Robin Layne's Blog: From the Red, Read Robin - Posts Tagged "book"
Eenie Meenie Miney Moe . . . Catch a Title by the Toe
What should I Name this Blog?
I started brainstorming titles, and came up with a veritable kaleidoscope of them! I thought I’d throw them out here because they show various facets of myself, my interests, aims, and writings. I might come up with more in time, but for now, I welcome thoughts on these—or combinations of them. You can see I’ve already eliminated some of these, but I hope that seeing why is informative and entertaining. I plan to write on subjects for book lovers and writers alike.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’—could mean either the process of blogging or the fact that Robin is blogging. The color red has significance to me on a number of levels. Downside: could be confused with the restaurant. (How do you trademark a color and a bird? But they did.) Also sounds like “noggin,” and that’s where these thoughts come from.
Red Robin Bloggin’—rhymes, and so is more poetic than the former idea. Still could be confused with the restaurant.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’ Toboggan—a wild ride, to be sure.
Robin’s Red Blog—reminds me of the Portland Red Book, but it’s not a very similar name.
The Little Red Blog—sounds like a children’s book blog—not appropriate for most of what I will talk about.
Robin’s Big Red Blog—possible.
Little Red Robin Hood—now that’s a mixture of tales!
Little Red Bloggin’ Hood—too cutesy, I think.
Robin’s Blood-red Blog—this is okay, although it reminds me of “The Blood-red Pencil” (a writing website). But I like “blood-red.”
Robin’s Blood-read Blog—a little cleverness thrown in for readers with eyes sharp enough to see it, and would be especially appropriate when my book comes out.
Blog Blog Bloggin’ Along—a play on my name but nothing more.
A Walk Down Robin La(y)ne—another play on my name, but what does it mean to walk down me? No, I think not.
Robin’s Song—lame, unoriginal.
Herald of the Eternal Spring—this is a name for my spiritual identity and purpose, and also sounds like the name of a newspaper, perhaps. But I don’t know that people would connect a blog with a newspaper. A robin is a herald of the spring; I am a herald of the spring of Christ’s blood and God’s Spirit, and of the eternal spring they will bring.
My Night-blooming Series—a blog is a series of posts, and my books are expected to be a series as well. I usually bloom at night, like the night blooming cereus flower (pronounced “series”), and in the morning feel wilted and half-dead. I also might still have some graphics from my old web domain picturing a red-toned night-blooming cereus. . . . Just checked all over the computer. Nope; I don’t have the picture, except for part of it with “Robin’s Nest” written on it. But anyway, I wrote a poem in my younger days called “The Night-Blooming Cereus,” expressing the value of fleeting beauty and life. This poem will appear in the novel I’m working on, as written by one of the characters. And since my novel and its planned sequels concern vampires, the name is appropriate on that level as well. A discouraging thought is that people making the connection with the flower may think I misspelled its name.
I think I like this last name best, but I would like to sit on it a while. Still, I hope you have found this fun to read. What do you think?
Welcome to my blog!
I started brainstorming titles, and came up with a veritable kaleidoscope of them! I thought I’d throw them out here because they show various facets of myself, my interests, aims, and writings. I might come up with more in time, but for now, I welcome thoughts on these—or combinations of them. You can see I’ve already eliminated some of these, but I hope that seeing why is informative and entertaining. I plan to write on subjects for book lovers and writers alike.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’—could mean either the process of blogging or the fact that Robin is blogging. The color red has significance to me on a number of levels. Downside: could be confused with the restaurant. (How do you trademark a color and a bird? But they did.) Also sounds like “noggin,” and that’s where these thoughts come from.
Red Robin Bloggin’—rhymes, and so is more poetic than the former idea. Still could be confused with the restaurant.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’ Toboggan—a wild ride, to be sure.
Robin’s Red Blog—reminds me of the Portland Red Book, but it’s not a very similar name.
The Little Red Blog—sounds like a children’s book blog—not appropriate for most of what I will talk about.
Robin’s Big Red Blog—possible.
Little Red Robin Hood—now that’s a mixture of tales!
Little Red Bloggin’ Hood—too cutesy, I think.
Robin’s Blood-red Blog—this is okay, although it reminds me of “The Blood-red Pencil” (a writing website). But I like “blood-red.”
Robin’s Blood-read Blog—a little cleverness thrown in for readers with eyes sharp enough to see it, and would be especially appropriate when my book comes out.
