Category Archives: Publishing

NaNo NaNo

Guest Posts Publishing The Writing Life 4 Comments
Nora Zelevansky

Guest Post by Nora Zelevansky

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but when I first heard the term “NaNoWriMo,” I thought maybe it was a Star Trek species or a riff on Robin Williams’ “Nanu, Nanu” alien catchphrase from 1970’s sitcom Mork & Mindy.

In case you don’t already know: it is neither of those things.

NaNoWriMo is an acronym for National Novel Writing Month. And, lest you assume (as I would) that it’s some random meaningless designation like Bacon Appreciation Week or Balloon Animal Day (not to downplay the importance either of those deeply important celebrations), I can assure you that this is serious business.

During the month of November each year, thousands of people all over the country commit to writing about 1,677 words a day sans outlines and without editing. At the end of the month, each person is meant to have a relatively short (about 50,000 word) draft of a novel. And some of those novels eventually get published. My book Semi-Charmed Life was fortunate enough to be among those.

Being largely based on free association, that resulting first draft is generally a bit of a mess. At least, that’s true in my case. In 2009, I participated for the first time, moved by the desire to find out if I could write fiction. I am, after all, a journalist, whose forays into creative writing had previously been relegated to personal essays, memoirs and creative nonfiction. But I was craving an outlet without deadlines or specific guidelines for my voice. I was in the mood for a different kind of challenge.

For me, NaNoWriMo was a game changer. And I am not alone. Not even close. This wasn’t the first time I’d toyed with ideas for books, usually getting all excited and then deciding a mere week or two later that the concepts were lame, would never go anywhere and were not worth months or years of anyone’s time. But this was the first time I was offered a structure for writing a novel, that I was instructed to pick an idea (even if just for the first page or chapter) and stick with it … no matter what.

Though I am disciplined as a writer (I have to be as a freelance journalist), I’m not big on enforced structure. So, for me, it was relief not to have to have to outline or research much, elements that NaNo discourages. And, as goofy as the supportive exclamation point-filled NaNoWriMo emails sometimes seemed from the cheerleading staff of fellow writers, knowing that thousands of others were attempting the same feat did keep me on track. And don’t even get me started on the graph: Participants sign up online, create profiles then watch a graph that tracks their word count accomplishments grow and shrink. I can’t quite tell you why, but that graph kept me honest. I couldn’t bear fail it! It kept me writing even on difficult days.

That is to say; as much as I enjoyed the process, I also found it difficult sometimes. Like everyone else, I started on November 1st of that year. Which was my first wedding anniversary. Which was the day I was traveling via plane with ten buddies back from a best friend’s wedding in Mexico. Which was the day after their wedding, when I was a lot hungover from too much tequila and Churros. As you can imagine, I can’t say it was the most productive writing day of my life. And it would not be the only one that was rough going.

For most of us, no matter how much we adore writing or how much time we have to dedicate to the task on a given day, there are always times when the words just don’t flow, where what we scribble or type is pure crap. If I’d gone about writing my book through a different method, I would have, of course, had the luxury of taking a pass on those days, but that’s how you get stuck and give up. NaNo forces you to push through the less creative moments to get to the next thing. After all, you can always go back and edit when the month is through.

I won’t bore you with talk of my addiction to Cherry Coke Zero during that time or the explanations to my husband that got me through that time and out of certain holiday obligations, BUT suffice it to say that a plot emerged despite my total belief that it would not. And afterward, when I reread the draft, which truly was a big mess, I saw some elements that seemed worth pursuing and I started the rewriting process.

The Rewriting Quandary

For me, rewriting can be easier than writing for the first time. After all, there’s no blank page staring you in the face. But not everyone feels that way. So, how to keep yourself working on revisions long after the NaNo process has ended?

Well, first of all, I know that many colleges and continuing education institutions offer classes on taking your novel to the next level and so that structure and accountability can be helpful for some. I personally felt that I’d already put so much work into completing the draft. To abandon it then would just have felt wasteful. I wanted to see where it could go.

My book in particular was a strange mix of genres, part coming of age, part mystery, part humorous satire-that was never what I’d imagined I would write. And I was proud of it … and a little intrigued too.

I sent the draft to friends and family for feedback, made revisions, then sent it to more people I knew for notes. Of course, it’s not always easy to hear that feedback, but you just try to remember that its all in pursuit of a greater goal. People are only expressing opinions and, while you may not like everything you hear (in fact, you definitely won’t!), it’s helpful to give the manuscript to many people of different backgrounds and interests. That way, if they all give you a similar note or point to a similar problem, you know that it really does need to be addressed.

