WEDNESDAY REVIEW - The Acqeli

ACQELI is the latest Sci-Fi Romance from Rose Sartin, author of BOUND BY HONOR. Due to release this week, Acqeli is a novella - a collection of three short stories revolving around incidents in the BOUND trilogy. 

Through the collection, Rose Sartin gives us the 'behind the scenes' items that while delving deeper into the trilogy, are not necessary as main parts. ACQELI contains those crystal nuggets of information all authors have in their repertoire that do not always become part of the whole. 

THE BLACK CRYSTAL opens up the secret of the ACQELI and the power it possesses. Through this story we see the incredible mind of a sci-fi writer. I've known Rose Sartin for over twenty years and to read her work is just astounding. Not just the world, but the characters she has created. 

THE CRYSTAL MOON provides details about the ACQELI referenced throughout the book. While some of the details are shared within the trilogy, this short piece gives us a peek behind the historic curtain. Rose Sartin has the uncanny ability to offer up a love scene - bonding - full of all the beauty and sensitivity lovemaking should be. 

THE CURSE OF THE BLACK CRYSTAL introduces us to the main characters in BOUND BY HONOR. Rhyel, Captain of the Novaria, watches from his ship as the planet he calls home is destroyed. There's nothing he can do. Like all good soldiers, with the help of the Elders, he sets a plan in place to rebuild in another part of the galaxy. Rebuilding, means repopulating and quality health care. While they have a competent nurse - an earthling- a doctor is necessary. Another human is in their sights... Dr. Amber Donovan.

If you love a good Sci-Fi Romance you will not want to miss a single word of either the Bond Trilogy over the course of it's release or the eBook Acqeli releasing in the next few days. 

You can catch up with Rose Sartin on Facebook and Twitter

Purchase your copy of BOUND BY HONOR and her upcoming novella, Acqeli, please visit: AMAZON  B & N

SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR - Rose Sartin

I have had the pleasure of knowing Rose Sartin for over twenty years. I've watched her grow as a writer. I've listened as she talked through plot issues, seen her eyes light up as she described a scene and heard the frustration in her voice when she wasn't sure - days when all the ink bleeding seemed useless. I was there to celebrate her joy when she signed her contract with Oghma Creative Media.... a journey 40 years in the making!

October 9, 2016

50th annual Ozark Creative Writers Conference

Eureka Springs AR

BOUND BY HONOR, the first book in a trilogy,  released November 2017 was forty years in the making! Since then she's been featured in two newspapers. Kevin McClintock of the Joplin Globe called her a 'tenacious wordsmith'.

Here's a Fast Five And Three with Rose:

I’m always asked ‘where do you get your ideas’. So, where do you get yours?

Sometimes they're just ideas that come during quiet moments. Other times something someone says will spark an idea--or an object. For instance a spearhead my husband found in the garden was the inspiration for an upcoming book, Heart of the Stone. The tip of the spearhead looked as if blood had dried on it.

Which comes first, the story, the characters, or the setting?

My story usually comes first, but the characters show up immediately and take over

Which of your heroines most represent you, or the ‘you’ you’d like to be? Why?

That's a tough question. I think every author puts a little of themselves into their characters. My heroines tend to reflect my values. That's not to say I wouldn't like to share their adventurous spirit, or feisty attitude

What is the single most important part of writing for you?

The satisfaction of knowing people like my stories

What’s the most romantic thing a guy can do (or has done) for you?

That's easy. My husband wrote a poem for me called Our Two Souls Met, and sent it with a note asking for a second date. You can't get any more romantic than that.

Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?

My husband, Gary, was my own special hero. I admit the heroes in my book reflect him. He encouraged me to keep writing. As for another romance author, Julie Garwood has always inspired me

City Girl or Country Girl

I'm a country girl at heart. Love the quiet of a country morning.

Favorite TV show

What can I say. I'm a Star trek fan through and through.

Rose Sartin's novella, The Acqeli, releases today! 

This is an exceptional collection of three stories that tie into her BOUND trilogy. Bound By Honor released November 2017. The second book in the trilogy is due early 2019.

You will find Bound By Honor at the following links:

AMAZON      Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

L. Rose Sartin was born in Illinois, raised in Iowa, and has spent most of her life in the Missouri Ozarks. She and her late husband, Gary, raised two daughters, Melissa and Angela, and a son, Eric, while building businesses as beekeepers, leathercrafters, and managers/tour guides in a show cave. Ms. Sartin is also proficient with the Mountain dulcimer, performing in radio, television, and documentaries.