Blog Blog Bloggin’ Along—a play on my name but nothing more.
A Walk Down Robin La(y)ne—another play on my name, but what does it mean to walk down me? No, I think not.
Robin’s Song—lame, unoriginal.
Herald of the Eternal Spring—this is a name for my spiritual identity and purpose, and also sounds like the name of a newspaper, perhaps. But I don’t know that people would connect a blog with a newspaper. A robin is a herald of the spring; I am a herald of the spring of Christ’s blood and God’s Spirit, and of the eternal spring they will bring.
My Night-blooming Series—a blog is a series of posts, and my books are expected to be a series as well. I usually bloom at night, like the night blooming cereus flower (pronounced “series”), and in the morning feel wilted and half-dead. I also might still have some graphics from my old web domain picturing a red-toned night-blooming cereus. . . . Just checked all over the computer. Nope; I don’t have the picture, except for part of it with “Robin’s Nest” written on it. But anyway, I wrote a poem in my younger days called “The Night-Blooming Cereus,” expressing the value of fleeting beauty and life. This poem will appear in the novel I’m working on, as written by one of the characters. And since my novel and its planned sequels concern vampires, the name is appropriate on that level as well. A discouraging thought is that people making the connection with the flower may think I misspelled its name.
I think I like this last name best, but I would like to sit on it a while. Still, I hope you have found this fun to read. What do you think?
Welcome to my blog!
If Wishes were Books
It would make a lot of sense if Goodreads added the following categories to the My Books status:
Started to read but had to return to the library
Started but may never finish
Started but will definitely never finish
Using as a reference
(any more you'd like to add?)
What do you think? I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only person who doesn't always finish a book she picks up, for whatever reason. And just because I've put a book down doesn't prove I want to erase it from my list.
Started to read but had to return to the library
Started but may never finish
Started but will definitely never finish
Using as a reference
(any more you'd like to add?)
What do you think? I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only person who doesn't always finish a book she picks up, for whatever reason. And just because I've put a book down doesn't prove I want to erase it from my list.
Progress with the AVS, Meeting Ernie, and Barking in the Rain
You might say my career is now going to the dogs … or not. What I mean to say, always loving a good pun, is that I am now on the editing staff of Barking Rain Press (BRP). I’d be doing summersaults if this older dog was able to, because it’s the publisher I most wanted to work for.
I discovered BRP at Wordstock last October. Publisher Sheri Gormley sat at one of booths, with books the company has published on display. Barking Rain’s motto is “Books with Bite.” I learned that the dog on its logo is named Elvis (an incarnation of the rock star nobody has guessed yet?)
BRP publishes fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Looking at the covers and reading some of the blurbs got me excited; not only was this a publisher I would love to edit for. Judging from some of the books on display, it was the first publisher I’d seen that takes the kind of mixture of genres I am writing in my vampire series. (Their title that most resembles my series in progress is—I kid you not—The Celibate Succubus.)I talked to Ms. Gormley about the possibility of employment. She gave me the name of the editor from whom to request a copyediting test. I did as she asked and took the test, using The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, as requested. CMOS, as those in the business call it, is the standard for book publishers (as the AP Stylebook is for newspapers).
Editor Ti Locke’s response was that my copyediting skills were good but that I had missed a few matters of punctuation. This humbled me, because I think of punctuation as my strong suit. She said I had not changed the quotation marks from the straight to the curly kind, and I had not formatted the ellipses properly. Well, I had no excuse for the straight quotations, and I don’t know why I didn’t correct them, but I remembered being taught from my online Berkeley class to include a space between each dot in an ellipses, and I did that. Locke said in her email that she would pass my test on to Gormley. I expected to hear from Gormley one way or another, but as the silent months dragged on, I assumed I was not chosen, and I turned my attention to other projects. I took a class that helped me immensely with organization, prioritizing, and even setting and pursuing my most precious goals. I put together a very serviceable planning book small enough to carry around with me everywhere. It’s a lifesaver. And I made headway on my vampire novel by dovetailing some goal managing advice from the class and information about story premises and character emotional arcs from a speaker at a Willamette Writers meeting whose name I unfortunately cannot find at the moment (which says I still have more organizing to do!). Thanks to learning to write a premise, and to focus character arcs around that premise, to using visualization to kick-start my motivation, to setting goals and to scheduling days to accomplish them, the first of my Anti-Vampirism Society stories is more in focus. I updated the numbering of my chapter files, renamed some chapters, rewrote my extended synopsis, rearranged some of the story’s events to make better sense, edited five chapters (one a week), and completed emotional arcs for four of the main characters and one minor character. Unfortunately, the class required me to take on other projects and I had to slow the writing plans. Once the class ended, I stopped working on the character arcs; poor Melanie is stuck in the process, and Alex hasn’t entered into an arc yet at all. (Noah could be telling them to hurry up.)
