Just thought I'd update everyone on my progress to get published so far and I've had some nice surprises so I can't complain.

4RV PUBLISHING is going to publish my children's story, "THE GIVING MEADOW." We just picked an illustrator yesterday. The book is due to hit in May 2010. I'm very excited about it.

DESERT BREEZE PUBLISHING is going to publish "THE HUNGARIAN" in ebook format. They're a new publishing company and don't do print books yet. The book is due in May 2010. I've got some editing to do with it, but I'm hard at work with it.

I'm currently working on a couple of entries for the WD'D POPULAR FICTION CONTEST.
Write on!

Also, if you want to subscribe to my official newsletter, I have updates on my writing/publishing and tips on self-publishing as well as tradtional publishing and how to get an agent.

Smiles
Steph

ASIN: 0595417337 PR_ID: #109870 The Wolf's Torment   (Rated: 18+)     Product Type: Book     Review Content Rated: 18+     Reviewed By: Stephanie Grace ♥G-MEN!          List Price: $ 20.95          Amazon's Price: $ 20.95 View Review Buy Now!

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year! Where has the time gone?

THE WOLF's KISS/THE HUNGARIAN

Well, I worked hard on editing THE WOLF'S KISS - during that time the title changed to THE HUNGARIAN. I did a lot of retooling with it. I got great feedback, wrote, wrote, and edited! THE HUNGARIAN is now read for a 2nd round of queries, which I'll probably put together in about two weeks.

SPONTANEOUS DECISION won 8th place in the Writer's Digest contest! My highest showing yet.
THE WATCH TOWER was #22 in Genre fiction.

I was really excited about how these stories scored!
With my stories scoring high, I had TWO literary agents send me emails inviting me to query them with my next project. Finally!! My writing, editing, and PATIENCE have paid off. When I get ready to query again, I'll let you guys now.

OTHER PROJECTS:

TWILIGHT OVER MOLDAVIA
The rewrite is going slow but I hope to have a new chapter soon

THE FLAMES OF MADEOC
Ditto. The rewrite is going slow.

I've got a couple of short stories on the hook, but I need time to write them.

My children's story, THE GIVING MEADOW was accepted by a small press, 4RV Publishing and will come out in May 2011! I was very excited about that.

If you get a chance, sign up for my OFFICIAL newsletter. You can sign up on my official website. Visit: http://sgcardin.tripod.com and go to the end of the page. You'll see a form to fill out. Fill it out and send it in. May's newsletter will go out next Monday, 11 MAY.

I did enter the 78th WRITER'S DIGEST contest this year. Entries included:

WAR & WINE - Script
THE MISTS OF N'ATEL - Genre Fiction
THE CAT - Genre Fiction
LETTING GO - Mainstream/Literary
1ST FLAG OF NH - Genre Fiction.

Wish me luck.
Smiles,
Steph

Visit the:

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ASIN: 0595417337 PR_ID: #109870 The Wolf's Torment   (Rated: 18+)     Product Type: Book     Review Content Rated: 18+     Reviewed By: Stephanie Grace ♥G-MEN!          List Price: $ 20.95          Amazon's Price: $ 20.95 View Review Buy Now!

Well, it's been a productive month. Hehe. Or maybe I should say, it's been an encouraging month.

I've gotten 3 replies back to my queries so far:

Helen Breiwieser - I received a photocopy letter saying they weren't taking on any more new clients, but check with AAR for another agent.

Jennifer Jackson - I received a letter with an authethic signature saying the project just didn't appeal to her.

Jessica Faust - I receieved a letter with an authentic signature saying the project just didn't appeal to her.

I was curious. Why? Obviously my opening didn't "grab" them. I couldn't figure it out. Then my good friend, Debbie Tinker, switched to day watch (at work) and I knew she wouldn't mind reading my story. I let her look at it and her feedback was invaluable.

Debbie said she didn't understand the whole "mysterious stranger" thing. Why didn't he just say who he was, she asked? Why make a big mystery out of it. Why was Matthias at Lord Archibald's in the first place? Why did he stay for the ball?

Well, hell - I guess my attempts to build mystery fell FLAT so I retooled the opening, identifiying Matthias as Count Duma, explaining he was there on a business trip, and that after seeing Katherine, he decided to stay for the ball. I think it smoothes out the bumps of the opening. I'm on vacation now, but I'll let Debbie look at it again next week to see if it works.

