SOS to Blog-O-Sphere, Calling All Writers & Editors!

I am sending this out to all my followers and well the blog-o-sphere in general. I am looking at publishing on Amazon Kindle, only problems is I need an editor and someone who is familiar with E-Books to lend me a little help.

I live in the lower state of Missouri near Arkansas. Does any one know of any freelance editors or editing services anywhere near Missouri or Arkansas? Also does anyone know of anyone or any service that knows a good deal about E-Books that could help me out a bit?

I am putting my feelers out to my friends but I haven’t found anyone yet. I am determined to be published on Amazon Kindle and then later through the CreateSpace on Amazon. I plan to publish for the Kindle by December 2014 and in regular book format through Create Space by the spring (perhaps April or May) of 2015.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! :~)

I am sending my LOVE out to the Blog Universe!!! Hope it helps!! LOL! :~)

Celebrities Pretending to be Writers!

Okay so my bone I have to pick is with celebrities or TV reality stars pretending they are writers. Sure they can be called authors as their name is on the book but 99% of the time they didn’t contribute one sentence to the story. They had the idea and hired a ghostwriter.

Writer Definition: one who writes, esp. as an occupation; author.

Author Definition: 1. one who makes or creates something. 2. A writer of books, etc.

Ghostwriter Definition: one who writes books, articles, etc. for another who professes to be the author.

Collaboration Definition: 1. to work together, esp. in some literary or scientific undertaking.

Last year Kendall and Kylie Jenner were being interviewed about a novel they were releasing and it is being released now. They were asked if they had sat down in front of a computer together and wrote it or did different parts separately then came together to make it all blend together. They said no they don’t know about that kind of thing and writing books. They said they wrote down ideas and emailed them to the person they were collaborating with. I knew instantly that meant a ghostwriter, unless the name of the third person was on the book. Sure enough the name isn’t there so it was confirmed as a ghostwritten book.

Those Jenner girls really sounded like they believed it was a collaboration. They need to be told if the other person writes it for you and you give them only the idea and are the only names on the cover then that is a ghostwriter. I hope they are not so dumb to really think that they are writers and authors in the real sense of those words and I only hope they said it was a collaboration to hide the fact their mommy hired a ghostwriter.

I have not read the book and I don’t intend to. I don’t waist money on Kardashian / Jenner products. But I did look up critics reviews of the book by professionals and normal people who just happened to read it. 99% of the reviews were quite funny because they were saying how horrid it really was. Most said don’t waist your money or time on such horrible garbage. Indeed the book details seemed like they stole some story lines from Hunger Games, Twilight, City of Bones, Divergent, and a few other well known YA books out on the market.

Another thing is the title, and mind you I hate bringing attention to the book but if ya’ll googled them you would see the book title anyhow. It is called “Rebels: City of Indra: The story of Lex and Livia.” First off is anyone else thrown off by the long title? I mean it seems no one could decide on the title. Like one wanted Rebels, the other wanted City of Indra, and a third party suggested The Story of Lex and Livia. Like they should have chosen one or the other, like “Rebels: City of Indra or City of Indra: The Story of Lex and Livia or Rebels: The Story of Lex and Livia or really any combination of no more than two of those.” I just can’t believe the publishers didn’t change it or say something about the title, I mean were they just so desperate to just have the Kardashian / Jenner name associated with their publishing company they didn’t care what the title or anything else was.

Also how obvious they are making what the story is about in the title, like trying too hard and seeming like if they don’t tell us what the story is about in the title then we won’t pick it up.

Like we can see from the title that it is about Rebels in the City of Indra and that Lex and Livia are the characters the story is about and perhaps they are rebels or know rebels and live in the city of Indra. Most people that read books no matter what age are not dumb so I think you don’t need to be so literal with the title. If you keep it interesting and explained somewhere in the story people will read to determine what the title has to do with the story, or at least I do that.

Example from Last Novel I read: “Malice in Miniature” by Jeanne M. Dams. It intrigued me and made me open it. It was about an amateur sleuth who investigates a double murder at a museum that houses miniature doll houses. So the story tied in nicely with the title but wasn’t overly obvious like, “Murder: Brocklesby Hall: Dorothy Martin.” LOL!

I sometimes tend to title my stories with my characters names played within the title. Sometimes it can be cheesy but most times I am better at it. Example: Harmony’s Destiny, Jousting for Honor, and The Price of Mercy… only Harmony’s Destiny has been written to date, the others are on my to be written list but probably only The Price of Mercy will be written. Most times the character’s name is not in the title, I have moved past that, LOL.