You can also read about that process, and see my new painting of the vampire Carletta, on my AVS blog, RobinLayneAuthor.Wordpress.com.
I receive a monthly bus pass from an organization that has been helping me prepare for and find work. Toward the end of March, the pass came wrapped in a form asking me what companies I wanted to work for and what jobs I had applied for. It was due back in about a week. I was surprised, but I got busy. I took out some information from past book fairs, sorted it all into categories, and wrote emails to all the publishers that might be offering jobs for editors. And I finally took my head out of the sand and went through CMOS’s entire section on ellipses. There I found plenty of information on where that confounded punctuation should be used, but not a single instance of how to lay out those three dots. I wrote to Ti Locke about it. She told me that using a space before and after the three dots but no spaces between them is the only format recognized by InDesign. (If you haven’t fallen asleep reading this, you may be an editor yet.) It took a few emails back and forth—and I worried that I wore her patience thin—before I realized that the formatting information on ellipses came from the online version of CMOS, which had sections extending beyond those in the book. Locke also said in her response to my initial punctuation question that some of my correspondence might have been misplaced in the busyness of book production. So the humble ellipses just might have put me back on their company’s radar.
Meanwhile, I looked on Craigslist under writing/editing jobs. I applied to Liberty Voice, an online newspaper, with hopes of writing features and reviews and also becoming one of its copyeditors. They told me to write three stories, one a day over three days. I did. I worried I would run out of subject matter for stories at such a pace. Then they admitted me to their “boot camp,” which required me to Skype every day with the company for an untold number of hours, plus write a story every day. And not just any story. It had to use as the main word in its headline one of the subjects of the leading articles on Google news. I know the idea was create stories that might go viral. But I decided as far back as 1979 that I did not want to be a newspaper reporter, and now, though I tried, I couldn’t find a single headline on the list that inspired a story I was capable of writing. If I knew celebrities or politicians I could interview, it would be different. Without a way in to places I didn’t really want to be in the first place, I couldn’t possibly meet a few hours’ deadline to write an article. The whole process was making a nervous wreck of me. By Easter weekend, I quit.
When next I met with my job counselor, he told me I wasn’t required to fill out the job search report. The assistant just started including those to keep people from seeing the shape of the bus pass in the envelope.
Following my quitting Liberty Voice, my computer quit. That PC, which my friend Christopher had given me, had been freezing on me for a long time, and it did so more and more frequently. The “blue screen of doom” error message appeared for what I was sure was the last time. I couldn’t have gone on with Liberty Voice if I’d wanted to.
Another friend, Kevin, saved most of my files to a flash drive and then confirmed that the PC was a goner. He recommended I get a laptop with a loading dock, and promised to price some on Craigslist. We thought the cost would be a few hundred dollars. I believed the employment agency would pay for a new computer for me, considering my line of work. Kevin called me later with amazing news: He had found two laptops with loading docks for sale at the same place for $50 and $60, and the $50 one was the better of the two. It had more memory and could burn DVDs, he said. I gave him the go-ahead to snatch up this bargain.
Meanwhile, I kept trying to reach my job counselor. Finally an assistant told me my counselor had said they could not finance the computer “because it isn’t necessary for employment.” I was confused and angry. I had hoped I could use the money to help my daughter with some needs.
The Thursday after Easter, I finally got to talk to my counselor—itself a miracle. He explained that the agency couldn’t fund a computer unless I had an offer for a job that required a home computer, and they had to make sure the computer fit the requirements of the job. My anger disappeared.
That afternoon, because Kevin hadn’t finished loading files onto my new laptop, I was using a computer at a library. I received an email from Sheri Gormley asking me if I was still interested in editing for Barking Rain Press.
So the day that I learned the requirements to get a computer paid for was the day I met those requirements. I won’t go into detail about the things that went wrong with the new computer and the hard work that Christopher went through to fix it. But it’s working now ... and so am I.
