When someone famous (I thought it was Hemingway; upon investigation, I found that it could have originated from numerous people) said something like writing is easy: just bleed on the page, I don’t think they were talking about bleeding on the book after it’s written. But I almost did that today.
My friendly local UPS man came to my door with the first of two boxes of my books. I signed for it and hurried into the kitchen for a knife to open it. That was my first mistake.
As I sliced open the box, the knife slipped and I stabbed myself, millimeters away from the vein in my wrist.
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s deep.
So if you want to buy a copy of my book, for pity’s sake please buy it directly from Amazon and not from me! You may never get to read Book 2!!
There were only six books in this box – when I get the other 44, I promise to try to avoid slitting my throat. đ
This is just a quick post to let you know I plan to tweak the paperback cover (back cover only) of my debut novel, The Magician’s Curse, before I buy my copies to distribute in local stores. It will be unavailable for about 24 hours while the update takes place. I’ll upload the new copy tomorrow morning (Toronto time, Sunday, July 2nd, 2017). Hopefully the book with the new back cover will be back online by Monday morning.
The changes are extremely minor, but if this book ever hits the bestseller lists (haha) the first edition may be worth something.
When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesnât expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom sheâll fall hopelessly in love.
Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows sheâs the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Hermanâs happily ever after, before it really begins?
Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magicianâs Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.
My book–the one I’ve been saying I was going to publish for four years now (didn’t believe me, did you?)–is finally here!
It’s a story I spent months obsessing over, traveled for, went to outrageous lengths for–I sat in the Kingston Via Rail station, taking notes for the description of it; drove around the city looking for the perfect setting for the house in which the story takes place and then I parked my car there and walked halfway back to town to see what it would be like. I stayed in different lodgings – the university where my characters went to school, the house that inspired the one in the book, and a small motel near the train station. I even had a chance to interview a magician. I’ll be posting that interview soon.
But most of all I had a lot of fun writing The Magician’s Curse and its sequel. And I’m almost finished writing the third book. Not sure if there will be more: I’ve toyed with the idea of a prequel.
For now though, I can finally share part of this world I’ve lived in by myself for almost six years. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Magic and romance await.
One of my advance reviews came in, and she gave The Magician’s Curse five stars! The review was posted yesterday on Facebook, Goodreads, and on the reviewer’s website, which you can find here. Sincere thanks, Megan!
The review:
You know you’re addicted to something when you cannot give it up no matter how are you try. The Magician’s Curse was very addicting. I couldn’t put it down. Herman sets out on her own to make a better life for herself. She didn’t expect to run into a magical man who had a curse placed on his family. In order to break that curse, Stephan must break the heart of his true love and possibly lose her forever. This heart breaking tale kept me riveted until the very last word. I’m still reeling from the deep emotions and revelations. Such an amazing book. There is more to come for Herman, Stephan, and Nina. I’m excited to know where this journey goes from here. ~ Megan Starkweather
When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesnât expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom sheâll fall hopelessly in love.
Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows sheâs the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Hermanâs happily ever after, before it really begins?
Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magicianâs Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.
You can pre-order the Kindle version of The Magician’s Curse and have it automatically delivered to your device or app on June 27th by clicking the following links: Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon Australia, or Amazon where ever else you are in the world. You can also pre-order it through Kobo worldwide here. The paperback will be available on or close to June 27th.
When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesnât expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom sheâll fall hopelessly in love.
Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows sheâs the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Hermanâs happily ever after, before it really begins?
Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magicianâs Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.
Official release date: June 27, 2017! Pre-order your Kindle copy today here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721ZH2KN
Available soon on Kobo, and on June 27th in paperback on Amazon.
An excerpt from Chapter 2:
The moment Stephen stepped out the door, the foyer fell silent again. He didnât have to look at any of the interviewees perched, alert upon burgundy velvet-covered benches against both sides of the room, to know their eyes were on him. They were drawn to him as though he were a human magnet, just as Herman had been. He passed the stairs, turned right, and stepped into the dining room where his agent, Margaret, waited for him to arrive.
âHey,â she said without looking up. She sat poring over the applications that were strewn across the large antique dining room table. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, staring at the top of her dark mane of hair shining in the light of the chandelier above her head. Her long, graceful fingers, poised to turn a page, were an elegant extension of the rest of her lithe body. Finally, she looked up and took in his appearance with icy-green eyes. She was every bit as beautiful as any of the women outside.
âWhatâs the matter with you?â she asked. Being inseparable for five years, both as best friends and then co-workers, made it easy for her to tell when there was something different, however subtle, about him.
âI found her,â Stephen said, his back still to the door.
âWho?â
âShe has a perfect body and long, brown hair and the bluest eyes youâve ever seen. And her lips! Full and beautiful. And the way they move when she speaks ⊠absolutely captivating.â
Margaret narrowed her eyes. âYou hired someone on the train again, didnât you?â It was a statement more than a question.
Stephen nodded.
âOkay,â she said, sitting back in her chair. âTell me more about her.â
âI think sheâs running away from home. She has a job to go to, but she agreed to come and check this one out. Sheâs sweet and innocent and sheâs almost eighteen.â
Margaret crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes even more.
âNo, I didnât audition her the same way I did the others,â he said.
