Category: michigan

Now Entering Riven City

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Destiny, flying ponies, General Information, How I Write, Indie Publishing, michigan, Self-Publishing, Teenreads, the Traitors' war, Writing life, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads

On April 13th, the day Destiny released, Amazon announced the arrival of Kindle Vella, a new platform for both writers and readers. Authors will be able to upload stories to Vella chapter-by-chapter. These are called “episodes.” The first three episodes of a story can be read for free, and after that, a reader will need to purchase “tokens” from Amazon (the amount of money for said tokens will vary, and they will be sold in bundles as well). Amazon will split the money made on stories 50/50 with their respective authors.

Why is this such an exciting opportunity? It opens up a whole new way for authors to share stories with readers. I am currently writing a story that will run concurrent with the first few books in The Traitors War series. This story involves characters from the kingdom of Battleclash as well as buccaneers. It will likely be shorter than my published novels, and offer readers a chance to see more of Imperium. It will also, hopefully, keep readers excited about The Traitors War series and engaged with it until the next book releases.

After that side story is published to Vella, I will introduce a new series that will only be published on Vella. Right now it’s titled Riven City, and is set in the city of the same name. Each story will revolve around different sets of characters: police, firefighters, boxers, librarians, harbor patrol, street racers, and of course – criminals. Characters from one story could and will pop into others, thus tying all the stories together. I’m excited to introduce Riven City and its inhabitants to all of you.

Kindle Vella will likely launch before the end of July this year. I will be sharing more about it and the stories I’m posting there in the future. Thank you to everyone who has bought Destiny or any of my Flying Ponies books – I greatly appreciate it and you! If you feel so inclined, leaving reviews of any of my books on Goodreads and/or Amazon would be most appreciated, as well.

Have a wonderful weekend!

What Comes Next

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Character development, Destiny, General Information, How I Write, Indie Publishing, michigan, Self-Publishing, Teenreads, Writing life, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads

Destiny has been out in the world now since Tuesday, and has three wonderful reviews (by the way, one of the best things you can do for an author is leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon, or both, if you’re feeling really inspired). So what do I do next? Take time off? Rest? Relax? Celebrate?

Relax and celebrate, for sure. But rest? Take time off from writing? Not so much. My brain and my muse (Glucinda is her name – if you know where I got the name, cookies for you!) don’t really work that way. Book two of The Traitors War is already finished and has gone through the first round of editing. I’m not ready to start book three yet, so I’m switching gears and working on another story idea, about young ladies in a secretive society who kill things during the Victorian age in England. Interested?

There are a few other ideas nestled away in notebooks in my office that I plan to tinker with on and off in-between books in The Traitors War. Most of those ideas involve fantasy elements in some way; fantasy is a substantial part of my writing wheelhouse, and I don’t have any plans to stray from it for the next ten or so years.

The Traitors War will probably (I say probably because I’m not exactly sure yet) be a run of six books in the main series, accompanied by one standalone and a duology; all three books will be continuations of the main series, and will feature some of the characters (the ones who survive, that is….muwhahahaha….) These will take, if I publish one book a year, the next nine or so years. After that, this idea I’m working on could be published, or one of my other ones. At this point, I can’t say. A lot depends on my muse and what other ideas we come up with during that time.

At the moment, though, I’m working up a first draft of the Victorian killer girls, and I’m liking what I’m seeing. The characters are telling me who they are and what their goals and dreams are, and that’s an excellent start to our relationship. It will take at least one or two more drafts before it will be what it needs to be, and before it ever goes to my editor, but we’re getting there. It’s a process. Destiny took sixteen years to get ready. We’ll see if these ladies can beat that.

Have a wonderful weekend! If you’re traversing Pentallia, make sure to take a weapon, or maybe find a Shadowliege for an escort. They’ll be fairly harmless, as long as they don’t have a kill order for you, and they know where all the best taverns are.

Capture the Ponies!

