Novel – Page 12 – The Stories of Scott D. Southard

April 15, 2013

Two weeks left! What is A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM? A Book Giveaway.
On April 30 my new novel A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM will be released. It will be available from amazon in both print and eBook (I’ll share the links once they are up). At this time there is a book giveaway where two lucky winners will win a free copy of it on Good Reads. You can enter it by clicking here.

Also, over the remaining weeks, I’ll be writing posts on my experience around the book. The first post “Braving Austen” was released last week. You can read it here.

A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM stars Jane Austen, but this is a novel. Yes, it does have romance, but it is also a story about a writer finding their voice, creativity and inspiration. While I truly think the work has something special for fans of Austen (the Janeites and Austenites), if the book was only that… well… it wouldn’t be my book. In many ways, when I think of A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, personally, I think of it as a love letter to literature, to books that we love and cherish. And because of that it includes many of the things I hold the most dear in reading- characters, surprises, wit, and something unique to experience. Unique?

More than unique, A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM has something very revolutionary in it. If you enjoy my posts, my fiction on this site, I hope you will check out the book. Trust me, I got something very new up my sleeve.

All her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

Again, you can enter the competition by just visiting this page. The competition runs through April 29.
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April 8, 2013

Three weeks until the release of A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM! A Book Giveaway!
In three weeks my latest novel, A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, will be released by Madison Street Publishing. I can not wait to share this new book with you.

Over the next few weeks I hope to be able to discuss more about the work on this site and share many different things going on around the release from editorials on other sites to reviews to interviews. If I can promise my readers one thing around this moving and humourous novel it is that it is surprising with a few neat (and possibly new) literary tricks. I look forward to hearing what readers think of it!

To anticipate this release my publisher is having a book giveaway for the novel on GoodReads. Two copies will be given to two lucky entries. To enter, simply visit this page here (http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/48730-a-jane-austen-daydream) and click on the “Enter to Win” button.

A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM

All her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

Again, you can enter the competition by just visiting this page. The competition runs through April 29.

Let the countdown begin!
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April 3, 2013

How a Great Book Cover Gets Made
Brina Williamson is the freelance artist who has made the book cover for my novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, a book I am planning to self-publish in the next month and have been documenting the experience of via this blog.

On her website, Brina has written an article detailing her process around creating this great eye-catching cover. It’s a fascinating insight into another side of a book’s design that a writer might not consider and I recommend my fellow writers check it out.

You can read her article here.
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March 29, 2013

“…a great time.” A new book review for MEGAN
Heidi from the book review site Definitely Not For the Birds has just reviewed my novel MEGAN! Here is an excerpt from her review:

I love the format of this book. I’m sure most of us—as children or even now as adults—have made up worlds within our imaginations and spent hours daydreaming or play acting what occurs in our imaginary worlds. Our protagonist, Megan, is stuck in a boring job, with coworkers she barely coexists with, with a boss she hates, and nothing interesting or exciting happening in her life. She escapes this monotony and the dreary reality of her life by imagining the world of Prosperity.

You can read the rest of the review here. She ends the review by saying that she had a great time reading my novel.

If you would be interested yourself in reading MEGAN, you can find it in print via amazon here or as an eBook via the publisher’s website (here) and GooglePlay (here).
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March 26, 2013

Mark Your Calendars! A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM Will Be Released on April 30!
A Jane Austen Daydream, my latest novel, will be released by Madison Street Publishing on April 30!

I could not be happier (or prouder) of this experimental, romantic, funny, moving, and surprising book. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Here is the description of my upcoming novel:

All her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

On a side note, are you a reviewer? Would you be interested in reading the novel for your site or magazine? If so, please contact my publisher at MStPublishing@gmail.com. They will be reviewing requests.

Let the countdown begin!
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March 21, 2013

My Adventure in Self-Publishing: Next Steps and a Vision
A good cover artist can give an author an amazing gift.

This is not about sales, audience, branding, or marketing (I’ve talked about that already in previous posts and that’s all good); this is much, much more personal.

This gift can be sharp like a knife, and it can cut right into you, your brain and your heart, in a way you would never expect nor be prepared for. That happened for me and my cover artist.

See, what my marvelous cover artist did for me was she introduced me to my characters visually for the first time. For the very first time I could see them.

There they are, right there. They could almost wave at me…

Like I said, it is an amazing gift, and I will always be so very thankful of my cover artist for it. Her name is Brina Williamson and I am in awe. (Do yourself a favor and check out her website here now to see more examples of her work and what she could do for your own books.)

For the first time, one of my creations stepped out of the home of my imagination, becoming more than a description on a piece of paper. And, to be honest, I’m one of those writers that lean towards less is more in character descriptions, hoping that my reader will fill in the gaps, making the story more personal for them (an old writing trick, take note); but Brina asked for notes from me on the characters… and… well… there they are.