That said, I'll be identifying 5 more agents to query soon. As soon as I do, I'll put the list up.

On the good news side of the house, Writer's Digest called my house! At first I'd thought I'd won big, but they wanted to congratulate me on having two of my stories, THE WOLF'S KISS (short story) and THE PEENEMUNDE SECRET, winning honorable mentions in their 2007 Popular Fiction Contest. Niki, the WD rep, said I was the only author to receive two honorable mentions for my stories, so I was very tickled about that. My prize was a copy of the 2008 NOVEL/SHORT STORY MARKET book which I intend to put to good use very soon.

Right now, I'm working on putting together my entries for the Writer's Digest 2008 77th Annual Competition. I'm going to submit 4 entries and I might submit a 5th, I'm still wavering on that. Here's my entries:

THE BURKHART BEAVERS - a children's story about a family of beavers where the boys learn to share.

SPONTANEOUS DECISION - a mainstream entry about a 911 dispatcher.

THE WATCH TOWER - a genre fiction entry about Bran castle and the legends surrounding it.

A TIME AND PLACE - a genre fiction entry, romance, about two young lovers in Canada in the 1930's.

I'm debating entering THE KING'S DESIRE - a genre fiction, historical romance, about Henry V and Katherine Valois.

I believe THE WATCH TOWER and THE KING's DESIRE are up in my port if you want to take a peek at them. A TIME AND PLACE is in my port, but I modified it so it more closely follows the rules of Romace.


With my honorable mentions, I have a couple more writing credits under my belt which I can add to my query letters. Every little bit helps. As soona as I have an update, I'll post.

Smiles,
Steph

Well, I finished finished my latest novel, "The Wolf's Kiss." It's going to be a paranormal romance. The word count is a very acceptable 57,600 and I managed to get a couple of queries out today.

I sent out a total of 5 queries. As they come in, I'll let you know the results. Some of the agents requested a synopsis as well. I tried to keep mine within 100-200 words. No easy feat. Here's my synopsis:

At the turn of the century the Victorian age was embracing new inventions which modernized the world. Yet, in Hungary, the myths of werewolves anchored the country in the past. It's in this exciting world that reclusive Hungarian Count Matthias Duma, haunted by a curse from the past, attends a glittering masquerade ball hosted by Lord Archibald in England.

Katherine Douglas, a young ward of Lord Archibald's meets the exotic count at the ball. Their encounter is charged electricity, rife with desire, and she agrees to travel from Britain to Hungary to be a governess to Count Duma's daughter. Katherine's passion to explore the world and her yearning to learn more about the enigmatic count set her on a journey few would undertake.

Matthias is thrilled when Katherine arrives in Hungary, but can he win her heart before he has to confess his unnatural secret - that he's a werewolf?

Here's a list of the agents queried today:

7 MARCH 2008

Jessica Faust,
Helen Breitwieser
Ethan Ellenberg
Nancy Yost
Jennifer Jackson

I just got this book review in for "Destination: Berlin" from the MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW and I thought I'd share:

Small Press Bookwatch: February 2008
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575

The Fiction Shelf

Destination:Berlin
S.G. Cardin
IUniverse, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Rd. 3100, Lincoln, NE 68512
9780595164196, 414.95 www.iuniverse.com

Honorable mention winner of the 75th annual Writer's Digest Competition S.G. Cardin present Destination: Berlin, a suspenseful novel set in Cold War Germany. When Corporal Sharon Cates finds her train to Berlin derailed in the middle of communist East Germany, she discovers a top-secret document in her briefcase, that both the KGB and the Stasi are willing to kill for. A race to Berlin ensues, and Sharon receives hlep form the unlikeliest of sources, Russian soldier Jr. Sgt. Dimitri Nagory. Inspired by the author's own experiences taking a trip to Berlin, serving the Army's Military Police Corps, and studying history, Destination: Berlin is a tautly written sage of mistrust, determination, and survival.

***

I was so tickled pink to get this review from the Midwest Book Review. I sent the a copy of "Berlin" back in August 2007. They are a very reputable Book review site and I'm honored to have a review from them. Thoughts?

