Marva Dasef

New Trimsize Large Print Out

2009-12-23T21:08:39Z

Not knowing when to leave well enough alone, I reformatted Tales of a Texas Boy into a 6"x9" trade paperback size. 180 pages. Why not? CreateSpace is doing the heavy lifting; all I did is reformat.

Check it out at: Tales in LP Trade paperback
180 pages. $9.95

Just a note in re: self-publishing. I self-pubbed this book, and it's done fairly well. I'm actually in the black on it.

The REASON that this book works as a self-pub is that it has a niche market: people who like to read about the early 20th Century life in the Southwest. Most "westerns" go back into the 19th C. I also made the book available in several large print formats (this specific one being the latest). It definitely appeals to older folks, so the large print was brilliant thinking on my part. Quit laughing.

The REASON I self-pubbed it are many and none have to do with being rejected by commercial publishers. I KNEW it would be rejected because it's a book of short stories and too short. I self-pubbed because the stories are tales told by my father about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression. I fictionalized a lot to fill in details, so I consider it fiction. My father was 86 when I put it out because I wanted him to be able to hold "his" book in his hands. Unfortunately, he couldn't read the stories because he's blind.

Now, trash me if you want, but you might consider checking out the Search Inside feature on Amazon to read a few pages to see that's it's not such a horrible book after all.

While I'm shopping my other books to agents and publishers, I never mention this book as a publishing credit. I know better than that. However, I'm fine if they discover the book (it's featured on my website) and read a bit before condemning it. What I dislike are people who automatically assume a book is bad because it is self- or vanity published. That's just ignorance. I know lots of self-pubbers who make their books available in ebook format for less than a buck and sometimes for free. I'm happy to provide a coupon code if you want to read my ebook free. However, you'd miss out on the old-time photos that illustrate every story.

Quest for the Simurgh - Large Print on Amazon

2009-11-29T23:37:28Z

The cover is pretty much the same, but 214 pages of 16pt type goodness.

Quest for the Simurgh Now on Amazon.

The village magician, Wafa, has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

She leads the boys on a difficult journey into the mountains in search of the elusive birds. A strange little man becomes their guide. However, they do not know he is a spirit leading them toward a battle between good and evil. Spirits, gods, and demons confront the four friends, who are being set up by the otherworldly forces for a much larger task than finding their teacher. The students were chosen to take sides in the battle which might spell the end of the world: a battle between the demons and the spirits.

Quest Now Available in Large Print

2009-11-24T23:40:39Z

Since my Tales of a Texas Boy sells best in Large Print, I thought why not do the same with Quest. Heck, nobody's buying the regular print, so give them TWO books to not buy and I'll have twice the not sales.

The new big print edition is available at CreateSpace right now and will be up on Amazon within a couple of weeks.

The cover is almost the same, but with Large Print Edition under the title. It's set in 16pt Garamond. Not HUGE, but pretty BIG.

Since it has bigger type (which I'm now demonstrating), it has more pages, thus costs a bit more. $9.95 for 214 pages.

Check it out at CreateSpace now. I'll let you all know when Amazon has it up and running.

Query Booboos

2009-10-21T02:49:15Z

When you're writing your fantasy query, do NOT say anything that will lead an agent's mind to the tired, old, same stuff written by every other newbie fantasy writer.

I won't go into detail, but just say I had an agent comment on my first page. She had EXPECTATIONS about the story because of some of the names I selected. Point is, her expectations were stupid. If she wanted trite and typical, than her expectations were spot on.

Unfortunately, my story is neither trite nor typical. However, I did get the lesson. If you say ANYTHING that has ever been used in the entire history of the world (e.g., dragons, elves, etc.) make sure your query doesn't lead the reader to believe you have the same old trite typical crap. They'll not get past that first dragon or elf mention without expecting you'll have a trite typical dragon or elf. Don't even use the words!

Just leave it at a mystical race of creatures if you're talking dragons or elves. Say 'dragon' or 'elf' and you've typecasted your book into oblivion.

I'm seriously considering taking a pen name of Kassandra. That way, I will tell the truth, but expect to be ignored. Makes life much easier. Mortals just can't help being stupid.

