. I can see that.

There may be unforeseen things along the journey, but I am still traveling it.

Seducing the Ice Queen is Live!

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Seducing the Ice Queen is live and available here.

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Ice queens can’t be hurt because they have no feelings. They also can’t fall in love…or so they tell themselves.

Having to pretend everything is fine after being jilted by the crown prince was bad enough, but now, Lady Daniella is being exiled to a distant castle ‘to recover.’ Except, her exile happens to include an order from the king to investigate the murder of the castle’s former owner, the old Duke of Westlake.

At least she’d never been in love with the old Duke of Westlake. Too bad she can’t say the same thing about his brother, the dashing heir apparent just returned from battle. But facing down an awkward childhood crush who is just as determined as she is to unravel the mystery is the least of Daniella’s worries.

Someone in the shadows is watching her. Someone who doesn’t want to her to solve this murder. Someone that’s already killed once to buy silence. Someone who will force Daniella to choose whether love will be what defeats her or the only thing that could save her…if only she will let it.

Delays, Delays, Delays

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Yes, it is the end of September. No, Seducing the Ice Queen isn’t done.

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I know, I promised September. And while the story is written and completely revised, I am still waiting on my cover artist. She is struggling with this cover, and so far, I have nothing to even show you.

And as we all judge a book by its cover, I want it to be good. Really good. One I’m excited to share with you.

I don’t have that. Yet.

I was supposed to have the cover two weeks ago, so I thought it would be ready for today. I am learning that deadlines mean less in creative endeavors than they do in corporate finance.

Once I get the cover, I will do the final formatting for the book. I then order the first copy for myself. I get to hold it in my hands, but I also do a final read through to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

If you want to join my mailing list, I will send out word there as soon as it is ready.

For Knight of Valor (currently in revision), I will order my cover at least a month in advance!

 

The Day After

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Yesterday was release day for my debut novel.

ToLoveAPrinceSmall

For those of you giving it a chance, thank you for taking the time to look at my work and giving me the opportunity to at least try to entertain you. It’s what all those years of work is about.

And if you get a chance, I would really appreciate it if you’d stop over  and leave a review. Reviews are hugely important for indie authors. It’s how we get our work noticed, and how we get Amazon to take us seriously.

And thank you again.

 

 

 

 

6 Reasons I Dislike Audio Books

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While I do love audio books, as I mentioned here, there are some things I don’t like about them, especially as I’ve been reading more of them.

Here are six reasons why.

 

Six Reasons I Don’t Like Audio Books

 

1. If I Miss Something, Going Back is a Pain

At least on my iPod (which is pretty ancient), it isn’t easy to go back a little to catch something I missed. And I do miss stuff as I’m usually listening while I’m doing something else (laundry, dishes, vacuuming). This tends to means I just miss stuff.

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Ipod still works and still plays audio books!

 

2. I Don’t Get as Much of the Story

I’m a visual learner. I’m mostly lucky that way as so much of our education system is designed for visual learners, but this does mean that I simply don’t process as much of the story listening to it as I would if I read it.

 

3. I Don’t Learn as Much

Reading is very enjoyable, but it also helps teach me to be a better writer. While the audio version still helps me with plot, pacing, and character development, it does a lot less for helping be get better at the mechanics of words on a page.

 

4. Sometimes I Don’t Want Expensive Electronic Devices with Me

You need electronics to play an audio book. As I get most of my audio books through Audible, I need a device to play it on. That means taking care of that device. Making sure you charged it the night before. Making sure you don’t drop it while on the treadmill. Making sure you’re careful with it while doing household chores.

Maybe I need to get some earbuds with memory built right into them. Does such a thing even exist? We live in the future with self-driving cars that talk to us (sarcastically if you have an iCar). It must exist. Though this would make going back to get catch up on the stuff I missed even harder.

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Back when devices stayed charged.

5. Annoying Narrator

Nothing worse than buying an audible book, and five minutes in, all you want is for the narrator to shut up because their voice is even more annoying than your whining toddler. This has happened to me. Twice.

 

6. Expense

Audible books are a lot more expensive than traditional ebooks. This means fewer books for the same budget, and that’s never good.

 

While I love audio books, there are also some serious drawbacks. I will still be reading the majority of books the old-fashioned way on my iPad.

How about you? Anything you dislike about audio books? Any tricks to keeping devices charged?

5 Reasons I Love Audio Books

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The number of audio books out there continues to grow, and Amazon has made it easier than ever to get them. Even my library has audio romance title that I can borrow.

Here are five reasons I love audio books.

 

1. Vacuuming Has Never Been Done More Often

Or any household task, really. Popping in my earbuds and working on laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or tidying the living room means more time listening to a book.

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Suddenly a more vacuumed house!

2. Long Car Rides Suck Less

I do not like long car rides, however, an audio book can make them more enjoyable. The first time I ever listened to an audio book we were driving out to rural Ohio to visit family. I’m sure if you have a long commute, this would be a good way to spend it.

 

3. Excercising becomes More Enjoyable

One of the things I hate about exercising is the excruciating boredom. I know this doesn’t affect everyone. Some people even enjoy exercising. *shudders*  But that’s not me. And while I will never enjoy my time on a treadmill or the elliptical, there was more than one day this week that the temperatures didn’t get above 0F/-18C with the windchill.

That requires indoor exercise. However, going down to the basement where we positioned a big screen TV in front of the treadmill and elliptical almost always results in the kids coming down with me and an episode of My Little Ponies or Octonauts on the screen. Not exactly something that takes my mind off the boredom. An audio book helps.

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How many of us feel about cardio.

4. Making Children’s Sleep Issues More Tolerable

Our youngest child has some sleep issues, and she struggles with falling asleep. Getting her more tired doesn’t work. Warm milk doesn’t work (assuming you can get her to drink it). She never consumes caffeine and gets very little processed sugar. The doctor says some kids are like that, especially kids that have suffered from night terrors. If we actually want her to sleep, we need to sit with her until she falls asleep. That can mean up to an hour of sitting in a darkened room. Yeah, audio books help.

 

5. British Accents

Lots of the books I’ve listened to are narrated by people with British accents. Yeah, enough said.

 

How about you? Do you listen to audio books? Do you enjoy them? Anything you like about them? Maybe something you don’t like?