...about coming up for air.

Sometimes a writer can become buried by writing responsibilities (whether they are placed on said writer by someone/something external or whether they are shouldered willingly). I’ve been in such a predicament, self-induced, for some weeks now.

First, the push was to get Tugger’s Down edited. Done.

Next, the cover had to be designed. Done.

So...I got the manuscript edited and typeset, got the cover designed and uploaded....and Tugger’s was ready to meet the world of readers, and I’m ready to come up for air, right? Wrong.

Another novel has moved in to take Tugger’s place: High on a Mountain, the first novel I wrote.

So, instead of getting out from under the avalanche of self-induced work I’ve been laboring under since...um...I can’t remember when it started exactly...I’m now buried a little deeper.

And a sense of urgency is attending this novel’s lurch toward completion...a number of people with an interest in history want to know when it’s FINALLY going to be finished (I’ve been working on it for four years, after all...and my other novels haven’t taken anywhere near this much time to make it out of my computer and onto the bookshelf).

They have a point. So, the “nose to the grindstone, shoulder to the wheel” situation will continue for a while longer. (Actually, more than just “a while,” since the sequels to High on a Mountain have to be finished, too.) {Sigh}

And my hubby invited me to go on a cruise... Wonder if I’ll be done in time....

...about Operation eBook Drop.

I recently learned about a wonderful opportunity to do something for some our overseas military personnel...for those who have ebook readers available to them. And so I signed up to participate.

It took about a week to format my three novels and upload them to Smashwords so that I could make them available free to members of the military. I thank Smashwords and the creator of Operation eBook Drop, Edward Patterson, for this opportunity. I'm in the process of emailing coupon codes for the free downloads to military personnel who have requested to participate in the program.

And, by the way, for those of you who are not in the military but would like to check out digital versions of my novels, they are available on Smashwords for $1.99 (and you can read a sample for free on Smashwords). Here's a link to my Smashwords site.

Operation eBook Drop logo:
From the Imagination and Graphic Artistry of K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman.

...about visits.

I'm excited to announce today's visit from author K.M. Weiland!

K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She is the author of A Man Called Outlaw and the recently released Behold the Dawn. She blogs at Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors and AuthorCulture.

I can hardly wait to read Behold the Dawn, especially since she's whetted my appetite by providing us an exquisite morsel from it for our blog. And be sure to check out the awesome book video for Behold the Dawn. Without further ado, here's an excerpt from Behold the Dawn:

The infidels struck, screaming their wordless battle cry. Everything around them turned to pain and death. Annan didn’t wait to check for the guards. He clamped one hand round the lady’s arm and lunged forward. The sounds of the slaughter surged after them with an intensity and a speed that bespoke all too well of the attackers’ vigor.

He kept low, not daring to look behind him, knowing the Moslems were much closer than he wanted them to be.

He and the lady crossed the corpse of a guard, and Annan paused long enough to lift the infidel saber from the still-warm hand. It was a masterful stroke that had felled the warrior—silently, deftly, instantly. His nostrils flared in a momentary flash of admiration. Whatever else he was or had been, the Baptist was a man of many skills.

The courser, a muscled gray, snorted through distended nostrils, but he could not veer fast enough to escape Annan’s hand on the tie-line.

“Master Knight!”

At her cry, he spun to see the approach of the horsemen, dark against the ruddy sky. With one stroke of the saber, he severed the tie line and vaulted into the saddle, narrowly clearing the high cantle.

The Moslems swept through the camp, shouting their curses of vengeance, and Mairead turned to look up at Annan, eyes dark with the sudden horror that he was abandoning her already.

He shifted sword and reins all into one hand, fighting to keep the snorting courser from charging away. He reached out with his left hand and caught the countess’s outstretched arm. His wounded shoulder burned, and the tightness of the bandage nearly forestalled the necessary strength to swing her onto the pillion behind him.

She landed with a soft thump and let go of his wrist. Her arms came around his waist, her face against his shoulders. “Go.”

He laid his heels to the gray courser’s sides, and the horse lunged forward, dark mane unfurling against his rein hand. But this was a Western horse, bred for muscle and endurance. He had not the dexterity and fleetness of the Mohammedan war mares.

Behind them, the tattoo of hoofbeats grew louder yet, and Annan dared a look over his shoulder, past Mairead’s blowing hair. Only paces separated them from two infidel pursuers.
He spurred the courser again. The horse was fresh and responded with another lengthening of stride. But Annan knew they would never outpace their followers. He could only be thankful that these infidels were not that brand of Moslem archer famed for their accuracy on horseback, else the countess’s exposed back would already have become an easy target.

Not that it mattered. Once they drew near enough, the infidels would cut them apart at their leisure anyway.

He could not run. So he must fight.
********
WOW!! I can't wait to get my copy! Behold the Dawn is available from Amazon.com.

...about lightning.

Hmmm. Writers are cautioned to stay away from clichés...they are tired, stale, trite and overused. But you know what? Sometimes, there's no way around it -- a cliché will pop up and demand to be used. That's what happened to me in my last blog post (I'm sure you've heard the old saying about silence being golden?).

Another cliché has popped up on my blog, just one day later...something about lightning striking twice...I'm sure you've heard it before. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place? Well, guess what...it just did. And what is that "lightning," you ask? A visit from a fantastic author!

Yep! We've got company comin' again!

This week, another exciting author will be visiting my blog...be sure to watch for her!

Image: Stanislaw Rombel via stock.xchng