Since nobody reads my blog anyway, it won't hurt to mention that I've been turned down by a lot of (ahem) less than diligent query-readers who jumped to conclusions so fast, you could hardly see them move. FTL agents. Hey, I like that. We could get our rejects before we even send the queries. Saves a lot of time and stress.

P.S. Richard, you were fast on reading this on my other blogs. Thanks!!!!

Click or the Green Meanies Will Eat Your Dog

2009-10-11T23:22:14Z

I've added a complete chapter from my WIP, Scotch Broom, on my website. Click on over and peruse.

http://marvadasef.com/excerpts.aspx

Sex, Lies, and Videotape

2009-10-09T00:10:11Z

Okay, so no more videotape. Well, I still use it, but apparently I'm in the Dark Ages in regard to technology. I can record onto a DVD, but only if I'm watching (or have the channel on).

Neither here nor there. My topic is Sex and Lies. Forget about the videotape.

I'm sticking my tender toe into the water of romance. Spicy romance. E.g., the characters have sex, but I don't describe bodily parts.

Personally, I think that penises are really ugly. C'mon guys! Admit it. That piece of flesh ain't pretty. To be fair, I'm pretty certain that female genitalia is pretty nasty, too.

What gets me is that guys automatically pant over the sight of a, ahem, female genitalia, therefore men think that them waving about their bits is also sexy.

Okay, I'm ready for the Women of the World to tell me otherwise, but male genitalia is not only ugly, but creepy.

Sexy pix of men for women (at least as I can discern it) is of chests (they're all over the place in romance) without heads. Also creepy.

My personal preference for attractive male bodily parts? Forearms. I know. I'm a sad case. But those sinewy forearms are the primary sexual part. Weird, eh?

Now that I've revealed my own particular likes, you tell me. What part of the opposite sex REALLY turns you on? Guys, only answer if it is NOT breasts or butts.

I Have Been Remiss

2009-10-02T00:31:15Z

I've been writing and editing and critting others so much, I haven't been keeping up reading in my genre: juvenile fantasy. To make up for that, I ordered up a bunch of the very popular writers to see what I might be missing.

I am enjoying the books. Really. However, I see all kinds of stuff that my crit partners would knock me upside the head for doing. Switching POVs randomly. Using the horrid adverbs. Repetition. Well, the list goes on. What can I say? The well-known, famous, richly-rewarded writers make all the goofy mistakes that I make. Apparently, however, they didn't have a crit group and, somehow, their agents didn't notice how they broke every rule in the book.

I won't mention the books, because they are very popular, and somebody is bound to want an argument about the quality of the writing. I don't want to argue. I just want to state that the big names make every stupid newbie mistake that unpublished authors make. BUT, they seem to get by the sentinels.

This is what I glean from this information. You can make every freaking booboo, but still get published if you write in some indiscernible style that appeals to agents and publishers. What is that style? There's no telling since said agents and publishers cannot articulate that certain something that sets these authors apart from the great unwashed crowd.

Until said agents and publishers can explain what the hell they want, then those of us in the slush pile can only beat our heads against the wall and cry out, "Why? Why? Why?"

It's so hard to tell why your own writing falls short, when you see horrendous examples of famous, well-paid writers committing mistakes and bad writing techniques over and over.

It's a mystery.

Good Stuff

2009-09-25T00:48:36Z

I'll admit it. My writing is not up to the standard of Meyer or whoever is the best thing since sliced bread. But, I write passably well. I also have far fewer misspelled words and typos than the average.

However, my writing is not up to par according to agents. It's not my grammar, punctuation, or spelling. I'm pretty good with that stuff. I'm lacking some "it" factor which, despite reading a lot in my genre, appears to be lacking. I don't know what it is.

I need an agent to tell me how to add that je nais se quoi, but I have to have it before an agent is interested.

Catch 22.

Short Story Published

2009-09-22T16:43:05Z

My story, Extraordinary Rendition, is up on Fear of Monkeys, a site for political fiction and non-fiction.

This story was previously published at The Deepening.