I like to name my computers. The last one was Frank-N-Stein. I’m keeping Frank until I get the rest of my files transferred to Ernie. Ernie is the newbie’s name because I noticed its official name is “ERN” with some numbers added. I haven’t taken Ernie on any outings because I’m not sure the touch pad will work properly before it gets the driver it asks for every time I boot, and also because, heck, this is western Oregon, it can rain any time, and I don’t have a protective case.
My new job is exciting. I’m not just a copyeditor, or just a proofreader, or just an acquisitions editor. Right now I’ve joined the rest of the crew in going through the slush pile, picking submissions to read, and deciding, based on four sample chapters, a synopsis, and a marketing plan, whether we should reject the submission or ask to see the complete manuscript. At least two reviews are required for each book before a decision is made. Later, when I find a book I really like, I will champion it, being its editor from beginning to end. When that book is accepted for publication, I receive a small lump sum. Upon publication, my name will be printed in the book as the editor, and I will begin receiving royalties for every book sold. I also get a small lump sum for proofreading a book—going over it one last time to check for small errors and formatting problems before it is prepared for press.
This is not a job I expect to make a lot of money on, unless any books I edit sell very well. But I believe it is a company I can get behind, it is work I love, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in my field. I am currently reading the third submission I picked to read. I’m loving this submission. And I’m loving the job. I am noticing plenty of instances of all things working out to my good—no matter how bad, disappointing, or annoying they seem at first. I am rejoicing! Rowf!
Check out BRP at BarkingRainPress.org
I discovered BRP at Wordstock last October. Publisher Sheri Gormley sat at one of booths, with books the company has published on display. Barking Rain’s motto is “Books with Bite.” I learned that the dog on its logo is named Elvis (an incarnation of the rock star nobody has guessed yet?)
BRP publishes fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Looking at the covers and reading some of the blurbs got me excited; not only was this a publisher I would love to edit for. Judging from some of the books on display, it was the first publisher I’d seen that takes the kind of mixture of genres I am writing in my vampire series. (Their title that most resembles my series in progress is—I kid you not—The Celibate Succubus.)I talked to Ms. Gormley about the possibility of employment. She gave me the name of the editor from whom to request a copyediting test. I did as she asked and took the test, using The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, as requested. CMOS, as those in the business call it, is the standard for book publishers (as the AP Stylebook is for newspapers).
Editor Ti Locke’s response was that my copyediting skills were good but that I had missed a few matters of punctuation. This humbled me, because I think of punctuation as my strong suit. She said I had not changed the quotation marks from the straight to the curly kind, and I had not formatted the ellipses properly. Well, I had no excuse for the straight quotations, and I don’t know why I didn’t correct them, but I remembered being taught from my online Berkeley class to include a space between each dot in an ellipses, and I did that. Locke said in her email that she would pass my test on to Gormley. I expected to hear from Gormley one way or another, but as the silent months dragged on, I assumed I was not chosen, and I turned my attention to other projects. I took a class that helped me immensely with organization, prioritizing, and even setting and pursuing my most precious goals. I put together a very serviceable planning book small enough to carry around with me everywhere. It’s a lifesaver. And I made headway on my vampire novel by dovetailing some goal managing advice from the class and information about story premises and character emotional arcs from a speaker at a Willamette Writers meeting whose name I unfortunately cannot find at the moment (which says I still have more organizing to do!). Thanks to learning to write a premise, and to focus character arcs around that premise, to using visualization to kick-start my motivation, to setting goals and to scheduling days to accomplish them, the first of my Anti-Vampirism Society stories is more in focus. I updated the numbering of my chapter files, renamed some chapters, rewrote my extended synopsis, rearranged some of the story’s events to make better sense, edited five chapters (one a week), and completed emotional arcs for four of the main characters and one minor character. Unfortunately, the class required me to take on other projects and I had to slow the writing plans. Once the class ended, I stopped working on the character arcs; poor Melanie is stuck in the process, and Alex hasn’t entered into an arc yet at all. (Noah could be telling them to hurry up.)
You can also read about that process, and see my new painting of the vampire Carletta, on my AVS blog, RobinLayneAuthor.Wordpress.com.