I’ve seen my stories performed at readings (many times in classroom settings with fellow writers), I’ve heard my characters recreated in audiobooks and in full cast radio dramatizations (you can hear The Dante Experience here), and that was all fun… but visual is new for me. And I have such a hard time looking away from it, it’s addicting.

I’m going to say it for a third time; that image is an amazing gift and when I saw it I am not ashamed to admit I had to wipe away tears. (more…)
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March 18, 2013

“…hope remains.” Author Julia Barrett reviews MY PROBLEM WITH DOORS
Romance/Fantasy author Julia Barrett has reviewed my time-travel adventure novel My Problem With Doors today (You can read it here). It’s an interesting review as she discusses why she likes my novel and compares it to others in the genre. Here is an excerpt:

Jacob skips through time, much like Henry in The Time Traveler’s Wife, but while Henry couldn’t remember anything that hadn’t yet happened, Jacob grows and matures in a more linear fashion. He remembers. He learns. Each jump, while it may propel him backwards in time, propels him forward as a human being. From my perspective it makes him a more compelling character than Henry could ever be. Where Henry was helpless, a victim of his genetic disability, Jacob is far from helpless. He’s a survivor.

You can read more of the review here. I hope you will check it out and also my novel. I am proud of it, and like with most of my books, if I can promise anything it is that you will be surprised. You can find my book:
- In print on amazon for $15.95 here.
- It is available as an eBook (and will work on all devices) via Google Play (here) or on the publisher’s site (here).
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March 15, 2013

“…uncover what it means to be human.” A new review for MY PROBLEM WITH DOORS
A very interesting new review is up for my novel MY PROBLEM WITH DOORS (you can read a sample from the book here). It is written by someone I attended high school with and it’s fascinating to read since she shares the personal experience of what it is like to write a review about a book by someone that you know. (Also, it’s a fun insight into how people viewed me growing up, which is… kind of neat).

It’s a wonderfully honest review where she discusses the experience of falling in love with my character Jacob and how Jacob earned that with her; in the end stating that the book is a “treat.”

Ruth Frasur is a librarian with Hagerstown Jefferson Township Library. This is a sample of what she wrote:

I’m not going to get too far into the various setting and plot lines except to say that, although Jacob is cast about through time and place, he experiences many of the same situations as we who are bound by temporal constraints. His brushes with greatness do provide interesting vignettes for the reader. It is, however, in the mundane – falling in love; cherishing family; longing for connection; experiencing loss and personal disappointment – where Jacob really comes alive and helped me connect. I went from the angry reader to a fellow runner in the race of humanity.

You can read all of Ruth’s personal and straightforward review here. And you can find MY PROBLEM WITH DOORS…
- In print on amazon for $15.95 here.
- It is available as an eBook (and will work on all devices) via Google Play (here) or on the publisher’s site (here).
I hope you will consider checking it out…
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March 6, 2013

A Battle With Pirates! An Excerpt from My Problem With Doors
Today I am sharing a scene from my novel My Problem With Doors. It is currently available in print via amazon.com (here) and in eBook format via Google Play (here).

My Problem With Doors is the story of Jacob who is lost in time.

–

The pirate ship the Bloody Scourge was the bane of the Caribbean isles in the 1680s. Its ten years of brutality and pillaging were legend throughout the world. Many a dark pirate tale originated with that ship, though over time other crews and captains tried to claim the yarns as their own.

To be found at sea by that ship was to be confronted by the very face of death. The soldiers of port cities, naval sailors patrolling coastlines, and harbormasters all found themselves working long hours with little rest when even just a hint floated about that the

Bloody Scourge had entered their waters. There was no vessel more perilous, no crew more dangerous, and no captain more bloodthirsty. (more…)
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March 1, 2013

My Adventure in Self-Publishing: Calling All Cover Artists!
We’ve all heard the expression not to judge a book by its cover.

IT’S BULL!

We all do it!

A cover is the first line of communication between an author and their audience. It’s the opening shot at a race. It is what convinces a reader to pick it up and read the description (or in today’s world, scroll down the page). Frankly, a cover can make or break a book on the market and we as writers have to care. We have to care a lot!

Right now I have almost 15,000 twitter followers, most of them are my fellow writers, and each time I get the e-mail saying I have a new follower, I will usually visit their website quickly or check them out on amazon. And, I hate to admit this, a cover has been known to influence how I feel about their work before investigating further. See, if a work has a cover that is a generic one from a self-publisher or is obviously created out of stock footage on Photoshop (without any flair to it)… well… there ya go.

I know how unfair this is!

To sit down and write any work (and then have the guts to get it out into the harsh world of sales and reviews) a writer has to care some. No one simply falls into writing a book. Only Paul McCartney can wake up humming Yesterday; we authors are not that lucky. Yes, we may wake up with Yesterday (or with “Scrambled Eggs” as was the original title), but it takes months and months before our song is ready for a performance. (more…)
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