"If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want
them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear -
never to see them again - you send them to Egypt." Bob Baer - Former CIA Agent

Crits from Amazon

2009-09-21T00:25:08Z

I do have some folks who are not sock puppets that really like Quest for the Simurgh. I'll just dup their reviews here for those of you who won't look over >>>> there at Amazon. Oh, yeah. I also have Kindle and Smashwords editions for those who like cheap ebooks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Story., August 18, 2009

By	Kevin M. Robinson ""movie watcher"" (Saint Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I couldn't put it down. Enjoyed it more than a lot of other books similar in story matter. The characters were well crafted and the heroine was believable in that you wanted to go along with her on her quest. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to sink into a good adventure tale.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quest for the Simurgh, August 26, 2009

By	Elizabeth Bonecher-Brenaman "E.Brenaman" (Winterset, Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel is a delight. Packed full of adventure, it weaves timeless myth and lore with contemporary characters and a fulfilling storyline. The characters felt genuine, and as a reader I cared about their plight. The author holds true to a wonderful and consistent voice while pulling the reader into her world. A lovely, fun-packed tale - an exciting read for all ages.

5.0 out of 5 stars What's a simurgh?, September 15, 2009

By	John Bushore "aka MonkeyJohn" (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My first thought when seeing that Marva Dasef had a new book out was:
> "What the heck is a simurgh?" My second was: "Who cares?"
>
> But I'm familiar with Marva's work; I wanted to see what she had to
> offer. I had no clue what to expect when I finally got around to
> reading it. Folks, this ain't no Harry Potter. Thank goodness! That's
> been done to death. Marva's magic school is nothing like Hogwart's
> Academy.

> Marva's simple school of magic features a wizard who teaches
> about magical creatures but has never even seen one. Not only that, he
> teaches the kids reading and writing before they even get started on
> wizardry. Marva, through her mediocre mage, gives the young reader
> his/or/her first hint that the pen is not only mightier than the
> sword, but it can evoke more magic than a wand.
>
Faiza, her heroine, battles alongside gods against demons, where
> the puny magic of humans would be worthless anyway. Can she use her
> wits and lead her merry band of men..., er, boys-to save the human
> race from worldwide war? Epic battles test her, but her teacher has
> taught her well.
>
> So final thoughts to Marva Dasef: Why didn't you come up with a title
> that would give a potential reader a hint of the simple, yet elegant
> tale that is Quest for the Simurgh? Final thoughts to the reader: I
> still haven't revealed what a simurgh is, have I? Buy this book and
> find out for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

Review: Prisoners of Gender by John Bushore

2009-09-14T16:24:48Z

Prisoners of Gender

by John Bushore

Buy the trade paperback at Amazon for $9.95

Buy the ebook at Eternal Press $6.95

First off a disclaimer. I am not a regular reader of "spicy" literature. I write kids' books and I generally like to remain pure of heart (quit laughing, you people who know me!).

When John Bushore asked if I'd read "Prisoners of Gender" and I'd seen an excerpt, I enthusiastically agreed.

I'm not sorry. Hey, John! You're a hot guy! No MonkeyJohn kiddie books here for sure.

This is a wonderful fantasy, sexy, fun read.

Princess Marissa and gallant soldier Bardak are the victims of a badly handled curse. They switch bodies and have to learn to live with a huge change in their lives, all the while seeking the nasty Wizard who could make them swap back to their original bodies.

Marissa starts to like the rugged, strong, sexy male body she now occupies. Bardak is torn. He has sworn to protect the Princess, but the Princess is now in two places. Not only is he wearing her body, he has to also protect the mighty warrior occupied by the princess. Confusion ensues.

Well, you can see where the title comes from. As the two learn how to deal with their decidedly different circumstances, they bicker while being mightily attracted to their own bodies worn by the other person. I was reminded of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy arguing it out in the 40's comedies which (way ahead of their time) showed gender prejudice for what it was--a stupid set of societal rules. Unfortunately, there are countries that still think along the lines of weaker-stronger sex.

John has shown this to be the false piece of lies that every feminist has known for years. His handling of Bardak in Marissa's body and Marissa in Bardak's shows his sensitivity to both sides of the physical spectrum.

