First Reader copies of Ancient Egypt Novel Athena of the Red Mirror Series
I got the the First Reader Edition copies of my ancient egypt novel Athena of Kornith of the Red Mirror Trilogy from the printer. Hurray! I’m getting them out to my inner circle of First Readers for input. I hope they like her. I sure do. I’d like to be her!
Every Woman’s Dream
Life Choices: Pursuing Your Passion
Turning Point International's new book
Turning Point International will release yet another “Life Choices” anthology in March 2011. I’m happy to say that I’ll be a contributing author once again.
With the title, “Pursing Your Passion,” it shouldn’t be hard to guess that my contribution, “The Muses Whisper,” is insight into how I found my passion – writing romantic, sexy and edgy historical adventures. I hope it’s also a statement about how it’s never too late to follow your dream.
The book launch will be in Las Vegas March 11. I look forward to meeting with the other 25 authors, who all have great personal stories about pursuing their own passions.
If this Life Choices book is anything like the previous two, each story, like each contributor, will be unique. I love working with such inspirational, dynamic people who have made their Life Choice to follow their dreams.
Athena off to the printer
I finished the first reader edition of Athena of Korinth, the 2nd book in the Red Mirror Trilogy, and will email the pdf version off to printer today. It feels really good. I’ll have twenty “first reader” copies printed, wait for their arrival, get them out, and then sit back, biting my nails, waiting for feedback.
Athena of Korinth
The most important input – besides whether they like the story, of course – will be whether or not I should tone down the sex. By “tone down,” I don’t mean eliminate it, but make it less explicit. It’s been a very interesting experience for me. I had no idea there was so much fear and discomfort about sexuality. But I don’t want sex – even though my scenes are often described as tasteful and sensual – to interfere with readers enjoying the story.
I know a couple of women who have not read Isis out of fear. I had thought of giving them a redacted version with black lines through those scenes. It is really very few pages, or even paragraphs, in both Isis and Athena.
I’m looking not only at possible revisions to Isis and Athena (toning down), but also at my approach to Elektra, the third book set in Roman Egypt. The Romans were not nice people in many respects. They certainly had voracious appetites for both sex and violence, often at the same time. The character of Elektra – as I envision her – is a woman fully in charge of her sexuality. She has not revealed herself to me, but I have strong hints of a dominatrix type. But the sex is only part of the story. It’s about empowerment and a woman using everything she has to survive and control an environment where women have very little value. I’m not that sure things have changed that much.
2011 – It’s a new year and a new incarnation for Isis
I’m starting my “out loud read” of Athena today. It’s the last step before putting it in .pdf and sending to print for my First Reader Edition. The cover is done; the map, the glossary and the layout are done. Book Two of the Red Mirror Trilogy is almost there – at least the first go round. Having said that, who knows how long a first read through can take. You can really get stuck on the first few chapters or so. You really weren’t in the swing; you didn’t really know the characters yet. It’s all kind of stilted and artificial compared to the rest of the book.
I like her – Athena’s smarter and more directed than Isis the party girl. The modern Isis is evolving; she’s learning to take charge of her own life. She’s learning about her own power. She learns from Athena, but Athena learns from her. Athena takes a lot more risks than she would have.
As soon as Athena’s back from the printer, I’ll get it out to my select group of First Readers for input.
Not until then can I let myself start on the third book – at least the mental part of research and daydreaming.
Elektra has been knocking on the door and I keep pushing her away – “Not yet! Too early! Can’t go to Rome now!”
I work from such an intuitive level than I can’t really write unless I am channeling. It’s too forced otherwise. I can’t channel two characters at once – at least, I don’t think so.
Elektra scares me a little (actually a lot). I’m going to have to dig deep into places I don’t know about – or have only heard of. Will I find my black swan?
Happy Little Christmas Eve! Lille Jul Aften
The 23rd of December in Denmark is the traditional night to put up the Christmas tree and invite friends over for a glass of glogg. Our tree is already up and most people we know are too far away to visit, but here is a shot of our Christmas mantle this year. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
The Red Mirror
Here it is – the real thing – the Red Mirror. And that gorgeous guy waiting for you in the looking glass is none other than Antinous. Is he not as beautiful as a marble statue – just like I promised!