âSo you didnât bang her in the limo on the way here.â
âNo! Sheâs not of age. And anyway, I knew from the second I saw her that sheâs the one.â
Margaret began to say something just as the door opened on the far side of the room to her left, and Nina came in from the kitchen. Both Stephen and Margaret glanced at the slight young woman and then at each other.
âShould I leave the two of you alone?â Margaret asked.
Stephen shook his head almost imperceptibly and walked over to have a quiet word with the girl. After a few seconds she bowed and backed out of the room, and Stephen turned back to his friend.
âWell then,â Margaret said, throwing her hands up and glaring down at the stacks of paper in front of her. âTell them all to go home.â
âNo, I still want to interview them.â
âWhat the hell for?â
âHerman might not take the job.â
Margaret raised her eyebrows. âHerman?â
âYeah.â
âOkay, let me get this straight. Youâre telling me sheâs the one you want but that she might not stay. Iâm confused.â
He stood, silently pleading with his friend to understand what he had only begun to comprehend himself.
âWhat the hell is wrong with you, Stephen? Iâve never seen you undone like this before âŠâ
Margaret put her hand up to her mouth, realization dawning on her face. âOh my God,â she said quietly.
He closed his eyes as he spoke. âIt doesnât matter whether or not sheâll be my assistant, Margaret.â He opened his eyes and swallowed hard. âSheâs the girl Iâm going to marry.â
I started writing The Great Dagmaru in November 2011 for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I’d completed the challenge with 50,000 words twice already, but in 2011 it wasn’t meant to be. My entire family got sick that month and we were in and out of the hospital. Yet I persisted with my novel because I’d fallen in love with these characters in a way I’d never fallen in love with my characters before.
After eighteen months, I finally wrote “The End” and then I went into a strange depression for a couple of weeks. It was a book hangover with a mighty kick – a kick mighty enough to make me continue the story. I’m currently working on Book 3.
I hope to have Book 2 edited and released by early 2018. In the meantime, thanks to the incredible, torturous (I’m not easily satisfied, apparently) work of my lovely cover artist, Belinda, (you can find her here) I finally have the opportunity to present to you the cover of my first book in the series The Great Dagmaru, entitled The Magician’s Curse.
1. Itâs never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the âjot itâ part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesnât have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a âJot.â If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!
2. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You donât have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct dayâs prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when youâll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).
2a. Since today is Wednesday, I challenge you to make your JusJoJan post a one-liner. If you don’t care to, or if you’ve already written your post, no problem. Remember, with One-Liner Wednesday you can write anything – it’s only a prompt to write one line, not necessarily to keep to the same theme as mine. The rules that Iâve made for myself (but donât always follow) for âOne-Liner Wednesdayâ are:
(i) Make it one sentence.
(ii) Make it either funny or inspirational.
(iii) Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
(iv) Have fun!
(v) Use our One-Liner Wednesday badge!
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3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, youâll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggersâ entries â the more you visit others, the more theyâll visit you! If youâre participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will be at the top.
4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.
5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing â youâre going to title it, right? Thereâs your jot!
6. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you donât have to use the prompt word of theday. You can link any kind of jot back here. Even your shopping list. Note: If itâs 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.
7. If youâd like to, use the JusJoJan badge (above) in your post so that others can find your post more easily.
One of the amazing things about writing a novel set in a real city is the opportunity to visit it. I went even further in my book, The Great Dagmaru, and had my main character, Stephen Dagmar, go to school at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. That I get tingles walking around the beautiful old campus is an understatement.
When I took these pictures, I thought of our dear departed friend, Paul Curran. He went to this school too. I hoped to show them to him, but I never had the chance.
Enjoy.
I took this picture not so much for the doors but to capture the reconstructive work they were doing. Note the missing bricks on the left.
Queen’s Theological Hall, east side
East side door.
Back of the Queen’s Theological building
…and the front.
Sign reads: “Same bat time, same bat channel.
“We’re awesome
you can be awesome too.”
I’ve been craving cheese lately. I just want to spread a lovely coat of cheese over everything I eat. And I have no idea why. Maybe I’m lacking calcium, or vitamin D, since I haven’t had much chance to get out of the house lately. I miss my paper route for that reason and that reason only. It was a pain in the neck when I had to do it in the snow and I didn’t have a babysitter, but it did force me to get out of the house and walk around the block every day. And hey, who wouldn’t want to get paid for walking around the block every day?
Instead, I’ve swapped that occupation for one of trying to get my work published. I was truly amazed at how much work it takes to advertise a book. I haven’t been doing all that well, apparently, since I’ve only sold 3 in the last month. I have had some great reviews though, which I should make a habit of posting here to remind people I have a book for sale and to keep the reminders somewhat fresh. Anyway, as you can probably guess I was making more money on my paper route than I am as an author. So far.
I’m coming up to the point where I’ll soon need advance-reader copy (ARC) reviews. I’d like to have a few posted when my next book comes out, so people can see what they’re getting on launch day. OH, and I had a bit of a bite from a local radio station. The story of The Great Dagmaru takes place in the real city of Kingston, Ontario. I mentioned this on Facebook to the rock station I actually mention in the book, and they told me to let them know when the novel comes out. Maybe I’ll get a plug from them. đ
I have no idea what this all has to do with coats, other than cheese … I promise my novels aren’t cheesy. That’s the one thing I don’t put cheese on. Or in. Hey, is that lasagna?
lindaghill.com 