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Carousels, Cleanfiction, cleanreads, Family life, flying ponies, Indie Publishing, michigan, Self-Publishing, Teenreads, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads

Some visitors to this website may not know about my first trilogy, The Flying Ponies, so I thought I would do a quick post. This is the back cover copy for Lift, the first book in the trilogy:

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Flynn, moving into the heart of the Michigan woods with her family is the biggest adventure she’s ever had. A self-proclaimed geek girl with a penchant for Sherlock Holmes, she wonders if she’ll ever have an exciting quest of her own.

But when she discovers an antique carousel tucked into the woods near her new home, her life soon spins out of control. For the ponies are so much more than their faded paint portrays. Filled with primal magic, the ponies are alive, and they have been waiting for her for a long time.

With the help of a young carousel caretaker named Black, Charlotte soon discovers that the Flying Ponies are in danger from others who want to possess them and their magic. Drawn into a battle for the carousel and ultimately the entire world while navigating her first true romance, Charlotte may have more adventure than she ever bargained for . . .

The Flying Ponies are available on Amazon, as both trade paperbacks and e-books.

What Comes Next

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Cleanfiction, cleanreads, Editing, General Information, How I Write, Indie Publishing, michigan, pure michigan, Teenreads, Writing life, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads

Hey everyone, I know I haven’t updated here in a long time, and hopefully, that will be changing. I plan to write up book reviews and post them here, and also talk about my writing processes and future books and series.

For those who have read Spin, you’ve likely read the first chapter of my next book, Clandestine. It’s the first book in The Traitors’ War series, and slated to release sometime next spring. I have been working on editing it, and made the hard decision a couple weeks ago to rewrite it. This means the first chapter you read (if you’ve read it) won’t be the same as what’s in the actual novel.

Rewriting can take a long time for some authors, but for me, I find it usually takes less time than writing the first version. That being said, this book has been a problem child for me. The series, actually, has been problematic, because I’ve been developing it since circa 2005, and I want it to be perfect. It won’t be, of course – I don’t believe I’ll ever get it to that point, but I want it as close as I can. I love the characters and the settings, and it’s just getting the story itself right that has been the biggest hangup.

The Traitor’s War is high fantasy, with political intrigue and drama, assassins and soldiers, and princesses. What’s a fantasy story without a couple of princesses, right? There are plenty of horses, too, and guns and swords and villains, who are only villains to others, not to themselves. They see themselves as righting wrongs and protecting Pentallia, the continent they live on. As for one of the assassins, his destiny is a little murky. I’ll be interested in seeing what happens to him.

I am not a plotter or outliner; I write completely by the seat of my pants (this is what is termed a “pantser” in writer’s terms). Because of this, I don’t generally know what’s going to happen in my stories, which is why sometimes they need to be rewritten. Lift is actually the only one of my books that wasn’t completely rewritten before publication. Perhaps it should’ve been, but I like that book. It was my first, and therefore will always be one of my favorites.

As of now, I’m currently rewriting Clandestine. Once written, it will sit for five-six weeks, and then I begin the editing stages, which look different depending on what the book needs to get ready. I hope you’ll come along for that story, and all the stories that follow after.

 

 

 

SPIN HAS ARRIVED!

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Carousels, Celebrating, Cleanfiction, cleanreads, flying ponies, Indie Publishing, michigan, Self-Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing life, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads
I have copies available directly from me. It’s also available on Amazon, along with Lift and Tilt, as a trade paperback or ebook.

Book Issues

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Cleanfiction, cleanreads, Editing, flying ponies, General Information, How I Write, Indie Publishing, michigan, pure michigan, Self-Publishing, Teenreads, Writing life, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads

I know I haven’t posted here in quite some time, and I need to do better with that. I’ll fill you in on my issues with the second edition of Lift, the first novel in my Flying Ponies trilogy.

I ordered some second editions for an author event that I ended up cancelling out of due to family visiting from out-of-state. The first issue I noticed is that the manuscript is actually the first one from my ARCs, and not the one we used for the first edition. So there are some extra scenes in the second edition that shouldn’t be in there.

The second issue is that some chapter headings are not right. Those will need to be fixed now too.

I’m not sure what to do with the copies I have; I don’t know as Amazon will replace them, and I don’t really want to sell them. Once the issues are fixed, I will order more copies for my event in New Era, Michigan, in September.

