Sneak Peek of "Awake In The Mad World"

"Awake In The Mad World" by Damon Ferrell Marbut

Damon's novel, "Awake in the Mad World", is his debut novel and is tentatively set for a late June, early July release in print.
But you can get your copy right now at Kobo.
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Awake+in+the+Mad+World%22

Find it for your Nook here
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/awake-in-a-mad-world?keyword=awake+in+a+mad+world&store=nookstore
And the Kindle version will be out a couple weeks after the print, which is also exclusive through Amazon and Createspace. 

A Pre-Release Book Discussion in Damon's own words.

Elements of my novel "Awake in the Mad World" are, inarguably, “coming of age, identity and self-discovery”. But also, it’s about place, and asks, Where do the dreamers fit in? Where, in the modern American conversation that’s been changed by technology and is continuing to be changed by the political landscape? How we communicate and what we’re communicating about is managing some sort of odd relevance and mindlessness simultaneously. That said, is the importance, then, of one’s search for Self in this country being put on the backburner as greed and distraction take precedent by governing how we define our survival as artistic, creative thinkers? This is not an often nor heavily vocalized concern among those of my novel, not this particular topic, but they are on the edge of its weight and worry, and are therefore living in the early part of the new millennium where this conversation is developing as an imperative. And though the novel’s characters representing this search are post-graduates in their mid-twenties, the disillusioned and disenfranchised in our culture are of all demographics, ages, income ranges, genders and ethnicities. My novel is about human relationships, also, and how the growth and purity of our ambitions are shaped and altered by the friends and family we include on our paths to not perfection, but wholeness.

Damon's Blog  has plenty of information about it and readers can connect with him there at http://damonferrellmarbut.com/ 

Damon has set up his blog to be a forum to discuss anything that pertains to the craft and process of writing and publishing,  He hopes it becomes a location for fans to become friends as well. So make sure you stop by and wish him well with his new book and keep up to date with everything he has going on!

You can also find Damon on Goodreads

 http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6234255.Damon_Ferrell_Marbut

And Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/DamonFerrellMarbut

About this author

Damon lives and works in New Orleans, LA. He self-published his debut novel through Createspace, a novel entitled Awake in the Mad World, which is set for release near July 1. He currently is working on a new novel largely based in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and has a non-fiction book proposal under consideration with a publisher.

Another Rejection Letter

I know the title sounds horrible, but...
Yes, I did receive another rejection email yesterday.
And at first I was actually happy because...
I have been thinking of self publishing this particular book.
It's the first book in my series "Chris' Journey Turning Different Corners"
And then I was depressed...
What's wrong with this book? It's a great story!
And then I was...Hmm...I don't know...Understanding, maybe?
I have read countless blogs about querying and they tell you,
                       "Do your homework!"
And they are right! From the beginning I have questioned my genre with this particular story.
Is it a "Romance?" Yes, basically speaking, but it has all these other variables to it.
It starts out with "Chris" being a 12 year old foster child and gets to 18, falling in love,
having sex, getting married, and then tragedy strikes crashing her world down around her,
Then there's abuse, and new friends, and turning points, acceptance, and closure at the age of 22,
but no HEA, because...That's where book two comes in...

Okay, so to sum it up, this is what the rejection letter said;
"Unfortunately, after careful consideration of your manuscript, we have determined that it does not fit our needs"
And they are right! Even though the agents and publishers I have queried are looking for romance novels and series, mine really does not fit their needs.
They aren't saying it's not a good story, just that as a romance novel,
it doesn't fit with the typical ones that they publish. I also know, from doing my homework,
that the last book in the series (Which was originally written as a stand alone) would fit,
but I want the first three books out there first and then I'll look into querying the final one.

Just remember "Rejection letters" can be a good thing!
Just keep doing your homework and don't give up on your dream.

How to write a book?

I have read 10,000 help blogs on "How to write a book." Well maybe only 500, but it feels like a heck of a lot more! And every single one of them tell you something different. Not only do help blogs tell you how to write books, but there's also the ones who tell you how to write queries and synopsis'. And then there are the submission processes of agents and publishers.
First you have people telling you, "No purple prose" If you don't know what that is you can find out about it here;
http://www.debstover.com/purple.html and yes, there is one small line in my book that has it, but in my defense, that part of my book took place in the '70's. And I didn't know what "purple prose" was until about 10 minutes ago!
Okay so now you are done writing and it's time to query.
First they tell you how to write a query and you would think it would be a simple process, but no it's not. It can be one of the hardest things you'll ever do and I think I just submitted the shortest query in history! Very short and to the point. Oh well. It was my first submission and let's hope I get better as I go along.
Second they tell you, "Don't query a series." So what if they are asking for series?