The Red Mirror
Great Workshop with Catherine Ryan Hyde
I went to another workshop yesterday with Catherine Ryan Hyde (author of Pay it Forward and about 15 other books.) What an intellect and great teacher. Catherine and Patricia Fripp of the National Speakers Association are the best I have seen to take a mishmash of information and condense it into something cogent and interesting – on the spot – using superior auditory skills as well as visual.
This workshop was especially privileged. We were 4 – y es – 4 authors who had her to ourselves the whole day, from 9 to 5. Working on our pitch, our synopsis and query letter, each of us got the advantage of her long career in one dose. (Even Catherine still has to write a synopsis from time to time.) It was totally worth the $175. Stop apologizing Catherine – you are worth it! (I’d say “and more” except I don’t want her raising her fees…)
The other workshop on self-editing was two day on a weekend with 7 authors who each brought the first couple chapters of our novels. Excellent as well. As Catherine edited each manuscript, I learned a lot about the technical alone – especially commas, semi-colons, dialogue and shortening sentences. Of course, the group gave valuable input too. It was especially fortuitous for me as I had just “finished” Isis. I went home and immediately started the first round of editing.
I would highly recommend one of her workshops in Cambria CA if you have the opportunity. She truly is a wonderful group leader and teacher (not to mention a skilled author with a beautiful command of language.)
Who do you write like?
A friend sent me this link: http://iwl.me/. (you can link from here.) The site analyzes your writing and supposedly tells you who you write like. I tried it by pasting in the 1st chapter of Athena, the second novel in the Red Mirror Series that I’ve just started.
It came back in microseconds with Chuck Palahnuik. I don’t know his work at all, except that Amazon lists Fight Club. It doesn’t seem like me from the titles listed, but I’d have to read one to see. I suppose content has nothing to do with it – so I could write like Palahnuik, but our content would be completely different.
I would like to know more about how the program works – or if it is a scam. It says it analyzes word choice and writing style. It seems unlikely something so complex as writing style could be analyzed that quickly. Word choice could, of course, be linked to keywords.
Maybe I’ll plug in some different excerpts and see what the results are…
Okay, I did it. I pasted Chapter 2 of Isis and it came back Dan Brown. Now we’re talkin’! Would I ever love to be the female Dan Brown.
I do write with two styles and that’s on purpose. One is modern, in Las Vegas – the other is in the distant past, more archaic. Interesting that I write like a man in both instances. I’m betting I’d get a different answer every time…
OKAY -PROMISE I’m done now, but I couldn’t resist seeing the answer to my favorite sex scene in Isis – Chapter 11. Apparently I wrote it in the style of Vladimir Nabokov. Maybe the program IS looking at content!
I think I may be looking at the wrong agents – none of these comparisons speak romance novel.
First Reader comments for Isis
Besides a lot of really good editing suggestions, I’ve gotten some fun feedback from my First Readers of Isis. One great idea was to include some of those comments in the newest printing.
I’m going for a second printing, Second Reader Edition, and have incorporated many of the changes my readers wanted to see. I listened to everything everyone told me and believe that all of the feedback shows up in the new edition. By the way, this will also be a limited edition. Isis is not for sale and has not been “published.” I’m just taking a different approach to the manuscript concept and having a lot of fun with it. As I design my own covers and do my own layout, it’s really cheap for me to produce a book.
Here’s what First Readers are saying about Isis.
“Adventure! Mystery! Egyptian culture and history! Sex! It sure kept my interest!”
Leslie – Ann Arbor, MI
“Chapter 11 – Whew! Gimme a cigarette!”
Joan – Fresno CA
“I loved the Egyptology details. It’s great to feel that one is being educated while having such a good time.”
Elaine – Easton PA
“I hard a hard time finishing. I kept reading certain chapters over and over. And when I came to the end, I was bummed. I wanted more. Where’s the next book?”
Suzette – Paso Robles CA
“Isis sizzles. It had me squirming in my plane seat.”
Suzanne – Boston MA
“Isis is a real page turner. It’s a great adventure story for anyone – not just women.”
Eric – Las Vegas NV
“I’m fascinated with the Isis story. I really like the way Isis goes back from Vegas to Egypt and blends the souls.”
Terry – Kauai HI
“I’m a big Gabaldon fan, but I like Isis better. The Red Mirror uses a time travel device that I’ve never seen before. The story comes alive in both modern and ancient times. Isis is a strong, unforgettable character who adds an eroticism unusual in historic fiction. Can’t wait for Athena.”
David – Shell Beach CA
“I loved it. It’s exciting and romantic and gave my boyfriend ideas.”