On Picking Readers For Notes

Another thought: we all have relationships in our life with people we love that are complicated. (And, yes, that’s probably a euphemism for something worse.) If you can, avoid sending those people the manuscript for feedback. It may seem obvious, but its’ really easy to make that mistake.

Ask yourself, will I be able to hear negative thoughts from this person and do I trust him or her to give me honest feedback without twisting the knife or trying to make me feel small? Does this person truly have my best interests in mind, in this context, or is our relationship competitive in some ways? Often people don’t even realize that your attempt to write a novel pushes emotional buttons for them, so it’s important that you consider everyone’s feelings, so that you don’t end up feeling angry, defeated or upset.

Once You Get Published

Anyway, a bazillion revisions later, the unimaginable (for me) happened: I found an agent who was excited about the story and she sold my book Semi-Charmed Life to Macmillan’s St. Martin’s Press. It hit bookstores this July 2012.

The day they handed me the galley and I actually held the bound manuscript in my hand in the form of a book was probably the proudest of my life. Of course, what’s amazing these days is that we can sell to publishers or self-publish and, either way, get to see our work in book form.

I spent most of the summer touring around like a crazy person, doing everything I could to promote the book. That’s harder than you’d imagine these days. Since Borders closed, the chance of someone just coming upon a book accidentally while browsing is down something like 25%. The greatest challenge is just letting people know that you and your book exist, then hopefully encouraging them to give it a chance.

My novel’s cover is pretty and sort of looks like a water color painting and it certainly has the components that suggests, but it has a darker, more literary, almost cartoonish side (compared sometimes to The Royal Tenenbaums in tone) and that’s something a person would only know from actually picking it up and reading it. So, the trick is getting people to try it out, to take that step.

The other night, I was at a cocktail party and was introduced to a fellow novelist. He told me the title of his book and I told him mine and we both vowed to buy copies. That’s a vow I’ll keep: as we both admitted, once we realized how tricky it is to get a story out there, we started buying books by every author we happened to meet. It just seems like good karma, like the right thing to do. And I’ve ended up reading some fantastic new books that way too!

While traveling around teaching writing workshops, giving readings and even calling and/or Skyping into book clubs around the country to discuss Semi-Charmed Life (something I am still enjoying very much), I often talk up the NaNoWriMo process. Sometimes I feel like I must sound like some crazy cultist because I am such a believer. But the process worked for me and I think, even for writers who care less about the outcome and more about the experience, it can be incredibly enriching on an emotional and creative level, like writing Morning Pages while doing The Artist’s Way. It’s an escape from the everyday, a chance to let your mind (as cheesy as it might sound) do its thing and run free without constrains.

For me, it was a chance to discover that I had a much wilder imagination than I’d assumed. Who knew? It’s been a new way for people to get to know me, as well. Friends and relatives have read the book and said things like, “I feel like I understand you on a whole other level now. And I think maybe you’re crazy.” Nice.

I have been using the NaNo process to write my second book for the last six weeks. It’s longer than 50,000 words and I couldn’t wait for November to start because I have an actual deadline this time from my publisher, but the basic principles still make sense.

Interestingly, this time is harder. That surprised me. I’m more inhibited by what I know about publishing and by expectations. I can let my mind run rampant to some extent, but I also have to make sure that I stay on track, so I don’t horrify my publisher. But its working, or I guess I’m working, and that’s what’s important.

Ultimately, I like to think I wasn’t entirely wrong about the definition of NaNoWriMo, when I first heard it bandied about. While the acronym may not refer to some alien species, it is sort of a strange cultural community full of people who allow their minds to take them to lands far, far away. And that’s a unique thing.

Meanwhile, I should be getting back to writing. Better say goodbye.

Or as they don’t say, but totally should, during National Novel Writing Month:

Nano Nano.

Good luck!

Nora Zelevansky is a novelist, freelance journalist, essayist and editor, whose writing has appeared in publications including ELLE, Vanity Fair online, Salon.com, Cosmopolitan, Travel + Leisure, the Los Angeles Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, Town & Country, Style.com, SELF, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post and Daily Candy to name a few.  She is a contributing writer for C Magazine.
Semi-Charmed Life info, My website, Book For Sale, Facebook Author Page
Twitter handle: @missnoraz

Dreams vs. Day Jobs

Brandon M. Lindsay Publishing The Writing Life 5 Comments

I love money. I love being able to do the things I want to do without worrying if doing them will prevent me from paying my bills. I love that feeling of clarity that comes with the bank statement telling me that those setbacks that life sometimes throws at me are hardly setbacks at all.

I also love the satisfaction of a job well-done. I love raises, and promotions, and the praise of coworkers and bosses. I love having some structure to my day. In short, I love having a day job.

It’s easy to make the case that we can’t live without our day jobs. It’s even easier in such tough economic times, when it becomes clear to so many of us what not having one is like.