Now, this is also a somewhat epic fantasy, which I define as set in an alternate fantasy world unrelated to the world in which we live. I say 'somewhat' only because the book is not 200,000 words long with way too many mighty thews. I'm not a fan of epic, so I really enjoyed John's take on the fully fantasy world that epic's usually inhabit.

The writing is crisp and fast-moving. "Prisoners" is a fun romp and a good fantasy book, too.

Stars? Hey, on a five-star scale, I'd give this one 4-1/2 at least.

Operation Kindle Book Drop

2009-09-09T23:34:00Z

A fellow writer has started up a Kindle books collection for servicemen and women overseas. Quite a few have Kindles, but cannot download from Amazon or any other source since they're outside the US. Edward C. Patterson, formerly SPEC 5 E. Patterson, 6th Batallion, 60th Artillery (1966-1968), is the coordinator behind this worthy project. Writers with Kindle books they can give away can contact Edward through the KindleBoards forum:

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,13352.0.html

I donated two books via Smashwords by providing a link and coupon code for both. Edward downloaded the copies and can send them to as many service personnel as he likes.

Here are the details direct from Edward:

1- I (Edward) will maintain a list of service personnel email addresses as they come in to me.

2- Authors should have available a DRM Free Kindle compatible version of yourbook or books.

3- If you don't have that available, the easiest (and beneficial way to you as well) is to put your books up at Smashwords.com. And then download a free copy to yourself.(One author has suggested using Smashword's coupon system, which is an option. Iwill be emailing my books directly, however, anyway that you can get the book tothe troops, is fine)

4- Once you have the book in place, let me know. I'd like to have your email address. Right now, I'm using PMs, but as this takes off (and I have no doubt that it will), it will be easier for me to email new troop email addresses out to all the participating authors in one email.

5- Once the author has the email address, just send the book(s) - if many, then ZIP -and put in your subject line: Operation Kindle Book Drop. Whatever you want to put in the body of the email is up to you, and I guarantee that among the obvious good deed done stuff, you will get a response from the troop. I plan to save mine, to read on those days when I get a 1-star review and feel that I have failed somewhere.

Readers can participate by getting the word out or helping with nifty links.

It creeps, it seeps

2009-09-05T20:55:15Z

Yes, the Blob creeps and seeps, but so does "Quest for the Simurgh."

It's now live on Barnes & Noble along with Amazon in Print and Amazon in Kindle.

Of course, I've already mentioned that you can get a free download at Smashwords. Use coupon code LE99P until 9/9/09.

The ones I don't get are some third part sellers trying to hawk this book for $30 or more. What are they thinking? Surely, if anybody had the slightest interest in buying the book, they'd just do a search and find out the cheapest place to buy.

Speaking of prices, I've set the retail price at $7.95. Amazon sells for that amount, but I've undercut them with a $6.50 price tag. Of course, that isn't as much a bargain when you count in the $3.99 shipping you'd have to pay to buy through Amazon Marketplace.

Let's see, the Kindle edition is $1.99. A pretty good deal for Kindle ebooks. I'll point you to Smashwords as long as the free download coupon is good. Smashwords is in the process of putting its clients' books into a Premium Catalog. There are some rules the files have to follow to be included in the catalog. That will be cool, since B&N ebooks and Fictionwise will use the catalog for listing some or all of the books. Not sure how that will work. When the ebooks are up for sale, they'll be priced at $4.95 so everybody gets a piece of the profits. Hopefully, that will include a pittance for me, too.

Here's the backcover text, if you haven't seen it before and the cover is my current avatar.

The village magician, Wafa, has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

Honestly

2009-09-03T00:14:56Z

Books by self-pubbers are a dime a dozen. I understand that. How do we who agents and publishers consider to be unworthy prove our worthiness?

How about free ebooks? I know, ebooks are a pain to read on-line. I'd rather be holding that paper myself, so I understand entirely.

But could you sample an ebook then decide whether you might like to read it in paperback? Free, no charge, zero cost, no strings?

