Ancient History Day.

Ancient History Day. 

I love looking back and seeing what amazing things happened or mysteries that haven't been solved. 😊

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/sarcophagus-press-conference-0011057

Discovering New Authors

Discovering new authors, in particular - new indie authors can be a minefield. Who do you choose?

There are thousands of new self-published writers getting their work in front of the reader every week. The world of publishing has changed (in my opinion) for the better. While there is a place for the traditionally published books, there is a sense of unbound freedom that an indie author has.

Finding them is the key. 

A great place to start is:

https://selfpublishingadvice.org/alli-campaigns/ethical-author/?affid=2211

https://www.indieauthornews.com/p/top-50-indie-books.html

http://www.theindieview.com/indie-author-list/

These sites all offer something different. The first shows resources mainly for the writing community but gives you a good sense of where the self-publishing community is at, currently. 

The next two have a list of some great writers. Each one has a unique approach to their storytelling. I think you'll really enjoy it.

How Has The Self-Published World Changed and Why Should I Consider Them?

Over the years being self-published used to be (in large part) looked down upon. Perhaps for good reason. Writers may not have spent the money and/or time to edit their book or have a professionally designed cover, etc. They just wrote about their passion and hit "publish".

Fast forward to today and the industry has grown into a massive industry including resources for editing (plus editors willing to help the fledgling author), cover designers which also include (in some cases) a professional photographer and model. Plus websites like Book Bub willing to showcase their works. 

Growth is the only thing that is happening 

Now, it appears from a report of 2017 that the indie community is gaining ground over traditionally published books:

http://authorearnings.com/report/january-2018-report-us-online-book-sales-q2-q4-2017/

This is exciting news for us, small-time publishers. (Yes, the indie author is a publisher even though they only publish their own works.)

This is the perfect time to be looking for that new author. May you enjoy discovering your next series of books from that new writer!

Mark Canniff is a paranormal mystery author - with a twist! You can find him at www.markcanniff.com  or on Facebook: Mark Canniff

Mark first published "Dream, Recurring" back in 2016. Even though his story has been received well, he has grown as an indie author and is currently working on a revision for book 1 and states that it should be out in 2019. Book 2 in the series will follow shortly after that.

Benefits of Reading "Dream, Recurring"

Benefits of Reading "Dream, Recurring".

As the new revision takes shape one question keeps going over in my head. How do I show you the benefits for you, the reader, for a book that is fiction?

Non-fiction, I get, that's easy. I would have already done the homework on that but how do I write it in this case?

Well, for starters, I could focus on the main theme. 

There are a number of themes going through the book but the one I like to focus on is "forgiveness". This subject, let's face it, can take years to figure out. I know it did for me...

I was sexually abused as a child. While the man in question was found guilty, back in that day, even our doctor said not to worry about the effects that had in my life. "He'll grow out of it."

My mom listened to that and thought "if the doctor is saying it, I guess that's what I'll do."

The short answer to all of that was it put me into a prison of my own making - one that would last 35 years. It wasn't until I went to therapy to finally heal the past, I found what I was looking for "Forgiveness".

Not just for him but for me too. In fact, one of the hardest things to do was let go of the pain I had harbored for myself.

When I did, that's when I realized that's what forgiveness is all about. And so, I relay this message to you:

In the revision of the book, you will discover how the main character moves through her own pain in search of forgiveness.

I  hope you are able to connect with it much better and ultimately, maybe, the story helps you, in a small way, to understand your journey. (If forgiveness is part of your path.) Most of us seem to have pain that's hard to let go, possibly from a past event or people that did something that we can't release.

Forgiveness is all about letting go of the pain you hold onto, not actually saying to someone "I forgive you, you can now return into my life".

Heck no! Why would you want them to repeat the pain they did to you? At the same time, when you release the suffering from your heart, you remove the negative, trapped emotion to one filled with love. 

This is the key to that path. 

Having walked this sojourn, I understand it much better than if I didn't go down this road. One might argue that if I didn't go through with it, I might not be able to write about it.

Forgiveness is hard. But it is in these depths of pain and suffering we find the strength we need to let go and heal. 

If this resonates with you, can you do the same? Maybe the new revision will help you with your journey.

Mark

Update on Progress

Update on Progress:

It's been a long time since my last post. I wanted to bring you up to speed on my work for the revision of book one.

Here goes:

"The short version is:

I've completed my portion of the editing (yay!) and now the first three chapters are complete of the proofreading process. In addition, I'm making final tweaks to the cover.

The slightly longer version (sorry, it's a little long):

Whew! Completing the editing (before it goes to the Editor) is HUGE! I've added in new material (to help show the main character better and to deepen her arc. I've put things into "third person limited", meaning any thoughts which are read, can only be Lucy's. Past-tense should be fixed. Plus the following:

Style,
Grammar,
Overuse,
Readability,
Cliche,
Sticky (I've kept to between 40-49.9% most of the way),
Diction (except in some dialogue places),
Echos (much better),
Dialogue Tags,
Consistency,
Pacing (decent),
Pronouns

With all that work, I still need to have a Proofreader, Editor, and Beta Reader.

Why? Because I still miss things. And, like an inspector in a factory, the second, third, and fourth set of eyes help. Anyway, onward we go. Almost there." 😊

This excerpt was taken from my Facebook post. But I wanted to expand on a few things...

"Sticky"

This refers to conjunctions in a sentence. Meaning words that join other words together to make a sentence. (For example, if; that; the; a; just; etc.)