Of course maybe I am being too hard on Kendall and Kylie Jenner, I am just so mad at celebrities and TV reality stars that get ghostwriters to write for them and then call themselves authors. I have tried for years to get published with manuscripts I wrote but can’t get published because I am no celebrity with a name that will sell.

Lastly the names Lex and Livia. For some reason the names are throwing me off. I mean I like Lex, I assume it is a shortening of Alexandra or Alexandria, again haven’t read story so not sure. As for Livia, I am assuming it is a nickname for Olivia. I like as I said Lex and Livia separately but together the names don’t mesh well to me. I would rather see Lex and Liv, two three letter names rather than a shorter Lex and a longer Livia.

Plus I keep stumbling over saying Livia for some reason because if it is indeed a nickname of Olivia I prefer Liv as the nickname because I hear it a lot on Law & Order: SVU as Detective/ Sergeant Olivia “Liv” Benson. Plus Liv is the more preferred and used nickname for Olivia.

Anyway Lex and Livia are fine but I keep stumbling over it and I don’t like them together at all.

Okay so I am sorry if someone who reads this likes the book by Kendall and Kylie Jenner and gets mad at me. These are just my thoughts and assessments but I haven’t read the book and don’t intend to, so I can’t really judge but by what I have read and what limited information I have.

Have a Great Day! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!


EDIT June 13, 2015:
 

Okay so I had read comments about this book where people said they thought maybe people were being harsh and exaggerating the badness of this book so they read it only to prove it wasn’t very good indeed.

Well I vowed after writing the original post that I would pick the book up and read the first few pages which I usually do to see if a book interests me. I thought too maybe people were just you know exaggerating or hating and to be honest on my post I said I didn’t read it and never would but curiosity got the best of me, lol!

So a few days ago while at the local Books-A-Million with my mom I decided to try and find the book while I was in the Teen Books section. Since I write Young Adult Novels I like to see what is new and fresh and occasionally love to read some.

Usually when I see a book I read the first page to get a view of if it will draw me in. Since I am dead broke right now books are a luxury so I don’t buy even the ones I love, instead I put them on my To Read in the Future list, which I will admit is growing longer by the Day, Week, Month and Year, lol!

Okay so I assumed when looking for the book that there would be more than one and it would be easy to find even it has been out for a year now. I looked and looked and finally found it, they had only one copy there on the self.

So I picked it up and while standing there I flipped to the Prologue and began to read. I honestly expected it to surprise me and be good and make me want to read more. About one paragraph in I didn’t care why the character was digging to the surface of earth that they didn’t think people survived, or I think so as I kind of skimmed. So I thought maybe it is one of those Prologues that are kind of boring, though I admit I love a Prologue in books and heck I write seriously long Prologues for my novels but some Prologues can be boring so I skipped to the first chapter.

So the first page annoyed me. The writing was flat and just boring. Some words didn’t make sense or were spelled wrong and a few paragraphs should have been two paragraphs instead of one, they were way too long. Plus there was an area that had way too many and’s repeated. I can’t remember the words used but it was like this:

First part of sentence then Word and Word and Word and Word. – Didn’t look right to me, there should have been commas instead of ands. I just put in Word in place of the actual words I can’t remember, lol! Sorry it’s been a few days and I forgot!

I would have written something like this though much more polished lol! This is just my example not taken from novel- The heart of the dwindling fire mesmerized her senses as she watched enthralled by the smoke, ashes, embers, and the crackling logs.

Okay so I skimmed to the next page and couldn’t be bothered to care as the feel of the words didn’t feel right. You would think with the publishing house, editors, and ghostwriters they had that the book would be engaging, well written, and well edited but it didn’t feel that way. So I skipped to the end page and was like oh great there probably will be a sequel as others said.

I put the book down and went onto other books as I wanted to browse more engaging novels before my mom finished and was sure to ask if I was finished as I can be a lengthy browser at book stores. I can literarily spend hours browsing and occasionally buying, lol!

The cover wasn’t impressive, the story theme is over done, the wording was mediocre, there were grammatical errors, and it just wasn’t something that made me want to read more.

I really did go into it wanting to give it a chance but I didn’t care for what I read at all. I am sure maybe someone else may like it but I didn’t care enough to read more or put it on my To Be Read in the Future list.  

