From the Desk of J.M. Poole

This is the first of two beta-reader signups that I’m going to be holding.  If you’re here to volunteer your help, I truly appreciate it.  Just be certain you understand that you’re not signing up for both books, just one.

This is the beta reader signup for Case of the One-Eyed Tiger (Corgi Case Files #1).  This novel isn’t as long as my epic fantasy stories, and that’s because it isn’t (gasp!) a fantasy.  Yep, this is my first ever attempt at a mystery novel, written in first person narrative.  So go easy on me.

What’s expected:

• Checking for typos & grammar problems
• Continuity problems
• Plot holes
• Not concerned with giving harsh advice where necessary.  Trust me, I can take it.
• Be willing to fill out an Excel form listing what page # you found the problem, what type of problem it was, and why (only if you want to) you feel there’s a problem.

Still interested in signing up?  Leave a comment below so that I know you were here and have read the What’s Expected section.

Thanks in advance!  I look forward to working with you!  Stay tuned.  As soon as PoR (Tales of Lentari #6) is ready for beta readers, I’ll post a similar announcement!

J.

Happy Holidays!

What better way to celebrate the upcoming holidays than by having a trivia contest!  AND, why not make the questions about the Star Wars universe since the new movie comes out on Friday!  So, let’s see how much useless Star Wars trivia is crammed away inside your head.  Hopefully it’s just as much as mine.

Now, the rules:

• NO Googling.  What fun is that?  Try and see if you can answer without looking it up.
• No looking at other answers.  This is a test of YOUR trivia, not others!
• No changing your answer.  Any comment that has the word “Edited” next to it will be disqualified.
• Only one answer per person.  Choose your answers wisely, Padawan.

If there’s only one person who answers correctly then choosing the winner will be easy.  If there are multiple people who answer correctly then the winners will go into a hat and I’ll let Keeley the corgi choose.  What will you win?  A signed print copy of the latest Tales of Lentari book, Wizard in the Woods AND an automatic position as a Beta Reader for the 6th Tales of Lentari book as soon as I’m ready.  I also have a Goodreads Giveaway ending very soon, so I’ll ship both books out at the same time, which will be this coming Friday (the 18th).  Good luck!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything.  My bad.  I can’t even begin to tell you how busy I’ve been.

I know.  Excuses, excuses.  However, many of my computer tech clients have returned for warmer climes so I’ve been forced to wear my tech hat longer than I normally would.  So, let’s recap.

1. Swamped with tech calls
2. NaNoWriMo month.  I refuse to quit.  🙂
3. Continuing with PoR (Tales of Lentari #6)
4. Convincing my father to trade in his flip phone for iPhone 6, setting up the phone remotely, and then training said family member on said phone.

I will also formally announce that I’m actively seeking Beta Readers.  But, before you get excited, this isn’t for PoR (ToL6).  I’ll make a separate announcement for that.  I’m actually referring to my NaNoWriMo project with will be finished shortly.  Corgi Case Files – Case of the One-Eyed Tiger.  My first ever attempt at a mystery novel.  I can only hope you guys enjoy it.

So, with that being said, if any of you would be interested in giving me a hand, please leave a comment below.  Remember, I’m looking for people with stronger English skills than me.  Spotting typos, grammatical issues, continuity problems, and so on.  Think you’d like to give it a try?  Let me know!

Thanks, guys!  I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far!

J.

This request goes out to all wine lovers out there.  A book I’m presently working on features a character living in a small community where there are several local wineries.  What are your favorite wines?  Are they from local wineries or are they from a well known brand?  I was looking for some ideas for some local wines for the town.

Let me know your thoughts!  I’m dropping the security down so that anyone can post.  Thanks in advance!

J.

Are you an aspiring author?  Have you already published a book or two and are looking for more reviews?  If your title has 10 reviews or less, is either sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, or thriller, and doesn’t feature vampires or zombies, feel free to drop me a line.  I’m always looking for that new great read.

Instead of telling you what books I like I’ll instead tell you which I don’t care for.  I’m not a fan of horror.  Or erotica.  I don’t like zombies or vampires, but I will say that I’ve read several stories that had a little of each as supporting characters and I was okay with it.  The worst that could happen is that I’d just tell you that I wasn’t interested.  Otherwise if you’re looking for reviews, leave a comment with your book’s blurb and I’ll go take a look.

Happy reading!

J.

ps.  ToL6 is coming along nicely, as is my very first mystery novel!  🙂

Hypothetical question for you readers.  I know of several authors that have done this and am wondering what percentage would actually give it a try.  Let’s say you have a romance author who’s released a number of books.  The author has built up a sizable fan base as a result.  Now comes the announcement that the romance author is going to release another book, only this one isn’t romance, but science fiction, or any other genre that is nowhere close to what romance is.  Now, here’s my question.  If you’re already a fan of this particular author, would you be willing to try the new book written in a different genre than what you’re already used to?