You can download just a sample or the whole book at Smashwords. If you think it has some merit, let me know and you can have a free, no cost to you print version of same. I just need a little bit of positive feedback. If you like, I'd love if you'd post a review on Amazon or your own blog (be sure to let me know).

Let's just go back to that free sample thing. Here's the link:

http://tinyurl.com/ltxkpu

If you want to try out the whole book, just enter coupon code LE99P at checkout. Yours for free. Or, you can just grab a sample to see if you want to bother. No problemo.

As a bunch of authors, you understand that getting your book into the public eye is your responsibility. That's true whether you self-pub, get a small publisher, or even get a major publisher. The author is now the door-to-door salesman. Read my blog at http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/2009/08/glengarry-glen-ross-of-writing.html to get my thinking.

Do you want me to buy your book? I surely will if you give me the opportunity to read a few pages for free.

Do I want to pay a big-name publisher $14.95 (or more) without even a preview? No way. But I will sample and buy if I like what you've done. I only ask that you pay me the same favor. What's it cost? A couple of clicks and a couple of minutes of download time. What do you have to lose?

Quest for the Simurgh - Print Edition Now Available

2009-08-13T22:01:10Z

Quest for the Simurgh

Ebook in Several Formats at Smashwords Use Coupon Code LE99P for a free download
Print Edition Now Available at CreateSpace
128 pages
$7.95 (send me a message to get a $2.00 off discount code)
ISBN: 978-0-578-00499-0
Texas Boy Publications

The village magician, Wafa, has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

She leads the boys on a difficult journey into the mountains in search of the elusive birds. A strange little man becomes their guide. However, they do not know he is a spirit leading them toward a battle between good and evil. Spirits, gods, and demons confront the four friends, who are being set up by the otherworldly forces for a much larger task than finding their teacher. The students were chosen to take sides in the battle which might spell the end of the world: a battle between the demons and the spirits.

Quest for the SImurgh (Fre)Ebook

2009-08-10T16:47:20Z

Quest for the Simurgh

by Marva Dasef

Free Ebook at Smashwords

Enter coupon code LE99P at checkout

The village magician, Wafa, has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

Amazon Merchant Sales

2009-07-27T23:39:04Z

When Lulu and Amazon decided to not talk to each other, I got left hanging out to dry. However, now that the Large Print edition of "Tales of a Texas Boy" is available only from me as a merchant (forget those high-priced nitwits), my sales are better than ever.

Nice to get sales here, there, and other. Kindle sales are even picking up. I've priced two of my books on Kindle at $1.99 each. Seems like Kindle owners are looking for cheap reads, so don't hesitate to set your retail price low. Some sales are better than no sales.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001E3A0RU/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IYFAWE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001JAH10M

All books for $1.99. Cheap reading, folks!

Wondrous Web Worlds 8

2009-07-08T22:11:01Z

WWW8 is now available at The Genre Mall.

Wondrous Web Worlds Vol. 8 edited by J Alan Erwine {Sam's Dot Publishing}.

Stories:

Tyree Campbell: The Quinx Solution

Marva Dasef: Final Exam

Mike Robinson: The Cyclops Conference

David Lee Summers: Through Fires and Snares

William Golynn: Poisoned Mouse

Sam Cash: Alienation

Sherry Peters: The Greatest Honor

L. Mad Hildebrandt: Emily's Arms

David Boop: The Devil You Haven't Met

Edward Cox: Siren of Rain

John Bushore: Portrait of a Weeping Soldier

Matthew Keville: Here Be Dragons

Tracie McBride: The Blue Screen of Death

Mark Allan Gunnells: Last Night

K. P. B. Stevens: The Needle of Despair

Poems:

Theodora Fair: Mayday 45659

Troy Umphlette: Freedom

Kristine Ong Muslim: The Most Secret Rooms

Susan Sailors: Wild Irish Rose

Robert E. Porter: Morituri

Jim Hart: The Tie That Binds

David C. Kopaska-Merkel: Strangers Bloom

Karen R. Porter: The Jersey Devil's Blues

Holly Day: Bad

Cathy Buburuz: Lahnee Chee's Orange Orchard on Mars

Marcie Lynn Tentchoff: Seasonal Color

Richard H. Fay: Explorers

C. A. Gardner: Holding Faerie

Theodora Fair: Sagan's Seed

Cathy Buburuz: A Matter of Respect in the Louisiana Bayou

Marge Simon: Patriots' Day

Bruce Boston: A Man Made of Dreams

U.S. ORDERS: $12.00 + $4.00 S&H OUR PRICE: $11.50 + $4.00 S&H

marvad @ 2009-07-01T11:11:00

2009-07-01T18:12:29Z

I will be selling and signing books at Art and the Vineyard at Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Oregon on July 5th, 11:30 to 5:30.