Galadriel

Meaning: (Maiden Crowned by a Radiant Garland, Lady of the Light, Galadriel was a Noldorin elf Princess renowned for her Beauty and Wisdom in J. R.R Tolkien’s novels. The elements are Galad “Radiant” and Riel “Garlanded Maiden”. Alatariel is the Quenya form of her name. Galadriel was one of the Eldar still remaining in Middle Earth at the time of the War of the Ring.)

Origin: (Literature, Sindarin, Elvish, English)

Pronunciation: (gə -LAD-ree- əl (English), Gah-LaaDRIY-ehL, Geh-LAE-dree-ehl, Guh-LAD-REE-ell, geh-LAI-dree-ehl, guhl-AED-REE-ehl)

Gender: Female

I was looking up a few names and stumbled upon this name on a suggestions list. I think it is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately as it is a name from a novel that the author J. R. R Tolkien no doubt created this name so it can’t be used by another but an element of it could be used or used for inspiration in creating your own fantasy names. Or this would make an amazingly unique beautiful baby name *for the pretty little Princess or Noble Lady in your life*, so it can be used in the real world by parents to be. I absolutely love the meanings and the over all look is just so beautiful and lovely.

Please inform me if the information above about Galadriel is incorrect as I have not read any of J.R.R Tolkien’s novels, I know surprising. So I do not know if the information I gathered on the name Galadriel is correct or not.

EDIT: Ok so I was watching The Hobbit the other day and when I looked up Cate Blanchetts character from that one movie and The Lord of the Ring movies I realized that is the character Galadriel. I always thought of her as just Lady of Lorien, lol.

So Galadriel is the pretty blonde elf lady with flowing white gowns and is the grandmother of Arwen (Liv Tyler actress in movie) who marries Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen actor in the movie). Galadriel is the one who can speak in ones head and who denies herself the one ring after Frodo offers it in Lord of the Rings.

So yeah didn't read the books but did see the movies so now I realize who is who, sort of, lol!

Eimear

Meaning: (Swift, Variant of ÉIMHEAR which is modern Irish form of Emer Possibly from Gaelic eimh "swift". In Irish legend she was the wife of Cúchulainn. She was said to possess the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, voice, speech, needlework, wisdom and chastity.

Eimear possessed the “Six Gifts of Womanhood” – “beauty, a gentle voice, sweet words, wisdom, needlework and chastity!” She was bethrothed to the warrior Cuchulainn (read the legend) when they were children and they loved each other very deeply. But Cuchulainn had “a wandering eye” and Eimear endured this, realizing “everything new is fair,” but when he made love to Fand, wife of the sea god Manannan, Eimear confronted the lovers. After seeing the strength of Fand’s love she offered to withdraw. Touched by this display of unselfishness, Fand left Cuchulainn and returned to the sea. When Cuchulainn died Eimear spoke movingly and lovingly at his graveside.)

Origin: (Irish, Irish Mythology)

Pronunciation: (EE-mur, ee-mer)

Gender: Female

I forget where I first saw this name but I was intrigued by the look. Like all good Irish names it looks nothing like the pronunciation, LOL. The meanings are very nice and it does look like a beautiful name. The mythology is interesting as well. I wouldn’t mind seeing it more and since I know the name the pronunciation wouldn’t be hard but for someone unfamiliar with it, it may be a tad difficult so be warned writers out there.

Accalon

Meaning: (Lover of Morgan le Fay (15^th Century), a champion from Gaul and the lover of Morgan le Fay in the Arthurian sagas. They plotted to steal Excalibur, but Merlin helped Arthur to beat Accalon in battle.)

Origin: (Arthurian Legend, Old English, Middle Welsh)

Pronunciation: (A-cca-lon, AK-a-lon, ak-uh-lon)

Gender: Male

I have decided to use this as a Prince and older brother of one of my main characters in a future novel. His mother would be Eliora and sisters Chloe and Eolande *see Eliora, Chloe and Eolande on list of posts*. Accalon seems so old of a name and in truth with relation to the Arthurian legend it is indeed old but that is why I chose to use it. I have never seen it before and it is so cool that I love it. The meaning is very interesting and iconic to the Arthurian legends as well.