The reason I ask is that I have now fallen into this category.  I’m a fantasy author and am working on a new book, namely the 6th Tales of Lentari novel.  BUT, I’m also working on the first novel in an entirely new series in a new genre:  mystery.  What are the chances that you’d be willing to give the book a try?  As always, comments are always appreciated.  And don’t worry.  You won’t ever hurt my feelings by telling me the truth.  I value honest opinions more than anything.

J.

It was brought to my attention that the “Welcome” email that is sent after someone subscribes to the Daily Scroll wasn’t working.  A quick check revealed the problem.  GoDaddy, which I was using as the Postman, so-to-speak, went on strike.  The Post Office (GoDaddy) decided it didn’t want to do any more unneeded work unless it was sending a message to someone in their own town.  So, long story short, Welcome emails weren’t being delivered.  I’m not sure how long that’s been going on.  I even tried a test delivery for the newsletter (which was working fine last time) and nothing came through.

So for any of you that didn’t get the link to the free short story, Hunt for Red Oskorlisk, please let me know and I’ll resend the Welcome email to you that has the link.

Sorry ’bout that.  Oh, I should also mention that there’s a major revamp in the works for the website.  Why?  Because twinkletoes here (yours truly) has created another series and this time, it isn’t fantasy.  I’ve listed www.Lentari.com as my official website for so long that I can’t necessarily say that any more.  It wouldn’t make sense for the new series to point to Lentari.com, so I’m researching ideas.

Oh, well.  I think it was time to find a new WordPress theme anyway.  Anyone know of any really cool themes?

J.

Here it is, fellow citizens of Lentari.  Here’s the finalized, colorized, cover for Wizard in the Woods (Tales of Lentari #5).

Final Cover

The first colorized draft for the cover had it placed at night.  While it looked very nice, I didn’t want another dark cover.  I asked Rachel how hard it would be to make the time of day something earlier.  I asked for ‘dusk’.  Almost immediately I was sent this.  I immediately knew this was the version of the cover I wanted.

I’m getting reports back from my beta readers and have been implementing the changes as I get ’em.  So far they have spotted all the embarrassing mistakes that would have ended up making me look quite foolish, so for that, I’m eternally grateful.  You beta readers rock!!

For those of you not familiar with the characters in the scene, allow me to explain what you’re looking at.  Noticeable right off the bat is Peanut, the corgi.  I’m sure your first thought is that Peanut has grown in size.  All I’ll say here is that no, she hasn’t.  Of the four of them (Peanut, Mikal, Lissa, & Pravara), Peanut is the only one who has her proper size.  And yes, this is taken from an actual scene in the book.

I can’t wait to release it!  I hope everyone likes it!

J.

Hi, guys!

Well, here I am, rapidly approaching the finish line to my 8th book.  Wizard in the Woods is a fun romp featuring Mikal and a few returning characters, along with a couple of new ones.   My deadline to have everything done is  August 21st, ’cause that’s when I’m supposed to have the finished, edited, and proofed manuscript submitted to Amazon so I can easily make the release day, which is the end of August.

So, it’s time to line up some beta readers.  Many of you have expressed interest in helping me out.  For that, I am eternally thankful.  Nothing makes me feel better than having a whole slew of people anxious to sign up.  Therefore, before you add your name to the hat, let me run through what I’m looking for in a beta reader.

• Beta readers will have strong spelling skills.  I will be using my spellchecker but mistakes can and will slip through the cracks.
• Good English skills.  Do I have a fragmented sentence?  How about the wrong tense of verb?
• Able to spot continuity/plot holes.  Did I reference something but then never mentioned it again?  Did I leave a gaping plot hole?
• Able to offer critique without worrying about hurting my feelings.  Trust me, I’ve heard it all.  An unbiased opinion is worth its weight in gold to an author.

If you’re interested, even after reading all of that, then please leave a comment below and let me know you’d like to sign up.  On top of my normal betas (family & friends) I will typically select anywhere from 6-8 people and give them a .pdf of the book.  That way whenever a problem has been spotted you can reference a specific page number, paragraph number, line number, etc., and I’ll easily be able to find it.

Oh, as a reminder, the Daily Scroll will be going out tonight with the very first sneak peek at the cover.  It’s in early design stage, and the artist has given me three possible designs to choose from.  I’ll be going over each one and explaining what I like and don’t like, and what I’d like to see for the next attempt.  Want to see it and be involved in its creation?  Sign up today!

Thanks, everyone!

J.