Smiles,
Steph

I was going through my email today and I got an email from Lumix de Luminous who wrote:

"I wish to have someone tell me about the journey of a book from the cradle to the shelf."

Well, I'll do my best to help you out here with my current novel, "THE WOLF'S KISS." Mind you, most of my publishing career up until this point has been self-publishing. Self publishing is easier in some ways and harder in some others. It is a decision not to make lightly. One of the big drawbacks for me is the marketing aspect in self publishing. I've been trying to do a lot of Internet hustling to drum up excitement for my books, but it hasn't been easy. Most of my problems stems from the fact that I'm a working mom and my time on the computer is limited.

Keeping that in mind, I am going to do my darnest to find an agent to help me out with my next project, "The Wolf's Kiss."

Why "The Wolf's Kiss?"

Well, I needed to focus on a project that would be marketable in today's market. Paranormal Romance is a new market that has a lot of potential and it's something that I'm personally interested in writing. I enjoy a good romance and I love working with paranormal elements. I wrote a short story here on WDC last summer by the same name and it was well received. It even earned a couple of awardicons here on WDC. Fueled by that positive response, I drafted a plot for a novel length version of the story.

I've been writing the story now since last October, about five months. I'm about 2/3 thirds done and I'm focusing on the ending chapters. The writing is slow and steady, mainly because, again, I'm a working mom, and I've got balance my writing along with my Internet marketing activities when I'm on the computer.

Once it's done I've got a few things to put on my checklist.

#1 - Let the story sit about a week and then go back for an edit. I'll be looking for spelling/punctuation and consistency issues. If I can tighten the story, I will. I've learned you NEVER submit a first, rough draft of novel to agents. You'll get shot down like THAT.

#2 - Do your research. I've got to find agents who are interested in paranormal romances and who have sold such projects to publishers. Once I do, I've got to draft a query that is short, yet concise that will attract an agent's attention. Right now, that's a lot of hard work and will probably take another six months.

Going the traditional route is time consuming and it requires a lot of patience. As I accomplish my goals, I'll pop in here and keep you updated. Thanks so much for your support.

Steph

First, I want to apologize for not updating this journal sooner. It's been almost a year since I've written to you and that's no excuse. Let me update you.

THE WOLF'S TORMENT

The Wolf's Torment was published by IUniverse in June 2007. I received a 4 star review from ForeWord/CLARION magazine and a 5 star review from Reader's Views. The book is currently available on Amazon.com. Right now I'm waiting to hear back from Borders if they are going to stock it. While the reviews have been good, the marketing challenges are still there. Most of my marketing is done on the Internet. I've been to Borders to arrange a book signing, but I'm waiting on word back from them regarding stocking it.

DESTINATION:BERLIN

Berlin was re-publishing in August 2007. The new edit has gotten good reviews from readers including a 4 star review from Reader's Views. Again, marketing has been challenging. Most of my marketing is done on the Internet and it's challenging to find the time.

76TH WRITER'S DIGEST COMPETITION

My story, "Red Paint, Crimson Blood," was an Honorable Mention winner in the Writer's Digest contest under genre fiction. You can find it in my Horror Short Stories Folder. This is my second writing credit with Writer's Digest.

THIS YEAR:

I've been working on putting together my stories for the 77TH Writer's Digest contest. Currently, I'm working on my mainstream entry.

MY NOVEL:

I'm currently working on writing a paranormal romance called "THE WOLF'S KISS." You can find this in my Novel Folder. I'm about 2/3 of the way done writing that project. It's going to be a challenging year and I promise to keep you up to date more often.

If you get a chance, check out my website, http:sgcardin.tripod.com for more info. Pop into my official messageboard, THE FICTION CAFE, and say Hi. I host a bi monthly contest and I'd love to get some more entries!

Smiles for now,
Steph

Well, I'm so behind in updating this, I apologize. I've got some things on the plate though and I thought I'd catch you up.

#1 THE WOLF'S TORMENT

Well, the edits were time consuming but well worth it. My first editoral evaluation pointed out a lot of places where I could improve. I back to the manuscript and did another edit, doing my best to tighten those aspects of the novel the editor suggested and then submitted that draft for a 2nd editoral evaluation.

I got that back in February. They said that improvement was shown but there was still more to do and offered another series of suggestions which I went to work on. That was completed back in March. I wanted another editoral evaluation, but they said no. I understood. After all, they'd been so helpful, yet another one was almost too much to expect.