I receive a monthly bus pass from an organization that has been helping me prepare for and find work. Toward the end of March, the pass came wrapped in a form asking me what companies I wanted to work for and what jobs I had applied for. It was due back in about a week. I was surprised, but I got busy. I took out some information from past book fairs, sorted it all into categories, and wrote emails to all the publishers that might be offering jobs for editors. And I finally took my head out of the sand and went through CMOS’s entire section on ellipses. There I found plenty of information on where that confounded punctuation should be used, but not a single instance of how to lay out those three dots. I wrote to Ti Locke about it. She told me that using a space before and after the three dots but no spaces between them is the only format recognized by InDesign. (If you haven’t fallen asleep reading this, you may be an editor yet.) It took a few emails back and forth—and I worried that I wore her patience thin—before I realized that the formatting information on ellipses came from the online version of CMOS, which had sections extending beyond those in the book. Locke also said in her response to my initial punctuation question that some of my correspondence might have been misplaced in the busyness of book production. So the humble ellipses just might have put me back on their company’s radar.
Meanwhile, I looked on Craigslist under writing/editing jobs. I applied to Liberty Voice, an online newspaper, with hopes of writing features and reviews and also becoming one of its copyeditors. They told me to write three stories, one a day over three days. I did. I worried I would run out of subject matter for stories at such a pace. Then they admitted me to their “boot camp,” which required me to Skype every day with the company for an untold number of hours, plus write a story every day. And not just any story. It had to use as the main word in its headline one of the subjects of the leading articles on Google news. I know the idea was create stories that might go viral. But I decided as far back as 1979 that I did not want to be a newspaper reporter, and now, though I tried, I couldn’t find a single headline on the list that inspired a story I was capable of writing. If I knew celebrities or politicians I could interview, it would be different. Without a way in to places I didn’t really want to be in the first place, I couldn’t possibly meet a few hours’ deadline to write an article. The whole process was making a nervous wreck of me. By Easter weekend, I quit.
When next I met with my job counselor, he told me I wasn’t required to fill out the job search report. The assistant just started including those to keep people from seeing the shape of the bus pass in the envelope.
Following my quitting Liberty Voice, my computer quit. That PC, which my friend Christopher had given me, had been freezing on me for a long time, and it did so more and more frequently. The “blue screen of doom” error message appeared for what I was sure was the last time. I couldn’t have gone on with Liberty Voice if I’d wanted to.
Another friend, Kevin, saved most of my files to a flash drive and then confirmed that the PC was a goner. He recommended I get a laptop with a loading dock, and promised to price some on Craigslist. We thought the cost would be a few hundred dollars. I believed the employment agency would pay for a new computer for me, considering my line of work. Kevin called me later with amazing news: He had found two laptops with loading docks for sale at the same place for $50 and $60, and the $50 one was the better of the two. It had more memory and could burn DVDs, he said. I gave him the go-ahead to snatch up this bargain.
Meanwhile, I kept trying to reach my job counselor. Finally an assistant told me my counselor had said they could not finance the computer “because it isn’t necessary for employment.” I was confused and angry. I had hoped I could use the money to help my daughter with some needs.
The Thursday after Easter, I finally got to talk to my counselor—itself a miracle. He explained that the agency couldn’t fund a computer unless I had an offer for a job that required a home computer, and they had to make sure the computer fit the requirements of the job. My anger disappeared.
That afternoon, because Kevin hadn’t finished loading files onto my new laptop, I was using a computer at a library. I received an email from Sheri Gormley asking me if I was still interested in editing for Barking Rain Press.
So the day that I learned the requirements to get a computer paid for was the day I met those requirements. I won’t go into detail about the things that went wrong with the new computer and the hard work that Christopher went through to fix it. But it’s working now ... and so am I.
I like to name my computers. The last one was Frank-N-Stein. I’m keeping Frank until I get the rest of my files transferred to Ernie. Ernie is the newbie’s name because I noticed its official name is “ERN” with some numbers added. I haven’t taken Ernie on any outings because I’m not sure the touch pad will work properly before it gets the driver it asks for every time I boot, and also because, heck, this is western Oregon, it can rain any time, and I don’t have a protective case.
My new job is exciting. I’m not just a copyeditor, or just a proofreader, or just an acquisitions editor. Right now I’ve joined the rest of the crew in going through the slush pile, picking submissions to read, and deciding, based on four sample chapters, a synopsis, and a marketing plan, whether we should reject the submission or ask to see the complete manuscript. At least two reviews are required for each book before a decision is made. Later, when I find a book I really like, I will champion it, being its editor from beginning to end. When that book is accepted for publication, I receive a small lump sum. Upon publication, my name will be printed in the book as the editor, and I will begin receiving royalties for every book sold. I also get a small lump sum for proofreading a book—going over it one last time to check for small errors and formatting problems before it is prepared for press.
