Penny Pearson's Blog

The month of April brought about news on my traditionally published books - and the news is now I will no longer be represented by publishers. This was my decision based on the book market and the cost of what it takes to publish and pay for my author copies. I have a hard time charging almost $20 for a paperback, so after talking and voicing my concerns, I've asked for my contract to be terminated.

I loved the idea of having a publisher, but reality brought into light the amount of work the author must do (all advertising, marketing, book events, etc.) on their own. 

                                          Courtesy of https://imgflip.com/i/5eqqht

 With this decision, it will now fall to me to put my first two Wizards of the Vatican back on the market and get book 3 edited to the best of my ability. I am unsure of covers at the moment. I'll have to figure that out once all contracts have been signed.

I am encouraged to have control over size and font once again. Even though this results in more work for me, I am delighted to welcome my books back into the fold. I simply need to remind myself to take a deep breath and never forget that this was my decision... good or bad. (sigh.)

On that note, Read On!

Penny

 My plans to have my newest fantasy adventure completed early spring flew out the window before it really had the chance. I'm currently working on it... along with 6 other books. I'm finding it easier to work on my children's book lines with a quicker turn around.

I'm not giving up on Olive and Ben. In fact, right now they are heading toward a sand storm in the Egyptian desert. Let's just say things are about to get very rough for them.

This is what normally happens to me. Year after year, I struggle to complete my full-length adult novels, while I can crank out various kids books in various lengths: picture books, coloring books, chapter books. Horses. Cats. Dogs. Dinosaurs. I can breeze through these but struggle with my big ones.

Picture courtesy of: https://gifer.com/en/gifs/multitasking

 

I'll slog through it. Unfortunately I had an agent pitch lined up in the middle of April and I certainly won't be ready to present anything to her. I'm trying to decide if I try to shoot the breeze with her and ask about other mundane things or try to find someone else that wants to take my spot - if that's allowed.

We'll see. I'll report back on what I learned at this writing workshop.

As always,

Read on!

Penny

 I'm working on a new book for next year, and it's not connected to any series I've written before. It's a historical fantasy romance... yes, I know, but it's my favorite thing to write. I'm only a third of the way complete, but I'm aiming for a late spring completion. I wanted to bring my love of Arabian horses to the written page. 

 

      Photo courtesy of ProHorse.com

Add in a long-dead, very angry pharaoh and I might have some big adventure in store for my two main characters: Olive and Ben.

The story is set in the 1890's - the height of vacation tourism in Egypt before the world wars. My research had me learning about how boats were sank to get rid of the rats before it could sail down the Nile, about raptors and their meaning in ancient Egypt, and other fun stuff.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for sneak peeks!

Enjoy your holidays and write on!

Penny

 Book # 3 in my Girl's Guide to the Bermuda Triangle is now available for purchase in paperback and eBook format on Amazon.com and other sites.

If you like fun, fast, strange and unusual, mixed with romance then you might like my books!

 A Girl's Guide to the Bermuda Triangle

 

Will Quinn be able to survive this strange land?

Quinn’s cruise ship traveled through the fated Bermuda Triangle. The legends come true and

half her ship makes it through a portal to another world. She discovers that the people that

 seem determined to wine and dine them might have other plans for the new arrivals.

 

Can Bastien gain her trust to aid him in his quest for a new way of life?

Bastien is an offspring of an elder, one of the first arrivals who gain power through sacrifices.

But his beliefs are different than his predecessors. When he meets Quinn, he realizes she was bestowed

a phenomenal power upon entrance to his land.

 

Bastien shows Quinn that not everyone is out to kill her. Together, they will join forces to take down

a brutal enemy.

 

 I was invited to be on Laura Womack's podcast, Bloom Where You're Planted - The Never Too Late Podcast a few weeks ago. This is my first time talking on a podcast and I was very nervous. I've never been a fan of public speaking. And, yes, it's different selling my book to people I don't know. I've always dreaded the part of talking in front of large crowds. Over time, my fear has lessened a little due to previous jobs, including taking Dale Carnegie classes.