The annual fundraiser for Maude Kerns Art Center is humongous, featuring a ton of fine artists, authors, live music, food venues, and wine tasting.

Art and the Vineyard

The featured authors (besides myself) include a number of well-known regional and national authors.

To read the complete list of authors:

Living: Lifestyles | "Have a chat with local authors" | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon

Cage McNatt's Prize Sow in audio

2009-05-17T16:57:19Z

An audio version of one of my stories is now available at The Deepening.

www.thedeepening.com/world-of-fiction/2009/05/15/audio-short-story-2/

It's always kind of weird, yet fun, to hear your stories read by someone else. The story is from "Tales of a Texas Boy," a set of twenty related stories narrated by a boy growing up in West Texas in the Depression era. The book is based on my father's reminiscences, but I call them fiction since I had to make up a lot of stuff to fill in his brief descriptions.

Check my website if you enjoy the story and might like to buy a copy of the book.

Vegas Report

2009-05-08T00:54:48Z

Buffets have gone downhill big time. Our fav, Paris, is a ghost of its former splendor. Not sucks, but isn't to die for anymore.

We didn't get to Tournament of Kings. Do you know how long a Vegas block is? I believe approximately one mile. We couldn't even walk that far.

We did go to a couple of new places:

Terrible's: Yes, it is. Don't bother. The $4.99 buffet is poisonous and not worth the trip off strip.

Hooter's: Offers $3.00 blackjack. Yeah, sure. If you're really early and want to wait a couple of hours for a stool at the ONE table. We left, unassuaged.

We did play $5.00 blackjack and Flamingo's. Music is way too loud, but they did go into a 50's rift that we enjoyed. Nothing like about four margaritas to get you singing along with the oldies. Best part that in two days play, we left up about $90. That was cool.

Jubilee: This is the Bally's hearken back to old Las Vegas showgirls. Yeah, topless. Not too disturbing, but my writer/critiquer side really wondered what the point was. There is no point to the topless part except to tittilate juvenile males. Sad. The dancing and singing was okay, but nowhere as good as we've seen at the Rio's FREE show before. Disappointing.

Nathan Burton: Fun afternoon, relatively cheap (for Vegas) comedy magician. Good show. Some really nice tricks. Worthwhile investment.

Buffets overall: Nowhere near as good as they used to be. Las Vegas is in denial. Make those buffets about five bucks and you'll fill your f-in' casinos. Same with setting lots of $3.00 blackjack tables. What good does it do to have dealers standing at the $10 tables with nary a player? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Penny poker is the way to go to spend your time without going broke.

Maybe Reno is our next destination?

Vegas, Baby! And Ants

2009-05-01T23:58:31Z

Long time since our last out-of-towner. We're heading for Sin City on Sunday. We'll drag our sorry asses back on Thursday. What are we looking forward to the most?

The Fountains at Bellagio: A tremendous gift to the world. Free, every half hour, always brings tears to my eyes.

Paris Le Village Buffet: To die for. The dessert kiosk alone could kill. Eat in Provence, Normandy, Brittany, and Alsace. Go before 3:30 and get the lunch price!

Tournament of Kings: The dinner show at the Excalibur. We've been several times and love it every time we go. Huzzah! We hope to sit in the Black Knight's cheering section, but if that doesn't work, the king from Norway is way hot. Beautiful horses, jousts, sword fights, fire-breathing dragon. What's not to like?

After that, then the pirate battle at Treasure Island, the volcano at Mirage, Fremont Street Experience. All free, all spectacular.