But I sometimes wonder: what if that was all I had? What if, on my deathbed, I realized that the greatest thing I achieved in life was middle management?

What if I had to make a choice between the comfort that a steady paycheck brought and the dreams that defined who I am?

Of course, one of the nice things about our modern society, even in its current state, is that we don’t have to make that choice. I am a writer with a day job. I am able to both pay my bills and follow my dreams. One need not be sacrificed to the other.

Yet knowing how you would answer such questions can help shape your future. Both your day job and your dreams exist in tension because they both compete for your time (what little time is left over from daily living).

It’s easy for us newer writers to frantically scramble for the top in this fast-paced new world of electronic publishing. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that it brings us the unreasonable expectation that if you’re not an immediate success, you’re an immediate failure. It’s easy to forget that there’s still the future in which we can make our mark. Writers are notoriously easy to discourage, perhaps in part because the world wants so badly to discourage us, and now we have sales rankings that can disappoint us every hour on the hour that only provide one more such opportunity.

As writers, our work doesn’t have an expiration date, especially now that the term “out-of-print” has gone the way of the dodo. But even before that was true, many writers had to wait years – decades even – before seeing an inkling of success. Yet still they persevered because they knew that without following their dreams, every other little success they achieved was but part of a greater failure. And fail, they could not. Writing was their lives. Without it, breathing was merely a countdown to death.

In taking the long view, we don’t have to answer the dilemma between day job and dream. It may be hard working two jobs, but no one said this would be easy. Patience and perseverance are job requirements; if you don’t have them, you may want to start thinking about middle management. It may make you happier.

So how would I answer this dilemma? Would I take comfort and security, a life with few surprises and few adventures? Or would I risk it all for the ultimate prize?

If you’ve read any of my fiction, you already know.

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Help me quit my day job!

Read a ripping good yarn while you’re at it!

Today only, my epic fantasy, The Clans: Tales of the Fourth World, is free on Kindle! Click here for more details.

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The Fourth World is ending. Brother Willfonde, the man destined to save it, is dead. Yet he left behind six clues-one historical text from each clan-in the hope that someone could finish what he started. Or so it is believed.

Led by a novice named Kularro, a group of young geniuses is tasked to find what the Magisters of the Church of the Overarch could not: an answer to the riddle of Willfonde’s six texts. Will they be able to find a way to save their world? Or is Willfonde’s final message one of despair?

 

James A. Owen: How Synchronicity Works (For Me)

Guest Posts Publishing The Writing Life 8 Comments

A guest post by James A. Owen

Everyone in the world seems to spend a lot of time trying to discern signals in the noise, to find the elusive patterns that will somehow light the way towards an easily attained success – but the truth is that everything is signal, and the only patterns that exist are those we trace with our passing. Our choices form the patterns, and it’s only in hindsight that we can see them. The important thing to remember is that circumstances change; this is why patterns cannot be replicated. The only thing we can do is make choices as wisely as we can and then adhere to them – and the most important choice you can make is to never sacrifice what you want the most for what you want most at that moment. Doing that creates the only kind of pattern worth following: a straight line. If you follow that, then the world will intersect with you in the ways that resonate with your choices, and not the other way around.

Those intersecting moments are synchronicity; the flashes of insight, inspiration, and opportunity that tell you you are on the right path – but it only works if you do not waver in your choices.

Two years ago, an animation producer offered me a $250,000 investment in the HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS IP to jumpstart the development phase of the movie. We’d already had a dry run developing it at Warner Brothers with HARRY POTTER producer David Heyman and BATMAN BEGINS screenwriter David Goyer, who was overseeing my script, but they were occupied with other projects at the time, so it proved to be a nonstarter. Several years later, I’d regained the film rights and was working on it with Rick Porras and Marc Ordesky, two producers from THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Rick had introduced me to a screenwriter, and we’d assembled a great presentation, including preproduction sample art from ILM, but the high pricetag on the movie (estimated at $150 million to $175 million – ships on water are costly) was proving daunting to the studios, so we decided we needed to do more development first – and that takes money.

The offer could not have come at a better time for the project, and for me personally – after costs (paying the lawyers) and paying the screenwriter and other associated stuff, I would have netted about 40% of that. What made that money essential was that I was at the time coming down with a bad case of pneumonia that would linger for months – forcing the cancellation of the book tour for my fifth Imaginarium Geographica book, and seriously delaying completion of the sixth.

After difficult and protracted negotiations which stretched from August into December, we reached an agreement in which she and her backers would get a 25% stake in the IP, plus a return on their money, plus producer’s fees. A great deal for them, and a bearable one for me. But then we found out they wouldn’t be ready to fund until January – and I had to tell her if I didn’t have $50k by mid-December, I would lose my house. It had been a difficult season for a lot of people, and my own mother had come within days of losing her house. An error in transferring my mortgage between banks turned into a huge and expensive debt – one I couldn’t pay without that money. The investor said – around December 6 – that she might be able to arrange it.