The third book in the trilogy, Spin, has been pushed back to at least spring of 2020, instead of this December. This is due to my publisher being busy and some lack of funds. I’m hoping for late April or May at this point.

This pushes the first novel in my YA fantasy series, the Traitors’ War, back to probably June/July of 2021. I am planning to put the first chapter of Clandestine in the back of Spin so readers get a chance to see what the new series will be about.

I plan to keep this website updated more frequently, so please check back for more news and/or ramblings about writing.

TILT IS COMING…

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Carousels, Celebrating, Cleanfiction, cleanreads, flying ponies, General Information, Indie Publishing, launch parties, michigan, pure michigan, Self-Publishing, Teenreads, Uncategorized, Writing life, yafantasy, yafiction, yareads

Hey everyone, I know I haven’t been posting here as much lately. I tend to post more to Instagram and cross-post to my Facebook author page and my Twitter account. But there is big news afoot…

Tilt, book two in The Flying Ponies trilogy, is releasing on Saturday, March 2, 2019. I am having a book launch party at the Shelby Area District Library (where I work) on March 2, from 4-6 pm. Both Tilt and Lift, book one in the trilogy, will be available to buy. I will also sign the books.

Here is the back cover copy for Tilt:

Charlotte Flynn is on a mission. 
Betrayed by both Penumbra and her Uncle Baron, Charlotte is seeking the missing Flying Ponies in the hopes of uniting them against their wayward leader. Joined by Dreadful, a crazy cavalry horse; Black, her new boyfriend; and her family and friends, she plans to find the missing carousel horses before Penumbra and Baron do. 

But the hunt won’t be easy. An old friend of Black’s shows up, with intentions that might not be as honorable as she says. The Tyranny holds some of the Flying Ponies in their possession – and they’re not giving them up. Penumbra, determined to have all the carousel horses to himself, will stop at nothing to defeat Charlotte and Dreadful.

And if that isn’t enough, Charlotte discovers she, like her traitorous uncle, has magic flowing through her. Determined to bring the Flying Ponies back together no matter the cost, the sixteen-year-old may end up paying the ultimate price.

I look forward to seeing everyone! If you have any questions about the books, characters, the Flying Ponies, or writing in general, please feel free to ask them. I love talking about writing!

Tiltcoverfront

A New Year Cometh

by lmransom, posted in Author life, Celebrating, Family life, General Information, How I Write, Indie Publishing, Jeep Life, jeepfamily, michigan, new year, pure michigan, Self-Publishing, Writing life

Here we are, on the cusp of a new year. We all have things we didn’t get done in 2018, things we never even got around to doing. Will those go on your 2019 resolutions list? Or did they turn out to be not as important as you thought?

I’ve found that making resolutions rarely works for me. It might for a day or three, or maybe even a week, if it’s something I’m serious about. So I make goals, instead. It might be in the same spirit as resolutions, but it sounds better, at least to me

New author goals include: publishing and selling Tilt; writing Spin, the final volume in The Flying Ponies trilogy; selling more copies of Lift; researching and starting a new novel (more on that later); and learning as much as I can about writing.

I’d also like to ride my pony, BJ, more and take my Jeep Cherokee to the sand dunes more often and go trail riding. And, of course, spend as much time with my family as I can.

Whatever your resolutions are, I wish you well with them. I wish a blessed New Year on you as well. May 2019 be amazing!

Round Two Down!

by lmransom, posted in Author life, BOOKS, Carousels, Editing, flying ponies, General Information, How I Write, Indie Publishing, michigan, pure michigan, Self-Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing advice, Writing life

I just finished the second edits, the color edits, on Tilt. Next up is taking all the changes and incorporating them into the manuscript. I’m hoping to get Tilt to my editor by the middle of December.

This book has been a lot easier to work with than Lift. The story knows where it’s headed, and believe me, BIG things go down in book two! Almost all of the Flying Ponies get introduced, and you get to know Dreadful more.

I hope to release Tilt in mid-winter (Valentine’s Day would be fun, wouldn’t it?). Check back on my social media as I will be updating where I am with the publishing process.