This is not a job I expect to make a lot of money on, unless any books I edit sell very well. But I believe it is a company I can get behind, it is work I love, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in my field. I am currently reading the third submission I picked to read. I’m loving this submission. And I’m loving the job. I am noticing plenty of instances of all things working out to my good—no matter how bad, disappointing, or annoying they seem at first. I am rejoicing! Rowf!
Check out BRP at BarkingRainPress.org
Persectives on Youthful Beauty
When people learn I’m writing vampire fiction, many say, “Good for you, that’s a very popular subject right now.” And they’re right. Vampire books abound, you can take your pick of vampire shows and movies, rock artists sing about them, and the web abounds with them.
Why are people so interested in vampires today?
One reason is that the vampire holds time still, freezing youth in its place. The fountain of youth holds such an appeal that some people, fictional or real, will pay any price for it—even blood. Even their souls.
Read the rest on my other blog:
The Vampire's Lure of Youthful Beauty
The blog post introduced here was inspired by the blog of someone writing something quite different from my vampire series. I am very familiar with her soon-to-be released science fiction novel, "Never Again," because I have the wonderful fortune of being its editor.
While reading submissions soon after joining the staff of Barking Rain Press, I fell in love with Heather Starsong's manuscript. Written in poetic prose, her charming story of an 80-year-old woman transformed by compassionate extra-terrestrials. It made me cry, and still does. I told the publisher I wanted to represent it, so I have been working with Heather on every stage of the process. We are wrapping up the copyediting today. We await the cover art, and in July we bring in the fresh eyes of a proofreader to help us catch any last-minute mistakes.
The book is slated to come out this August. Here is the link to Heather's information about it:
HeatherStarsong.com/NeverAgain.
And here are her reflections about youthful beauty, which inspired my own post on my vampire series blog:
The Lure of Youthful Beauty
Beauty is Dangerous
Beauty is Power
Why are people so interested in vampires today?
One reason is that the vampire holds time still, freezing youth in its place. The fountain of youth holds such an appeal that some people, fictional or real, will pay any price for it—even blood. Even their souls.
Read the rest on my other blog:
The Vampire's Lure of Youthful Beauty
The blog post introduced here was inspired by the blog of someone writing something quite different from my vampire series. I am very familiar with her soon-to-be released science fiction novel, "Never Again," because I have the wonderful fortune of being its editor.
While reading submissions soon after joining the staff of Barking Rain Press, I fell in love with Heather Starsong's manuscript. Written in poetic prose, her charming story of an 80-year-old woman transformed by compassionate extra-terrestrials. It made me cry, and still does. I told the publisher I wanted to represent it, so I have been working with Heather on every stage of the process. We are wrapping up the copyediting today. We await the cover art, and in July we bring in the fresh eyes of a proofreader to help us catch any last-minute mistakes.
The book is slated to come out this August. Here is the link to Heather's information about it:
HeatherStarsong.com/NeverAgain.
And here are her reflections about youthful beauty, which inspired my own post on my vampire series blog:
The Lure of Youthful Beauty
Beauty is Dangerous
Beauty is Power
Never Again--at least this year--can you get such wonderful books at such prices
In my last post, I told you how excited I was to be editing Heather Starsong's "Never Again," a beautiful science fiction approach to the theme of the fountain of youth. The book is done, and you can get it for half off this month--and here it is the last of the month! I am so sorry to be let you know this late in time. Everything's been happening. Now I am still getting over being sick, but I'm doing this so you can take advantage of Barking Rain Press's 4th Anniversary Offer. (I tried to put a picture of the book on here, but I couldn't find it by title and the program doesn't allow me to use the ISBN.) You can get half off on any of Barking Rain Press's books when you use the code BRP4YEAR when ordering any version from their website or the electronic version anywhere.
