Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Two Best Words An Author Could Ever Write!



Ok, such a long title, but it's for a good feat!

I have done it and typed the two most wonderful words known to a Author...

THE END!

That's right Ladies, Ronon and Kathy now have their HEA. Ok, well it's more like a...No, no, I won't spoil it but I do need your help.

I'm in need of 3 or 4, yes you heard me, 3-4 of you wonderful fans to give this an official Beta Read.

Now, let me tell you what I'm looking for and the time frame cause I know you're all busy with your own stuffs.

First off, I want honest feedback - like any other Author. I say that because this is my first foray into a 1st person Point-Of-View and I need to know if I've pulled it off successfully.  Don't be afraid to tell me if I haven't. I don't want gushy, "Oh, it's awesome!" Ok, well I do, but that's not the real purpose behind my request. I need honesty and to know what I did wrong. Or if I did manage to pull it off then say that too.

Don't worry, I won't make your feedback public - unless you give me permission to of course *wink*

Secondly, and I know this is a short notice, but I'd like it back in two weeks. That's by May 24th. If that's too quick for you, that's fine, don't volunteer. I'm only giving that deadline so I can get this out by June 1, officially and my formatter needs at least a week. If you can get it back sooner, great, fabulous! But if not, it's ok. I won't ask you to interrupt your busy lives just for me.

Plus, I'll need some time to take your suggestions and feedback into account and make the changes.  Now, I've edited this as I went, so it's fairly clean but if you do happen to spot a typo, don't hesitate to highlight it, or note it in your response. I'm not perfect after all!

So, here are the deets.

It's a little over 37k, or approx. 152 pages. (That's double-spaced in a word doc).

Here's the blurb for it:

Kathy Granite is not your ordinary writer. She's a Weaver - a spinner of great tales and has the ability to write or rewrite the history of a world. Only one problem, she doesn't know it. She's spent the last six years telling the stories of people dragged to Earth from a variety of places by her Layren Protector, Ronon Wulfdrak.

Ronon has spent that same time keeping his Karista in the dark and only brought her people who simply want their story told. He's carefully chosen who would appear and even though she's become quite the sensation in our world, she's clueless as to her effect on any others. Ronon aims to keep it that way and hopes she's safely hidden from his own people. For, if anyone finds out what she really is, they will tear her apart to get at her power.

And here's a tasty excerpt to wet your appetite...

            I turned back to Ronon, jerking a thumb at Ethan. “That didn’t help. Let’s go with your version. You had a dream?”
He sighed and eased back to lean on the edge of my poor desk. I worried it might collapse under his weight, but it held. “Four hundred years ago, I dreamed of you, Kathy.”
There was my name again and my girly bits went haywire at it. It wasn’t the name itself but the way he said it, like an endearment that stirred my womanly parts into high-speed action.
One corner of Ronon’s lips lifted in a smile and his eyes blazed intently as he jerked his chin toward Ethan. “As he said, we are Layrens. It is our job to protect Weavers.”
He was talking in circles and it was frustrating. “You’re not making sense.”
“Thousands of years ago some of my ancestors evolved into two types. A Weaver was tasked with traveling from world to world, writing their history for posterity. Layrens went with them as their Protectors. We had a strict policy of non-interference. We were simply there to record, nothing more.” He shrugged a shoulder. “But, the Founders discovered Weavers were more than what they seemed when one in particular changed the history she was told and stopped a War that had kill millions.”
His blue eyes locked with mine and the heat in my veins rocketed off into outer space somewhere. “She rewrote the very fabric of their existence and while her intentions were quite pure, it had a disastrous effect through the ages. The changes caused a ripple effect through time that the particular race never recovered from. Ultimately they destroyed themselves, but that’s neither here nor there.”
He sighed and his shoulders dropped a bit. A pang of sorrow clutched my heart because I could see the tale was weighing heavily on him. He continued though and I was proud of him for it.
“As a consequence, the Founders banished the Weavers, sent them off to worlds unknown, without their Protectors. Most of them were wiped out but a few survived.” His chin jerked toward me. “I suspect you’re a descendant of one. It’s the only thing that explains your powers.”
I blinked. “My powers? Ronon, I don’t have any powers!”
He chuckled and his smile widened ever so slightly. “Oh, but you do. Your stories,” he pointed at the floor. “In this world, are nothing more than that. But where they come from,” he pointed now at Rysen. “Whatever you write comes true.”
I sat up a bit, anger flowing through me at the implications in what he was saying. “Wait a minute! Just hold on. You mean to say, if I was to just make up a story,” I jerked a thumb at Rysen myself. “About him, it would come true?”
Ronon’s head tilted in a nod. “It would.”
It was worse than I thought! I couldn’t have that kind of power. It wasn’t right! And damn Ronon for not telling me sooner. Focusing my anger on him, I ground out, “And you’ve been keeping this from me, this whole time?”
His stoniness slipped and I saw the brief flicker of pain cross his face. “I had too,” he admitted. “At first, I did it because you weren’t ready. Then…”
Rage vibrated across my thoughts, replacing the heat of attraction that had been there moments before. All this time I knew he was hiding something, but I never suspected it was as preposterous as this! It couldn’t be true though. Just couldn’t. One look at his face and I knew he was deadly serious. I turned on Rysen. “Is this true? Is that why you came here? For me to change your world?”
The poor Leprechaun shrunk back in the face of my temper. His throat worked, bobbing his Adams Apple up and down. “Yes,” he squeaked out.
I pushed off the couch and staggered across the room, stopping in front of Ronon. Unable to help myself, I slapped him, hard. The crack reverberated across the air. “That’s for lying to me.” I brought my good arm back around and backhanded his other cheek. “And that’s for being too stubborn to think I couldn’t handle it!”

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So, there you go ladies. If you'd like to volunteer for this assignment, leave your email in a comment below. If there are more than 3 or 4 of you *crosses fingers*, then I'll draw randomly from all those who commented. I'll leave submissions open until Tuesday, May 14th at Midnight and then I'll get this emailed to you first thing Wednesday morning.

Up front, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for being my guinea pigs! Erm, no wait, my fans, yeah, that's what I meant. 

*ahem* Let's try that one again.

Thank you, from the very bottom of my soul, for being my most loyal and trustworthy fans.

There, that's much better! *nods*

Thanks, as always for stopping by.

Until next time.

Margaret Taylor

10 comments:

  1. How exciting! I wish I had the time to do it! I'm sure you will be amazing! All the best!

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    1. Oh that's ok Ms. Mel. I didn't expect everyone to volunteer! *winks* Thanks for the Congrats though! The sentiment is muchly appreciated.

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  2. Finishing is fantastic, Margaret!!! Congratulations! I tweeted.

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    1. Thank you Ms. Ella. For the Congrats and the Tweet! I can always count on you..:D

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  3. Congratulations, Margaret. I'd be glad to Beta read for you. Ann

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    1. Thank you Ms. R. Ann! Be sure to send me an email, margarettaylor@satx.rr.com or leave yours here. Either way! Thank you...:D

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  4. Hi, Margaret. If you need to round out your Beta reader list, I'm here. If not, good luck

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    1. Oh thank you Ms. Mary. A copy shall be reserved just for you! :D

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  5. Congrats on "THE END"! Those are so wonderful to type! Good luck!

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  6. Congratulations on The End. I'm a little late as usual but doing a happy dance for you.

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