After the recording session was complete, Laura explained the editor would then work on making the podcast recording sound professional and add opening music. She also said it would be a few weeks before it would be released into the world. 

But do I have a good voice? I know it sounds different inside my head. I dreaded hearing what I really sound like to the real world.

Last night, I received a message that the podcast had been released. I wasn't brave enough to listen to it right then, so I made a promise with myself to listen in the morning. I even set a calendar alarm to double ensure I really did it.

 

 Bloom Where You're Planted - Angie McPherson/ Penny Pearson - EPISODE 54

Fast forward to the next day, my alarm reminded me and it went in search for my podcast. I was so very pleasantly surprised I didn't sound like a complete dork. I even sounded like I knew what I was talking about.

If you have forty-five spare minutes, definitely pop into the website and catch my podcast! I talk about writing books under two different names in multiple genres, where I grew up as a young girl and where my life led after that.

Happy listening and read on!

Penny

 Spring is right around the corner and my first book shows are lined up! 

 

 

Courtesy of Pixabay (JillWellington)

The first one in March is a school craft show that is a fund raiser for a local high school. I've never done an event at this location, so I'm looking forward to meeting new people. It's always interesting to see what sells the best at new places like this, as each area tends to have "favorites." Sometimes it's vampires, other times something different. For my children's books, it's more definite. It's usually cats vs horses. Although, this time, I'm giving them totally new subject material in a form of magic. So, we'll see.

The first show will be inside, which is a welcome break over outside shows. I don't have to worry how hot, cold, or rainy the weather is. The show in May, well, I take my chances. Last year, I had to leave early due to weather. 

Book + Rain = Sadness

I will also be taking some titles to a model horse show I'm entering in April. My Girl's Guide to Time Travel always gets lots of attention, courtesy of The Man. And, of course, my horse books do well.

I'm ready to say goodbye to all this cold weather and am looking forward to warmer weather (and not so much mud)!

Read on!

Penny

Today was my first time interviewing on a podcast about being an author. I was quite nervous, as I'm not the best at being vocal about my projects (at least with the idea of having a large audience listening.) I met Laura Womack at last year's Imaginarium Convention in Louisville, KY in July. After chatting and exchanging business cards, we went our separate ways. A couple of weeks ago, she contacted me and asked if I might be interested in being on her podcast.

 Courtesy of NeverTooLateCafe

I listened to some of her previous episodes and decided it might be a good thing to do. Laura sent me three questions she said she would ask and they were very straight forward: What would I tell anyone interested in going into the same field I'm in, what are my next projects and what does bloom where your planted mean to me.

During the podcast recording, she laid out her plans on how the interview was going to go and informed me the final product would be released four to five weeks later, after it was edited. We only did a voice call, after she had previous trouble with video recordings in the past. Which was super fine with me. During the recording, Laura would ask me questions (it really showed she did her research before inviting me) and it kept me going and left no dead air.

We talked for about forty minutes and then the session was concluded. It was a very pleasant experience and I would definitely be interested in any future podcasts. It wasn't as terrifying as I'd expected.

 Bloom Where You're Planted podcast found at https://nevertoolatecafe.com/the-never-too-late-podcast/

 

Stay tuned for more info on air date!

Write on!

Penny

 The pre-order is now available for A Girl's Guide to the Bermuda Triangle for eBook. Official release date is Feb. 11th and both the paperback and eBook will be available!

PRE-ORDER NOW ON AMAZON (click here)!

 

Will Quinn be able to survive this strange land?

 Quinn's cruise ship traveled through the fated Bermuda Triangle. The legends come true and half her ship makes it through a portal to another world. She discovers that the people that seem determined to wine and dine them might have other plans for the new arrivals.

Can Bastien gain her trust to aid him in his quest for a new way of life?

 Bastien is an offspring of an elder, one of the first arrivals who gain power through sacrifices. But his beliefs are different than his predecessors. When he meets Quinn, he realizes she was bestowed a phenomenal power upon entrance to his land.