As for the ants: I got a library book and found it infested with ittty-bitty ants. I'm freaky on ants and my husband thinks I'm nuts, but a phobia is a phobia, damnit! The book is going back to the library (after being sprayed) without me reading the rest.

We did get to the terrific used/new bookstore and picked up some reading material for our trip. Love Esther Freisner, Holly Lisle, Steven Brust, David Brin. Great take-alongs. If you have not read Silverlock by John Myers Myers, then find a copy. Wonderful fantasy with all your favorite characters in a single volume.

That's it from Oregon. Please don't stop at my house to break in and steal stuff while I'm gone. For one thing, Bitch Kitty will rip your eyes out and eat them for breakfast. She has a paw and she knows how to use it.

Querying

2009-04-27T22:54:30Z

I've decided to query the second book in the Witches of Galdorheim series. All three books stand on their own feet (if books actually have feet), so I can go with any of the three. Since the first is not getting much love, I'll just give #2 a whirl.

Dear Ms. XXXX:

(some personalization for the agent) MIDNIGHT OIL is a completed 47,000 word contemporary middle-grade fantasy.

Teen witch, Katya, discovers that an evil forest spirit has kidnapped her brand-new boyfriend. Setting out from her island home, she gets dumped into the Arctic Sea, meets a legendary sea serpent, and is caught up in a battle between warring elementals. To complicate matters, a mutant tribe takes her brother’s girlfriend hostage, demanding that he bring them the magical Midnight Oil--the only thing that can make the mutants human again.

Mustering every bit of her Wiccan magic, Katya rises to the challenge, invoking her magical skills to free her boyfriend, find the Midnight Oil, and help a friendly air elemental win the battle against a spiteful sibling.

I have more than thirty-five stories published in a variety of print and on-line publications, several appearing in ‘Best of’ anthologies. Sam's Dot Publishing, a small press, published my YA Science Fiction novella, First Duty, in June, 2008 and my middle-grade fantasy, The Seven Adventures of Cadida in January, 2009. I am a member of SCBWI and Willamette Valley Writers.

I would be pleased to send a partial or complete manuscript of MIDNIGHT OIL for your review. For your convenience, I have pasted a brief synopsis below. Thank you for your consideration.

Cordially,

Marva Dasef
(and the rest of the stuff)

Any agents or publishers out there interested? I could also post the synopsis. Do you like sea serpents, ultralights, snakes, witches, icy seas, trolls, rocs, mutants? This is the book for you.

marvad @ 2009-04-11T15:50:00

2009-04-11T22:52:05Z

A couple of new things going on. I've also been notified that I have a few book signing events this summer. Here's the schedule:

May 25th: Chateau Lorane. I'll be there from 11:30am to 5:30pm. Note that I might participate in the wine tasting and will then give everybody really great deals on my books.

July 5th: Art in the Vineyard. Located in Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Oregon. I'll be there from 11:30am to 3:30pm. Note that 15% of gross sales goes to charity.

August 19th: Lane County Fair. I'll be with the Authors and Artists from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

If you're anywhere in the Eugene area on these dates, please stop by to say hi.

I am also one of the featured authors on The Deepening's front page. This is a great site for all sorts of writing and publishing related information, including book reviews, posted short stories, and even (ta da!) audio stories coming soon. When you go to the page, watch the Featured Authors block (center column). It rotates the authors and their works in a nice display. As soon as it's available, I'll let you know how to find the audio recording of "Cage McNatt's Prize Sow" from Tales of a Texas Boy.

Grands

2009-04-01T17:49:08Z

Our granddaughters came to visit for Spring Break. They arrived Saturday afternoon by plane to Portland Airport. Only had to drive 120 miles both ways to pick them up. I sure wish they had a direct Spokane to Eugene flight. Underage flyers can't do plane changes, so we're stuck with Portland for a couple more years.

Sent hubby off to Portland to pick them up alone (he is a saint) and I managed to write a whole chapter for the WIP. I know that'll be all I write (except silly posts) until they leave on Saturday.

It's great to have them visit the old folks. They actually seem to enjoy themselves.

This afternoon: bowling or miniature golf.