So here's the deal;
I've written my book. I wrote it the way the story played out in my head. I proofread it and did the edits and reread it. It's done! It might be only 55,000 words, but it is a tragic love story with closure and I cried through a major part as I was writing it. Hopefully that's because of the story and not my writing. No, it doesn't have a happily ever after. Not yet anyways, because it is the first book in a series of four books and then you get the happily ever after. Which, by the way, has been written also and is apprx. 93,000 words.

So the moral of this story is...
Write your way, in your own words. Take time to double check spelling. Make sure the story flows and comes together nicely and do your best on queries and the synopsis and if they like it.... Read the help blogs either before you begin writing or after finishing the first draft. And once you've submitted that book to the agents and publishers you want, take a deep breath and don't start stressing on what you think you did or did not do. It's been sent and it's up to the the people you queried now.

Do You Doubt Your Work?

This is my horoscope this morning... Cold Feet? Me? Yes, actually I do have doubts this morning.

I have been reading little excerpts from other writer and author's books. And for me that's a No-No.
The reason is, I tell myself, is I don't want to be influenced by other's writing while writing my current book.
But over the last few days I have stumbled upon little bits and pieces here and there on blogs that I follow.
The problem is I find myself saying, "That's awesome. That's great!" And because I might be in a slump on my own writing at the moment I say to myself, "Why would anyone want to read what I write?"
Then I go back to my current work and start reading through it again, and tell myself, "It's not so bad. :-)

Do you have doubts as you are plotting out that perfect book? Do you get cold feet?
What do you do to get your feet warmed back up?

Energy
			Jupiter Trine Pluto
			November 19, 2011 to December 17, 2011
			Don't wait a second longer than you absolutely have to. You have the power in your eager little paws. Don't get a case of cold feet now!

Illustrations

Good morning! Hope everyone's day is going great so far! I have a question, like that's anything new...

My oldest son is a natural artist and I want him to sketch some illustrations for my current novel to be used on different pages.
 Let's say your chapter title page is about phone calls or ice creams, or puppy dogs, I don't know whatever comes to mind.
 Anyway on that page I'd like to have a sketch along with the chapter name.

 I've seen it done on other books, but what I want to know is when you send your novel off to the agent or publisher should you have the illustrations on the pages that you want when sending it in.

 Or should that be something discussed when you are working on the details of the cover and publishing it?

Titles!

I will update my blog later today, but thought you might like to check out a couple of links while you are waiting.

Here is Rachelle's new blog post http://www.rachellegardner.com/2010/03/how-to-title-your-book/

And here is a fun link on analyzing your book title http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php

Have fun writing! And reading today!

If you have a great blog you'd like to share or would like me to follow post it here on my Facebook page!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Different-Corners/282985538382248?ref=ts

Epilogue or Happily Ever After

Do you write an epilogue? Or do you just write the Happily ever After? I've been doing a little research on the differences but would like to know what other writers feel about the two. See the ending of my story will partly be a summary of what happened in the character's lives. It takes place 17 years in the future. And it is told mainly in the second person point of view.
I did find some info here http://www.ehow.com/how_5001509_write-epilogue-novel.html
But by  #4 Avoid the "happily ever after" trap. Happy endings are uplifting, but they should not be used as a way to minimize the conflict that occurred in the novel.


 I am thinking they are telling me not to change my "Happily ever after" into an epilogue.


I will continue to do more research, but I would love your viewpoints on the two.


Wishing you all a great weekend and as always, "Happy Writing"

Adding Characters

   I was reading a book review the other day about how a writer threw in a new character on page 170 and the reviewer wasn't happy about how the writer added this new character. I haven't read the book so I don't know exactly how the character was introduced into the story line. But what I'd like to know is, "Is there a certain protocol or etiquette a writer should follow when adding new characters?"

The reason I'm asking is because I too have added new characters further into my current novel, but have introduced them in a way that lets the reader know who they are and why they are there. I find that these new characters are important to the story line at this point, but they also might not make another appearance in the remainder of the story.

I look at it as watching a movie, you might have a character be there for 5 minutes and yet they are a vital part of the story line.

Agent or Publisher?

Good morning and Happy Friday to everyone!

 My question today is Literary Agent or Publisher?
When you wrote your first book, which did you go through and why?
How did you find them?
Were they referred to you?
And what are the traits you looked for?

  My fear is that I will choose the wrong one and after jumping through all the hoops
I will find myself right back where I started from.

As always would love to hear you views, comments
and any helpful tips that you have learned along your path
to being published!

Have a great day and a beautiful weekend!