Today she lives in their family home on an Ozark ridgetop that overlooks the Mark Twain National Forest. She is currently finishing the second and third novels in her Honor trilogy. Her life is filled with family and friends, music, good books, and plotting adventures for characters who show up on her mind’s doorstep.

You will find Rose Sartin on:

Facebook     Twitter

Tomorrow, I'll share my review of the Acqeli. In the mean time, you will find my review of Bound By Honor on Amazon.

BACK ON BOARD! -

I am back! I think I know why I've stayed away. I'll talk more about that in a moment. But first, a picture of what I'm working on.

A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

A Christmas To Remember was first germinated almost twenty years ago as a story called Ozark Angel. This is the first manuscript I ever finished and put through the paces. 

While it hasn't scored well in small competitions, Ozark Angel did get a 'full' request from a Harl. editor who at the time had a reputation for never requesting more than a partial (first 3 chapters and a synop). After going through two editor reads at SuperRomance, I got a kind rejection letter saying while they loved the story, it didn't fit them. Hey - I can live with that kind of rejection. 

The second time out of the gate, I received a partial then a full on the manuscript from the editor at  Genesis Press. They were a multi-cultural publisher. I pointed out to the editor that this could not be a multi-cultural romance she replied with 'multi-cultural will not always be popular, but a good romance will stand the test of time'. Her reader aka receptionist loved the book. She remembered me and the story a year later when I called their office about another matter. She said her boss was nuts for not picking up the story. From her mouth to a publisher's ears!

And then it sat.... and sat ... and sat...

I've pulled it out a time or two trying to figure out why the story wasn't moving. I know with Harlequin, it wasn't long enough. As I work on the story now, I understand why.

While the manuscript went through a professional editor ( she edits for some big names) as I pulled the story out last fall and decided the time had come, I began seeing a lot of things pop out at me. I'd read a sentence and think 'Why?'  or 'How?' and realized A Christmas To Remember needed serious work. 

Now I try to spend a minimum of two hours every night going through the editing notes I made. The other thing is that I'm handwriting this story from start to finish. There's something about pen to paper that just makes things flow better sometimes. Fantasy author, Prix Gautney writes her stories by hand the first round through. 

I know when I type up the rewrite I'll find other things to fix. Then my sister will do the first read-through for story inconsistencies or something that might not come out the way I had it in my head. 

Okay.. so the WHY I've been absent. I think I was so conflicted about how I wanted my career to go that I just couldn't bring myself to write something that might never see publication. The new-age question of TRADITIONAL vs. INDIE

I've weighed the pros and cons for months - okay, a couple of years - and I keep coming back to two things.

1- How bad do I want to walk into Walmart or B & N and see my book on the shelf - or am I just content to have my own copies to sell?

2 - How much control am I willing to give up?

Okay, that is a big one. I am an OCD control freak. One of the things that really turned the page for me a couple of weeks ago was seeing what one of my author friends is going through. 

She has been a successful Indie author for about three years - or longer. She's worked HARD on a daily basis to a) craft a great read  b) marketing that great read  c) continuing to craft more great reads in the process.  She recently got a multi-book contract for her stories. 

They are revamping her marketing and they've taken excellent titles and turned them on their ear. She is over the moon and I am thrilled for her. But for me, personally, I don't think I can give up that control. I would be a nervous wreck! 

On the flip - I have another author friend who has been traditionally published for years. She is now indie-publishing her books and couldn't be happier!

The MORAL - is that each of us has to do what works for us. 

Some of my stories don't fit into the box some traditional publishers want you to use. But I still think they're great reads and that there is someone out there who will think so, too. And if not, then at least I tried. 

The other thing is let's look at the time line for A Christmas To Remember:

1- End of May - finish the rewrite

2 -End of July - my sister will have gone through the ms a chapter at a time

3 -End of Aug - revamp based on her comments

4 -End of September - Go through professional editing

End of October - have up on Amazon in time for Christmas season

Approximately a 70%  commission if what I'm hearing is correct.

If I were to go through steps 1-4 then by first of October begin shopping to a traditional publisher. I'd be lucky to have a contract by June of 2019. So let's look at this potential scenario:

1 - June 2019 - Get a Contract

2 - 18-24 months to publication - October 2020!

All that time, I'm not making any money! And when I do, they are taking a minimum of 45% plus the 15% (est) an agent will take. Plus.. they are taking their percentage for me still doing the lions share of the marketing work. 

I do have a western series I'd like to traditional publish. I've already spoken to one publisher and she's waiting patiently. But for now, it's all about my contemporary stories.