Sunday, August 03, 2014

Of Horses And Novels

What Do You Think?

First on the horse front. Chance's improvement is spotty. The other day, I lunged him and he looked really good. Then, a few days later, when I went out for late night feed, he was lying down napping under the apple tree. I had to go out to invite him in for feed. When he got up he was really stiff. I have not lunged him since but he's been looking better again.

My little research with Lyme says that sometimes horses have a toxic reaction to the dead spirochete. This may be what's happening.

I also found some information that people with Lyme are being treated with invermectin, the worming medication. When I called my vet to be sure it was OK to give Chance his required worming while on the antibiotics....it was....I asked him if he'd heard of this. He promised to look into it for me. He had already planned on calling me next week to check on Chance's progress, so perhaps he'll know something then. Gotta love my vet. He really does care about his clients.

On to the book front, literally. I have written a series of fantasy novels. I will be self-publishing them through Amazon. I did send the first book out to publishers several years ago, with no luck. I had an editor/agent who started to read it as a favor but she did not have the time to devote to it. Since then the fantasy market has collapsed and risen again. I finally decided that self-publishing was the better option especially since Amazon offers it for no cost.

The book will be offered in Kindle as well as on demand published softcover. I still need to do one more formatting and proof reading before I publish. My friend has some digital software create a cover. So far this is the design. I am putting up two versions. The first without the title, the second with. Now, on the second, my friend decided to feature my name as is done with many famous authors. I think the book's title should be at the top, with my name at the bottom. Hopefully, he will make up a cover that way. But, in the meantime, I would like your opinions. I have also suggested a slightly simpler font if we can find a free one to use.

Do you think this cover will invite people to buy my book??

Looks kinda cool to me, but we've been working on it for a week or so and both I and my friend are a bit prejudiced at this time.

The hero is Jamus, a magician and his horse, Whim, is a silver stallion he created out of the wind and mist. Horses play a significant role in the story but it really is much more about people and the magic itself.

This is book #1 of a four novel series. There will be four books altogether. There is also a collection of 4 more shorter novelettes that serve as bridges between the main novels...at least between books 1 & 2.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:25 PM

    Like the cover - like it better with the text. I'm inclined to agree that the title should be on top and your name below. Congrats on your publishing endeavors.

    On the Lyme treatment - it often can cause short-term inflammation in reaction to the organisms dying, which can exacerbate some symptoms. Anti-inflammatories can help - I used banamine for a few days to help Pie over the hump.

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  2. That is so cool! I'm a huge scifi/fantasy buff, so I can't wait to read your book!

    I don't like the font, it's hard to read, but I do agree that the general convention in sci-fi/fantasy novels is to have the author's name at the top and the title at the bottom. You can always break with convention, though!

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  3. I like the title on top and author on bottom. I also like the font, it sort of looks medieval to me. Good luck with your publishing.

    Hope Chance feels better soon and those nasty spirochetes die quickly. I hate Lymes.

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  4. Oh boy! I could certainly use some fantasy novels right now for relaxation! I think title on top and author below too. It just seems better to me.

    That would be great if all those spirochetes were dead! What a shame that Lyme's disease is such a problem. Really, really hoping Chance can fully recover both for your and his sake.

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