Monday Update

Good morning! On my last post I was telling you about how I was at a very crucial part of the story line, knowing exactly what was supposed to be happening and yet could not get just the right words to convey the thoughts, feelings and emotions. Well I am happy to report that as of yesterday the channels to those words have opened back up and are flowing freely! Yay! It is hard when those things happen. What do you do? Keep trudging ahead? Stop and hope you can work it out in your mind. Skip it and come back? I do a little of all three I guess. But mainly the first two seem to work out better for me.

Crucial part

I have been working on my book off and on today. I am at a crucial part of the story and know what's supposed to happen, but getting just the right wording is driving me crazy! Anyway I am up to 57,888 words typed, but probably have another 30,000 on paper still.
Q4U.... What do you do when you come to the point of "The words just don't flow!" Do you keep hammering away? Do you stop and take a break? Or do you sleep on it?

Ahhh Friday!

What is the big deal about Friday? For the 9 to 5'ers it's "Yes! The weekend is finally here! For the work at home person, Friday's are just another day. As a writer do you put down that pen and paper, or close up that laptop, at 5p.m. Friday, not opening it again until Monday morning? No you don't. The work time of a writer is so different. Being a writer you find that your work is going through your head constantly until you put that final period on the last page of your current novel. Having that novel in your head 24/7 can be extremely stressful and exhilarating, but we all need some down time. Time to relax and spend quality time with family and friends. How do you pull yourself away to give yourself some "Friday" time?

Thursday Thoughts

   Good morning and happy Thursday! Today I want to talk about inspiration. What inspired you to write that new novel and keeps you writing and plugging along to reach that "Happily ever after" ending? Was it a song or combination of songs that you heard and you had an "Aha" moment? Or maybe an actor or TV character that you adore? Or did it start with just a fantasy and then the other elements came into play to give it a life all it's own?
 
 

 
 

Everyone Writes

When we write, whether it be a novel, a grocery list, a letter to a friend, or posts on Facebook, it let's people have a glimpse into our personalities, our thoughts, and our feelings. Whether we print, write cursive, or type on our computers, our words shape who we are, where we want to be, and what we want to do. Our emotions can be felt and seen just from the stroke of the pen or the exclamation point at the end of a sentence. Not everyone can write a novel, but I'm trying. I can't say I will be successful at it, but then who can ever say they will be. Writers need people to want to read what they write, to hold their attention, to give them either something to hope for, or whisk them away from their everyday life, even if it's just for a few short hours. I am a big fan of Stephen King. Just like many others, I like his style of writing, how he keeps you on the edge of your seat, makes you afraid to turn off the lights and has you saying just one more chapter then I'll go to bed! He has a way of pulling you in and keeping you hooked. I wonder, once he starts writing a new novel, does he walk around and think of nothing else. Since I started thinking about my novel months ago, before I even put pen to paper, I find I am constantly in that world. When I'm having a writer's block, doesn't matter what I'm doing, all of a sudden a conversation will pop up in my head and I've got the next chapter working itself out. The novel seems to take over my entire being, my thoughts, my feelings, even the way I do things. And I am enjoying every minute of it.

Have a beautiful and  creative day everyone! I am off to write!

A New Corner

Well on my last post i was supposed to be telling you a little about me, so here goes. I like to be creative. I took a knitting class with my sister, Joyce, when I was 12 and from there I learned how to crochet from my sister, Linda, Which she couldn't teach me much more than your classic chain stitch because she was left handed and I  am right. I moved on from there to my favorite craft which is plastic canvas. I also have a passion for creating custom gift baskets, I have a new passion now though which brings me to a new corner in my life and that is writing. About 8 months ago I had a fantasy going around in my head. This isn't so unusual for me, but after about 5 months I decided I needed to put it down on paper and write a very sensuous, eroctic love story And that is very unusual for me.  I never realized how hard it is to write a love story or any book for that matter, but I find it is coming along quite nicely. I was reading a blog about writing and the writer mentioned, finishing up your story, getting to your happy ending and I stressed for two days wondering how was I going to finish off this story. I mean I hadn't even thought about an ending. And then I woke up on the third day and there it was, my happy ending, right there in me head. It was perfect! Now all I have to do is finish the first chapter, haha! I know, How do you move on if you can't even finish the first chapter. Well I have. I have finished writing the second, third, fourth, and fifth chapters and have the sixth chapter started. And the ending written! So I'm not your normal conventional writer, but then again who is. I will keep you updated as I move forward. Oh did I mention that this is actually the third and final book in a series. Yep! There are two books ahead of this one floating around in my head, but I think this one is the more powerful one out of the three. So stay tuned!