Bellamy

Meaning: (Handsome, Handsome Friend, Fine Friend, derived from the Old French Bel Amy (Fair Friend, Beautiful Friend), which is from the Latin Bellus (Fair, Beautiful) and Amicus (Friend)

This interesting surname is of Irish (Norman) and French origin, and is from a nickname for a fine friend, derived from the Old French "beu, bel", fair, handsome, from the Latin "bellus" and "ami", friend, itself from the Latin "amicus". The nickname could have been either literal or ironic. This is an example of that sizeable group of early European surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to occupation, or to a variety of characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, mental and moral characteristics, supposed resemblance to an animal or bird's appearance or disposition, and to habits of dress. In the modern idiom the surname can be found recorded as Bellamy, Belamy and Belami. Recordings from London Church Registers include: the marriage of Edmond Bellamy and Elizabeth Lawe on October 21st 1618, at St. Giles' Cripplegate, and the christening of Buckingham, son of Ralph Bellamy, on July 20th 1665, at St. Michael's, Bassishaw. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is a black shield, on a gold fesse, cottised silver, three blue crescents, the Crest being an arm couped habited black cuffed silver holding in the hand proper a sceptre gold, on the top a crescent silver. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Belami, which was dated 1185, in the "Records of the Templars", Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Bellamy )

Origin: (Old French, Latin, English)

Pronunciation: (BEHL- ə-mee)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I saw this as a name of a character on a TV series. I really thing it is a beautiful name with beautiful meanings and an interesting history. As such I have decided to use it as the name of a future character who is classmates with my main character. I’ve seen it used on male and female characters before so I think either would work but most think of it as a male name but with Bella I tend to see female. The meanings also ring feminine to me as well.

Cambria

Meaning: (The People, Geography name: the Latin form of Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales, derived from "cymry". Also the name of a period of prehistoric time (part of the Paleozoic era)

Cambria is the classical name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name Cymru (Wales). The etymology of Cymry "the Welsh", Cimbri, and Cwmry"Cumbria", improbably connected to the Biblical Gomer and the "Cimmerians" by 17th-century celticists, is now known to come from Old Welsh combrog "compatriot; Welshman", from the root *brogi "country"; "territory" (cf. Welsh, Cornish, Breton bro "territory"; "country"), itself from *mrogi (cf. Old Irish mruig, gen. mroga "country"), deriving from an old Brythonic word *com-brogi or Proto-Brythonic *kom-brogos, meaning "fellow countryman"; "compatriots", (as a result of the struggle with the Anglo-Saxons) possibly therefore related to its sister language Breton's keñvroad, keñvroiz, "comrade", "compatriot".

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth in the first part of his pseudohistory Historia Regum Britanniae, the Trojan Brutus had three sons among whom (having subdued Gogmagog) he divided his lands after landing in Britain. His elder son, Locrinus, received the land between the rivers Humber and Severn, which he called Loegria (a Latinization of the Welsh name Lloegr, "England"). His second son, Albanactus, got the lands beyond the Humber, which took from him the name of Albany (Yr Alban in Welsh: Scotland). The younger son, Camber, was bequeathed everything beyond the Severn, which was called after him "Cambria”. This legend was widely prevalent throughout the 12th–16th centuries.

he name "Cambria" lives on in much contemporary literature. It is also used in geology to denote the geologic period between around 542 million years and 488.3 million years ago; in 1835 the geologist Adam Sedgwick named this geological period the Cambrian, after studying rocks of that age in Wales.It is also a rare female name.)

Origin: (Latin, Welsh)

Pronunciation: (KAM-bree-ah, KAM-bree-ə)

Gender: Female

I saw a movie actress named this. I thought at first that is a bit weird but it is actually quite pretty. It has nice meanings and an interesting history. It is a very unique name but not too crazy.

Chloe

Meaning: (Green Herb, Green Shoot, From Khloe, originally used in the classical period to symbolize the fertility goddess Demeter in blooming and verdant glory. May be connected with Chloris. Also a name in literature especially in the tale of Daphnis and Chloe set to music by Ravel. Adopted by Puritans in the 17^th Century. Chloe can be used to create compound names like Chloe-Anne or Chloe- Louise.

From a root meaning “green”; probably, First Green Shoot of Plants, A woman through whose household Paul received reports concerning the dissensions existing in the Corinthian congregation. (1Co 1:11) Though Paul’s letter does not state that Chloe was a Christian residing at Corinth or at Ephesus, where the letter was penned, in view of the apostle’s reference to this household by name, evidently at least some members thereof, either family members or slaves, were Christians known to the Corinthians.)

Origin: (Biblical, Greek)

Pronunciation: (KHLOH-ee)

Gender: Female

I am planning on using this as the name of a lost Princess in one of my future science-fantasy novels, her mother will be a Queen named Eliora *see on list of posts.* I never much cared for Chloe before but a few months ago I heard a song called Chloe which got the name stuck in my head and then shortly there after I was thinking of names for my characters and Chloe stuck in my head for the main female characters name.

