Wednesday, February 29, 2012

KICKSTARTER PROJECT

We launched!
Yesterday Matt & I were finally able to launch our project on the awesome KICKSTARTER site:) We we're so excited to be accepted within one day of submitting our proposal to them! I won't say much about it here...just go to the site and you will learn everything about what we're doing...or trying to do.

I do want to thank Ryan Phelps and Gaven Cox from Channel 3 T.V. for putting together our awesome video:) I would REALLY appreciate it if everyone will check it out!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/622390070/author-carol-hansen-musician-matt-lande-merge-in-w

Thanx guys!

Talk soon:)

Monday, February 27, 2012

Just a Heads up...

Yay! Just letting you all know that Matt & I will be launching our KICKSTARTER site first thing in the morning! Soooo....keep an eye out!

Talk soon!:)xo

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Positive & negitive



Ya know, as an author, one of the hardest things is to receive a review from someone who, for one reason or another, just really doesn't like your book. I ask those who read my story to give me input...whether positive or negative. So far, I have only received two negative reviews and even though they are hard to read, they are still appreciated. I realize that everyone has different tastes and levels of learning, so each will critique differently. I just hope that readers realize that as an author, we too have different styles of writing and levels of learning, so our story is going to reflect us individually. There are some who are knowledgeable about every aspect of grammar, punctuation and such, and others like me, who know the basics and learn as we go. We all use resources that are readily available to us and do the best we know how.

That's the beauty of learning. Anyone who has any kind of creative talent, learns by pouring themselves into their project and that's what makes it..and us...unique. Just because it is done differently, doesn't mean it is wrong. That's how new things are born...by thinking outside the box and doing something different.

It's funny how peoples expectations reflect their opinion. One person may read a book and totally miss the whole story because they are busy picking apart the writing style, grammar or the punctuation. Others judge a book by a whole other slew of reasons, but they need to realize that the story is written because of creativity of a mind.. a human mind...and human's aren't perfect. I don't think I have ever read a book where I haven't seen some type of error or typo. But, every one is human...even writers and their editors.

After writing, DarkStar, I have a whole new appreciation for anyone who has ever written a book. I had NO idea how hard it is and how taxing it is on your mind. An author puts heart and soul into their project, just like a musician or an artist...or any other creative person. We all start with a thought and let it expand and grow, hopefully, until it becomes something wonderful, something we are excited to share with the world, something that we're proud to put our name on. We hope that others will enjoy our efforts and embrace our project, but I'm learning that some will...some won't. I just hope that everyone stops to realize the very few things in life are perfect, but then, once again, neither are we...we're just human.

I don't profess to be the best writer and I probably never will be, but I'm sure having fun creating my, DarkStar world! I really appreciate everyone who loves my book...and those who don't...because I am growing and learning from both:) 
Talk Soon:)xo

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Writer's Digest DarkStar Review

Yesterday I received a fun surprise in the mail. I had forgotten that I submitted DarkStar to "Writer's Digest" and I received an award and evaluation! So cool:) Thought I'd share...

Judge's commentary:

 "The writing is smooth and rich with this author's passion for telling an exciting tale. The book is well structured in the way the plot unfolds and Alec's adventure entertains with the help of many surprises along the way. The author writes an engaging narrative of her protagonists' journey into the realm of wizardry and magic, and the inherent suspense is fully realized. Alec and Amrie and the other character's, both the hero's and villains, are, individually and collectively, certainly strong enough to carry this narrative, which prompts the reader's interest in always wanting to know what will happen next."

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "poor" and 5 meaning "excellent," this is how they rated DARKSTAR:

Plot: 3  (I still feel good about this)

Grammar: 5  !! (not bad for a country hick...huh..huh:))

Character Development: 4 :)

Production quality and cover design: 4 :)

That's 16 out of 20......SWEET! For being my very first attempt at writing and doing it by myself by self publishing, I think I did pretty good. Can you tell I'm excited:)

HAPPY FEBRUARY! The SWEET month!:)

Talk Soon:)xo