Bastien shows Quinn that not everyone is out to kill her. Together, they will join forces to take down a brutal enemy.

 

 I got my first Breyer horse from Santa when I was a young girl. A prancing palomino Arabian stallion. 

Family Arabian Stallion (Breyer): Identifyyourbreyer.com

 And that started my lifelong love affair with model horses. I've always been a horse lover. I've owned horses for more than forty years. I went to college for training horses. I'm plain and simple a horse girl.

 I love horses.

And I love model horses. Breyer horses are on my Christmas list every single year since I was seven. I have real horses in the barn, but I'm always looking at what new models are newly arrived and what customs have been put up for sale by talented artists.

 My husband and daughter just laugh and think I'm slightly off-kilter for being so crazy for these plastic horses. We won't even get into how much money a person could spend on a horse. Who am I kidding, I will get into it. At this year's Breyerfest in Lexington, KY, the highest selling model horse at their auction was The Lone Ranger's Silver model turned into a silver dun Pegasus. It sold for $65,000! Yep. You read that correctly.

Over the last few years, I've gotten into customizing model horses (thanks to NaiMoPaiMo in February) and I find pastels are the medium of choice.  I imagine I will get better with each horse I do, but I have so many things to learn.

 So, that brings me to one of my newest additions to my model horse stable. I told myself (and my husband) that I wouldn't buy anymore. Yeah, that didn't work. I ran across the horse below on a sale site. Days went by, and I found myself looking on my phone, half-hoping it would have a sold icon on the ad and half-dreading it would have a sold icon on the ad. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I made an offer and it was accepted.

   

 Bellatrix customized by Audrey Dixon from Wild Horse Studios

I'm so excited. I've never owned this model before and the workmanship on her looks incredible. And someday, soon I hope, I'll be able to take her to a show (I'll do a separate post on showing model horses later!).

So, now you know, I have an obsession with model horses and I don't see when my love for them will ever go away. I look forward to seeing all the amazing horses in the future!

Write on!

Penny

 No one told me I would need reading glasses. I'm 48 years old and had NO clue this was something that almost everyone needed as they aged. I am the black sheep in a family where everyone wears glasses. For my entire life, I was lucky enough to be able to see just fine. I ate lots of carrots.

I noticed a few months ago I couldn't read the tiny instructions on the back of pill bottles. If I did try to read, my eyeballs would hurt. Still never crossed my mind that I would need glasses to aid me in reading. Then the blurriness grew to impacting when I would read books while brushing my teeth. (All my free time I try to devote to writing - or surfing the internet for little model horses -- that will be another posting.) So, I read while I brush my teeth with my electric toothbrush. And I couldn't see the words in my historical romance I was reading. Not fair!

 

Courtesy of Prevention.com 

 

One day I had stopped in a store for something and walked past their reading glasses fixture. My brain whispered to me to try a pair on. Ughh. I didn't want to put glasses on. In my mind, it was a sign of weakness, but I still reached out and picked a bright yellow pair and slid onto my head, settling them on my nose. When I looked out into the store, things were blurry and I breathed a sigh of relief. 

See, I didn't need glasses.

Then I saw the little card on the side of the fixture and suddenly the font was crystal clear. I lifted the glasses and the suggested prescription "fit" guide grew blurry. I slid the glasses down. CLEAR.

I was elated! Thirty seconds ago, I was ready to pump my hand in the air with the declaration that I don't need glasses. But I wouldn't have been able to see.

Now, the second eye opening fact of the day was when I turned to my eleven year old daughter and asked her how I looked and she screwed up her face and said, "I don't like how they look." Well, I don't either, I had to conclude, but to able to read clearly again and without eyeball pain, I might be willing to look uncool. 

One week later, I have three pairs of glasses spread around the house. One in bathroom, one in living room and one in purse. I need my readers to do anything closer than arm's length. I can see now and am somewhat more willing to acknowledge aging is something I must be willing to accept. I might not be happy with it, but I have to understand there's no way around it.

Happy reading!

Penny