Secondly, I want to tell you about another great book from Barking Rain that I had the privilege of working on--this time as a co-editor. It's called "The Stage," by Catherine Russell--a new twist on the vampire romance genre that has the capability to be a bestseller. And it's the first in a series. I'll tell you more here when I'm feeling better, but you can read recommendations on my website, writingthatsings.com and order them on BRP's site: for "Never Again," BarkingRainPress.org/NeverAgain
--and for "The Stage," BarkingRainPress.org/TheStage
Secondly, I want to tell you about another great book from Barking Rain that I had the privilege of working on--this time as a co-editor. It's called "The Stage," by Catherine Russell--a new twist on the vampire romance genre that has the capability to be a bestseller. And it's the first in a series. I'll tell you more here when I'm feeling better, but you can read recommendations on my website, writingthatsings.com and order them on BRP's site: for "Never Again," BarkingRainPress.org/NeverAgain
--and for "The Stage," BarkingRainPress.org/TheStage
No! I DID NOT write that book!
I may be a lady in red, but I do not write erotica. The book, "One of my Sordid Affairs" is not mine, although someone has put it on my page.
When I chose to used my first and middle name as my pseudonym, I didn't suspect that I would ever be pursued by an "evil twin" of the same name who tells sexual secrets true or false. I did find out there was a musician (a percussionist, to be exact) named Robin Layne who also showed up on a Google search, so I was careful to name my Wordpress blog "Robin Layne, Author," for clarity's sake. But yesterday I discovered someone has added a book to my profile page that I did not write.
I don't want this other writer's reputation, and I suspect she doesn't want mine. I don't choose to publish my own sordid affairs (which are all behind me), and I don't go into detail about the private details of my characters', either.
One good thing has come out of this event so far: When I looked up Robin Layne on Amazon, I found out that "A Medley of Fiction" is available there for purchase. That is an anthology I contributed a poem to "Eros at My Window." It is the single book that AuthorsByDesign.com created. I used to be active on that site in its heyday, back when it was among Writer's Digest's 100 best websites for writers. AbD, as we called it, awarded me three different awards (two for short horror stories, one for persistent posts in it's own NanoWriMo-like event). For a time, I was moderator of its "Grammar Grapplers" thread. Alas, even after an attempt to revamp and resurrect the site, it has died--leaving the book and a few scattered members and what they choose to do with their works as the only survivors. Who knows--the book might be worth some money someday. It is certainly worth a good read. I just didn't finish it due to other priorities, and so for now it is listed as a book I'm still reading. One of the stories that won an AbD contest (and a contest at an anime convention as well) is on my profile: "Blood Ties."
I have written to the moderators about the unwanted book on my page. I shall be thinking about an alternate pen name that will be unique and characterize me. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
There is more I want to say about other things, but I have no time right now. Blessings to all! And friends--send me a message now and then, okay?
When I chose to used my first and middle name as my pseudonym, I didn't suspect that I would ever be pursued by an "evil twin" of the same name who tells sexual secrets true or false. I did find out there was a musician (a percussionist, to be exact) named Robin Layne who also showed up on a Google search, so I was careful to name my Wordpress blog "Robin Layne, Author," for clarity's sake. But yesterday I discovered someone has added a book to my profile page that I did not write.
I don't want this other writer's reputation, and I suspect she doesn't want mine. I don't choose to publish my own sordid affairs (which are all behind me), and I don't go into detail about the private details of my characters', either.
One good thing has come out of this event so far: When I looked up Robin Layne on Amazon, I found out that "A Medley of Fiction" is available there for purchase. That is an anthology I contributed a poem to "Eros at My Window." It is the single book that AuthorsByDesign.com created. I used to be active on that site in its heyday, back when it was among Writer's Digest's 100 best websites for writers. AbD, as we called it, awarded me three different awards (two for short horror stories, one for persistent posts in it's own NanoWriMo-like event). For a time, I was moderator of its "Grammar Grapplers" thread. Alas, even after an attempt to revamp and resurrect the site, it has died--leaving the book and a few scattered members and what they choose to do with their works as the only survivors. Who knows--the book might be worth some money someday. It is certainly worth a good read. I just didn't finish it due to other priorities, and so for now it is listed as a book I'm still reading. One of the stories that won an AbD contest (and a contest at an anime convention as well) is on my profile: "Blood Ties."
I have written to the moderators about the unwanted book on my page. I shall be thinking about an alternate pen name that will be unique and characterize me. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
There is more I want to say about other things, but I have no time right now. Blessings to all! And friends--send me a message now and then, okay?
From the Red, Read Robin
Things of interest to readers, writers, editors, and people in general.
- Robin Layne's profile
- 11 followers