Marilyn – New York, NY
“The sex scenes are terrific. I want one of those guys!”
Ann – Los Osos CA
“Isis was flat amazing. Towns along the Nile, jewelry, weaponry… Sandra paints a vivid, sensual picture of ancient Egypt. She makes it so interesting.”
Curt – Las Vegas NV
Map of the Nile for the Odyssey of Isis
Here is the map I created for the Odyssey of Isis. Only relevant cities are noted.
Athena of Corinth and Alexandria is born
I can’t help myself. I love to have a cover up on my second screen that keeps me in touch with my characters.
My husband and I created the character Athena over the weekend. She’s the new woman for the second book of the Red Mirror Series. Elektra for one day, the name Athena better fits her intelligence and spirituality. She’s plenty sexy though, but different than Isis – less party girl and more ancient world woman executive.
Elektra will likely be the the third book which of the Egypt trilogy and set in Rome and Egypt and revolve around Antinous, the lover of Hadrian.
Athena is head priestess at the Temple of Aphrodite in Corinth and runs a sacred prostitution cult of 1,000 women. (That part is NOT fiction!) Athena will travel to Alexandria Egypt during the Ptolemaic Period – exact year soon to be determined. My research is opening some new doors and I haven’t yet decided which one to enter. And so the next adventure has begun!
Final draft (sic) of Isis of the Red Mirror Series
It seems like it has taken me almost as long to do the 2nd and 3rd drafts of Isis as it did to write the original draft. But it’s a better book now, thanks to a workshop I attended with Catherine Ryan Hyde on self-editing. We were seven aspiring novelists who bared our souls to the group by bringing the first 25 pages of our books and listening to Catherine read them out loud. I learned a lot about my propensity to use the verbs “was” and “were.”
Some of the chapters have had only one re-write while others took two. I spent almost two days condensing the first 5 chapters to 2. I have gone from 100,000 words to 95,000, so believe you might call that progress.
I also have designed a book cover which acted as an inspiration for me as I wrote. I highly recommend creating a cover and keeping the image in front of you.
Catherine encouraged me to go the traditional route and send out to agents. She told me I needed to get a lot of rejections before I gave up. That part comes next!
The next problem is genre. Catherine intimated that I may have created my own. I’m pretty sure that’s not a good thing. Not really romance because Isis has three gorgeous men in her life that any woman could fall in love with. There is lots of action and adventure, plenty of sex but always with passion or purpose, and lots of information about the wonderful period of history called the Late Period of Ancient Egypt. My goal was to take the reader back and so far, everyone who has read passages from the book, agrees that I succeeded. But it’s not totally historical, because much of it takes place in glamorous Las Vegas. Then there is the paranormal aspect of reincarnation, visiting past lives and the mystery of the Emerald Tablet. I packed a lot into these pages!
I am going to use Sandra Gore for this book. I had thought Sabrina Gee, but it turned out not to be that racy, after all. I’ll put my name on it!
note: If you want to see a photo of the actual Red Mirror, go to The Red Mirror in my pages section: Excerpts from Sex and Zen.
Finished First Draft of “Isis” – first of Red Mirror series
Sandra celebrates finishing 1st draft of Isis in the Red Mirror Series with husband Jesper and Garden Dude David Georgi at writers bench
Yesterday afternoon was a first in my life. I had finished the Egyptian part of my novel on Saturday: plot strings tied up, emotionally satisfying ending.
Isis was set to go back to Las Vegas and I had this panic that I wouldn’t be able to do it – to finish the book.
I needed to get several characters to the right place, set everyone up for the next book, and leave the reader feeling good.
Over dinner my husband and I discussed the men characters as they are incarnated in Las Vegas.
Thanks to his suggestions, I fleshed them out solidly in my mind. They became real.
I let them germinate on Sunday, played around with some scenes and dialogue, and had Easter dinner with friends. Then Monday, April 5, I sat down and put them in the scenes I had envisioned and let them go at it. By 5:00 pm I finished.
99,539 words – 6 weeks
Isis ended up with a different guy than I intended, but she made her choice. And there’ s always the next book and the next visit to the past to get another.
I actually cried. It was crazy, but I just had to cry. It was the emotional release of childbirth. No kidding, it was that profound.
My husband and I went for a walk along the ocean and then up to our local cafe for fish tacos and a Corona. They have a Taco Hour special, everything 2 bucks.