That said, though, I was very PLEASED with the final edit I submitted to the publisher for TORMENT. I was able to go from a 179,000 word count to a 127,000 (135 w/reader's guide) and still keep the "essence of the story" I wanted to tell.

Once that was submited, the publisher reviewed by copy cover and then reworked it so it was more appealing. (After all, when you pick up a book the first thing you do is check out the back. If the back hooks you as a reader, you hang on to it all little more - and mostly liked decide to buy it) This is called COVER COPY POLISH. I'm really impressed with the work they did. However, since it is self published it is a service that costs and it was $150.00. Hopefully, it will pay off.

Now, the book is the cover development phase. I'm looking forward to seeing the proofs when they're avaliable.

Hopefully, TORMENT will be out in May, we'll see.

BERLIN UPDATE

I sent the new manuscript to Berlin back in early March and I just got it back. The editor said I enjoyed the novel. It works as both a ripping spy yarn and as a traveloge. The narrative moves at a dizzying pace, never letting the reader get too settled, and the dialogue is well constructed.

Mind they pointed out areas to work on: I need to work on characterization a little, and work required there is mostly physical description.

They also made a BRILLIANT suggest that would add to the plot regarding the character of Dimitri, so while I go through the novel, I'll be working to intrigrate that. My final manuscript is to IUniverse 1 MAY. Though it costs, I'll ask them to do up a copy cover polish for it because I feel the current one just doesn't hook readers as I'd like.

76TH ANNUAL WRITER'S DIGEST

I've gotten my stories together for the 76t Writer's Digest competition and I'll be mailing off next pay day. Wish me well. Winners aren't announced until Novemberish though. I'm not complaining.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Everyone aspires to be a published author. I know certainally have, especially since I got out of the Army back in 1997. I knew I had the talent in me to do it, but looking back on the past 10 years, there have been so many ups and downs, it's been amazing.

The first I learned was to have patience. Yeah, I could come up with a great plot, but I had to learn the nausances (sp?) of the other aspects of novel writing - dialogue, pov narration, characterization, etc. Working on TORMENT has taught me so much. In the initial edit of TORMENT Mihai was pretty unlikable and that's just a no-no for your main character. I couldn't have turned that around without help from RubyJuly . Thank you, Sweetie!!

Still, the editorial reviews by IUniverse have also been helpful and while they suggested things I gritted my teeth at, I knew I had to get over it and focus on making the story better. After all, no cares for critism, even if it is constructive, simply because it's YOUR baby.

So the second I learned was Humility. You've got have a good dose of it to improve.

While I've had to pay for all the feedback that's made me a better, for me, the $$ has been worth it.

The 3rd thing I learned is that once you write the main manuscript , you're going to need to go back and revise and reedit. Don't be surprised if you have a 2nd or 3rd or 4th edit on your initial manuscript. Writing is 10 percent writing and 90% editing.

So hang on, have paitence, learn how to take critism (constructive) and keep plugging away. In the near future I'll post a list of books (if you're interested) that have wonderful in helping me to improve my work as well

Good luck & keep writing!







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Here's a link to a bulletin I drafted regarding "ACROSS THE FICKLE WINDS OF HISTORY." I hope you find it interesting. It talks about the process of publishing on Lulu.

ID: 1173755   (Rated: ASR) Across the Fickle Winds of History  Information & News. Published on Lulu.com by StephB

** #1122609 Not An Image **

Well, after all that rejection, and after tightening up the edits on TORMENT, I went ahead and submitted the project to IUniverse under the Premier program. Currently, it is going through an Editorial Review and when I get feedback, I'll post some of it here. The whole process will probably take between 6-8 before the novel hits the internet stores.

As for FICKLE WINDS OF HISTORY, It is currently going through the process of being accepted for Global Distribution and that's going to take 6-8 weeks. However, if you do want a copy of the book, you can buy it direct from Lulu. Here's a link:

http://www.lulu.com/content/433086

I signed up for a review for it from foreward magazine and when that comes back I'll share some of it with you.

Marketing for HISTORY will be challenging, but I'll keep you up to date with my efforts.

My next project is to finish TWILIGHT.

Steph

** #1122609 Not An Image **