I think this is a pretty name with good meanings. I prefer to look at the Biblical aspect of the name versus the use in reference to a pagan fertility goddess. The meanings are fresh and full of life which is beautiful. It is popular, still widely heard of but not too overly used.

Eliora

Meaning: (God is Light, God is My Light, The Lord is My Light and My God is My Light, Feminine form of Elior.)

Origin: (Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (el-ee-or-a, ehLYowRaa)

Gender: Female

I am planning on using this as the name of a Queen in one of my future science-fantasy novels. I love this name a lot. It is so beautiful. It also reminds me of Eliana *see on list of posts* which I intend to name a future daughter. It has a beautiful royal look and it has such beautiful pleasant meanings.

Liana

Meaning: (To Twine Around, Name of a Vine common to Tropical Rain Forests, Also short form of names like Liliana and Juliana or a variant of Eliana.

A tropical drift seed, commonly called a sea bean. This bean is, in fact, a seed produced by a giant legume, called a liana. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines “liana” as “a woody climbing plant that hangs from trees, especially in tropical rainforests.” It uses its tendrils to climb up its host tree—sometimes as high as 100 feet [30 m] above the forest floor. This plant is widely distributed along coasts and rivers in central and western Africa, Colombia, the West Indies, and Central America. In Costa Rica, where arboreal monkeys use it to travel from treetop to treetop, it is known as the monkey ladder.

Measuring up to two and a half inches [6 cm] across, the seed starts its life in a huge pod hanging from its support tree. This large seedpod can grow up to six feet [2 m] in length. It is made up of rounded segments containing one seed each. These are separated by a thin groove. As with many common beans, when the seedpod first forms, it is soft and green. But as it ripens, the pod hardens, becoming dry and heavy. It also turns brown and begins to look woody.

Eventually, because of its increased weight, the seedpod drops off into the river or sea. As the pod floats away, its individual sections break off. Now each seed with its protective casing starts its own journey. Some seeds may get bogged down and grow in the mud along a riverbank. Many, however, will float downriver, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles to an estuary. If a seed journeys through groups of islands, a tide may catch it and wash it onto a nearby beach. *Awake! 2004, Watchtower Library CD Rom, Jehovah’s Witnesses*)

Origin: (French, Italian, Porteguese, Romanian, English)

Pronunciation: (lee-AHN-ah)

Gender: Female

I was looking up the name Lael *see on list of posts* and I saw people liked this name too on the site I visited. As I am a fan of Eliana *see on list of posts* and I intend to some day name a daughter Eliana I looked at Liana and really like it. If I name a daughter Eliana then Liana would be a cute nickname as I have been thinking about nicknames beyond Elle and Ellie. Of course Liana and Elia tie for possible nickname possibilities for Eliana. :~)

As for Liana as a name in a novel I would like to see it more often. It has a unique flare without being too odd. It is generally pronounceable and has a very beautiful foreign-esque look which I love.

Also it has a strong meaning as in reference to a tropical vine. So as a baby name it could be given to a strong little girl. The seeds of the vine travel on quite an interesting journey so perhaps a little girl came into the parent’s life unexpectedly but pleasantly and is a strong hardy little thing with a mind of her own. 

Lael

Meaning: (Belonging to God, Is of God, A Levite and the father of Eliasaph, the chieftain of the paternal house for the Gershonites during Israel’s trek in the wilderness.—Nu 3:24, a Biblical male name occasionally used for girls.)

Origin: (Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (LAY-el)

Gender: Female, possibly Uni-Sex

When I was doing my personal bible reading I read this name in the book of Numbers. I really quite like it. It has a unique and rare look but still has an old history. I see it being used though in a story where unique names are more common like in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical Fiction. But this name is so cool I wouldn’t mind if I saw it in more novels even based in the present.

Andra

Meaning: (Man, Male, Manly, Warrior, Strong, Courageous, Brave, Virility, Virile, Feminine form of Andrew.)

Origin: (Old Greek, English, American, French, Scottish)

Pronunciation: (AHN-druh, AHn-dra, AENDRah)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

One of my old friends has a good friend named Andra. She talks about her a lot and so the name has begun to grow on me so much so that I decided to add it to my blog. It is a unique looking and sounding name but not too different. The meanings are decent and strong. For some reason I could see a defiant princess or noble lady in a fantasy novel being named this.