Then I put on my Egyptian wig (check out photo) and we cracked a bottle of Veuve Clicquot with our neighbors Carol and David, who have lived Isis with me. David and I meet at the writers bench almost every sunset.
Joy, great joy is the best description I can give.
David is really Tony (Antinous)
Bust of Antinous in Berlin
David in Sex and the Zen of Shopping
The real identity of “David” is Antinous, lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. If interested in knowing more, go to the daughter page under “Sex and the Zen of Shopping.” Use sidebar for navigation.
Hopeless Romantic Shares True Love Story
Click image to view Fun Press Release for Sandra Gore Nielsen
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Here’s a Fun Press Release about me from the Virtual Book Tour of “Life Choices” www.expertclick.com.
Here’s how we celebrate St Pat’s Day at my house.
Jesper Nielsen and Sandra Gore Nielsen(s) Irish Jig on JibJab
Rollover and click the image.
It will take you to a JibJab ecard
with music and dance.
The Yacht I hitched a ride on
Here are some photos of the Silvretta, the yacht that I hitched a ride on and wrote about in “A True Love Story” published in Life Choices: Navigating Difficult Paths. Boat people will recognize that she’s a ketch – 75 foot long. Really a small ship. There was a crew of 9. I had my own cabin with a blue bathtub. Can you imagine how great that was after sleeping in a hammock in a grass hut for months with only salt water showers?
note: photos are from 1973, Pacific Coast of Central America
The Silvretta, 75 ft ketch
The British captain who gave me my break - and Tom, fellow crewman, at the wheel.
The Silvretta by day
The Writers Bench or How I attune to the Universe
The Writers Bench photo by Carol Georgi
This is where I watch the sunset. Most days my neighbor David is already there with his evening cocktail in a urine sample bottle (he likes to be discrete). We have rousing discussions on writing and the environment (not connected subjects.)
My husband Jesper joins us just as the sun is setting. He’s a publisher with an engineer mind and doesn’t like to waste time.
David’s wife Carol is our local nature photographer; she chronicles the impacts of development and rising ocean levels on the ocean and wildlife.
As you can see by the photo, she also records the beautiful sunset that the Universe provides almost every evening. (It does rain in California some years.)
Carol contributes to my other blog sandraoffthestrip.com in the series “Carol’s Critters of the Sea.”
S. L. Gore 
I just read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire
I wanted to see what all the buzz is about. I wanted to see what readers like – what turns them on for the trilogy to stay at the top of Amazon’s best sellers.
note: I chose the second book because my daughter said it was better than the first – “a real page turner.”
elements:
computer hacking
defection of Russian spy
inner circle government conspiracy
criminal and journalistic investigation
sex trade
brutality towards women (even in Sweden!)
child pornography and abuse
explicit violence and implicit sex
motorcycle gangs and drugs
heroine has unlimited money
heroine is a dominatrix-type who ties men up (there’s a lot of tying up over all – bondage theme)
lots of video game type action that goes on without relief
Wow – no wonder it sells!
What struck me most was that the female protagonist Lisbeth Salamander gets rave reviews from men. I wonder if that’s because she is as little like a woman as possible, while still having all the right parts? Is it a fascination with girl-women? Or are men secretly attracted to a dominatrix who puts them in their place?
I’ve been doing a lot of research for Elektra, exploring the Roman fascination with death in the arena. “Kill! Kill! Kill!” Nothing was apparently too horrible or bloody for them to cheer and enjoy. They, too, liked lots of leather.
That dark part of our psyche is now channeled into shooter games and TV shows like Criminal Minds. We love the graphic autopsies on CSI. Law and Order Sexual Victims Unit had higher ratings than plain old Law and Order. How many crime and police programs are on every night? We want to hear all the details in sexy murder cases. We really love Nancy Grace if a child is both missing and abused. A movie like Inception gets nominated for an Academy Award when most of the film is permutations of automatic gunfire.
Is it because we can’t all go to war and experience the horrors firsthand that we want to watch others suffer through a protective veil of fiction? What is our fascination with vampires, werewolves and creatures of the night? Why is the human psyche so dark? We know it can be light too.
By the way, I’m not knocking Larsson’s success. I would love to emulate it. He does great character development; his players are real, although they do fall into the white hat and black hat categories. But that’s ok. He’s not literary fiction, but a good read if you like to teeter on the edge of the dark side.
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February 17, 2011 at 12:20 am 2 comments