There are many of them and the goal is to have a sentence's length to be 40% of them or less. (I don't worry about it while blogging because I want to give the effect that I'm talking to you in conversation.)

The percentage I went for (unless I was super close to 40% anyway), was between 40-49.9%. This number may change as the editing progresses and it might end up being closer to 40% but for right now, that's where I'm at. The sentences seem to flow well. (I've had my proofreader say that the book reads better.)

"Diction"

Diction is quite clean. Except in some dialogue spots. That's because we don't necessarily speak with perfect dialogue. So it looks more authentic if the errors are there when someone is talking.

"Echos"

This category displays words that are close together. This is where I would get the thesaurus out and change what I needed to. The goal was to bring those repeating words down to 10 or less for every 500 words or less. Didn't always happen but I'm pleased with the results thus far.

From here on out, I'm relying on my team to help me through the rest. And so far, my proofreader is doing a fantastic job! I can't wait to have this complete, copyrighted (for the revision), cover complete and published so you can take a look at how my writing has evolved.

Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic day!
Mark

It's My Birthday! - You might enjoy this

Well, today is my birthday and I'm in a giving mood. I thought to make a change I'd share some things that have happened on this day, April 25th.

Firstly, I was born April 25, 1970. My mom named me after a family friend. I'm guessing she really liked the name. Anyway, years later I discovered that I was born on St. Mark's Day.

Now neither mom nor I realized this and I certainly wasn't named after him. But I did find it interesting. Perhaps there's a spiritual significance there, I don't know. (I'm a spiritual person in my beliefs, I don't follow Christianity.)

Some things that do happen on this day in the name of St. Mark are:

Italy:

In Tresnuraghes, a small village in Sardinia (Italy), a traditional Sardinian feast is held. Local shepherd families in this predominantly pastoral community offer sheep and oversee cooking them in a gesture of thanks to Providence. Other families offer bread as Thanksgiving or for favors desired. Hundreds of people, mostly from the said village, but a large number of other people as well, eat and drink to satiation together.^[1]

Venice:

Saint Mark's Day (Italian: Festa di San Marco), also known as the rosebud festival (Venetian: Festa del bocolo), is a festival in Venice held on 25 April celebrating Venice's patron saint, Saint Mark. On this day, men traditionally give a single rosebud to the women they love.^[2][3][4]

According to legend, the tradition originated in the 8th century, when a man of low social standing is said to have fallen in love with a noblewoman from Venice. In order to win her father's approval, he became involved in a distant war. He was mortally wounded in battle but managed to pluck a rose from a nearby rosebush for his loved one. A companion was entrusted with returning the blood-stained rose to his lover.^[4][5][6]

Lithuania:

In Lithuania, St. Mark is considered the guardian of earth and harvests. There was a ban on eating meat in order to have a good harvest. People avoided "touching the earth", i.e. no plowing or digging, to give the earth a rest before the upcoming hard work of planting and harvest.^[7]

Mexico:

In Paraíso, Tabasco, Mexico, Saint Mark is celebrated on the 25 April due to his patronage of that city.

Pretty cool huh? I certainly didn't realize that.  So let's carry this theme of "On This Day" and see where it leads us...

Other things that have happened on this day, April 25th:

• 1660 English Convention Parliament meets and votes to restore 
• Charles II
• 1792 Guillotine first used in France, executes highwayman Nicolas 
• Pelletier
• 1846 Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of 
• Texas, triggering the Mexican-American War
• 1945 "Elbe Day" - the US and Soviet forces meet at Torgau, Germany 
• on the Elbe River during the invasion of Germany in WWII
• 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson's discovery of the double helix 
• structure of DNA is published in "Nature" magazine
• 1954 Bell labs announce the 1st solar battery made from silicon. It has 
• about 6% efficiency.
• 1990 Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by shuttle Discovery

Wow! There's a lot going on, right? My only wish is that the Guillotine wasn't first used on this day. I mean, it's not something I want as a "notable" event, if you catch my drift...

But I do love the fact that the Hubble space telescope was placed into orbit, so I guess that makes up for it.

Now, besides photography one of my interests is in aviation. Some of the things that happened on this day in aviation history are:

1868 – Birth of John Bevins Moisant, American aviator. He designed, built and flew the first metal aircraft, an experimental aluminum plane, in 1909.

1940 – Hermann Förster is the first German night fighter pilot to shoot down a British bomber during World War II. Flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109D-1, he downs a Handley Page Hampden laying naval mines off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein.

1966 – Death of Corrado Gex, an Italian aviator, politician and first pilot authorized to land on a glacier; he was killed in the crash of his Pilatus Porter while attempting to land near Castelnuovo di Ceva in Italy.

1972 – Hans-Werner Grosse sets a sailplane distance record of 908 miles in a Schleicher ASW 12.

1980 – A contingent of American military aircraft embarked on a commando raid April 24, known as Operation Eagle Claw, to rescue a group of American hostages held by Iran. On April 25, a U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky RH-53D Sea Stallion (shown above) and a U.S. Air Force Lockheed EC-130E Hercules collide during an evacuation effort; eight servicemen are killed and five other Sea Stallions are abandoned at the site.

2009 – First flight of the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, a modified 737-800 with an anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare role.

Once again, pretty cool stuff! The last one is notable for me since I work for Boeing.

In the paranormal world, Oliver Cromwell was born on this day in 1599. It is said that he haunts Basing House in Hampshire. 

https://europaranormal.com/ghosts/the-ghost-of-oliver-cromwell-1599-1658/

Well, I hope you enjoyed this journey into history. Have you ever wondered what happened on your birthday?

Mark