By December 9, she said they can advance the money I needed immediately, on signing of a deal memo – AND on my assignment to her of all animation rights in the IP.

I agreed.

Around December 12, she told me her backers also wanted the publishing rights, too. I asked to exclude the current books, planned sequels, and spinoff titles. She agreed.

On December 14, I received the deal memo with only hours left to receive a wire to save my house. It included publishing rights to the excluded list of books. Furthermore, ALL rights to the IP would be transferred to a jointly-owned LLC while the other negotiations were conducted, during which NO other money would change hands.

I declined to sign. And she vanished from my radar without asking after my house.One immediate positive aspect of this was the effect it had on producer Mark Ordesky, who called up his attorney (also mine) and said, “I don’t know five people in Hollywood who would have made that choice.” Prior to this event, he had been on the periphery, but now he was decidedly involved in whatever I could make happen before I went broke.

Somehow, I managed to talk the bank into holding off on the foreclosure sale, in part by suggesting that I could 1) actually hold a press conference about it; and 2) make them look really bad for doing that sale right before Christmas. They agreed, and ended up announcing a moratorium on ALL of their foreclosure sales until after Christmas.

That spring, I decided I needed to somehow replace the six figure income I lost from the investment deal, so I could pay my bills and possibly fund the movie development myself. I had a Book Babe transcribe a recording of the library presentation I’d been doing for a few years, which I edited and expanded into DRAWING OUT THE DRAGONS: A Meditation on Art, Destiny, and The Power Of Choice. I released it as an ebook, and started selling well – REALLY well.

A number of readers wanted to have print copies so they could give DotD as Christmas and graduation presents, so I started a Kickstarter fundraiser to get the money. We overfunded, raising 130% of the amount we needed.

Around the same time, I googled the animation producer’s name and found out she and her backers had been censured by a federal judge for selling unregistered securities, and for fraudulently selling stakes in companies based on ownership of IP’s that they did not fully control. Had I agreed to the earlier deal, I would have either seen my biggest works tied up in a legal morass indefinitely; or seen my work used as a lever to bilk investors out of their money.

One of the Kickstarter backers was one of the people in charge of the venerable LTUE Symposium held for thirty years at BYU, and she invited me to be their next guest of honor.

The DotD books came out just prior to Christmas and started selling well, and more, garnering stellar reviews.

I went to LTUE in February 2012, and delivered a keynote address – DRAWING OUT THE DRAGONS – which got me a long, long standing ovation from an audience of 400 people. I was mobbed the rest of the day.

That night at the group signing, a woman waited at the end of my line for three hours in order to tell me the keynote was the most amazing thing she’d ever heard, and that she’s the acquisitions editor at a fine publishing house, and she gave me her card, and said if I ever want to do ANYTHING with them, the door was wide open.

Three months later, after I, in my Merchant Prince mode, conducted a serious courtship campaign, she and her boss, the publisher, flew to Arizona to convince me to do business with them.

Negotiations ensued. A contract was proffered. Negotiating the details took longer than we planned – but still, were going extraordinarily well.

In July, on the drive back from a family vacation, we found that the bank had finally ceased all foreclosure actions on my house and granted a loan modification.

Further negotiations occurred.

And, as of last Friday, the publisher and I finally agreed on the last terms of a deal comprising a total of eight books under two of the largest contracts I have ever signed in my career.

One contract is for a fiction series, the other, for a nonfiction series. Multimedia and film development on the former is already underway under the supervision of the same team I’d assembled to work on HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS – only this time, I hold all the rights to everything, because we’re funding the development ourselves.

If I had said yes to that investment deal two years ago, I would have spent the entirety of the front money saving my house – which I may have ended up losing anyway, because no other money would have been forthcoming due to the true nature of the backers making the offer. Instead, I would have given up most of my publishing rights in my most successful series, the animation rights, a chunk of all the REST of the rights, and more, tied myself as a partner to people who were about to get shut down by a federal court.

Because I DIDN’T say yes to what seemed a sure thing and reasonably easy money, I had to find another way to raise funds, and it was by sharing my own story. Because I did that, it became a book; because of the book, I was invited to speak at LTUE; because of that keynote address, I met an editor who has changed my future. And because of that meeting, I can now see the straight line stretching away ahead of me as clearly as I can see the one behind me.

All of the details of these projects will be announced later this week. I’m sharing it here, publicly and among readers who are my peers, first – along with one more secret: the first book published under this deal is going to be released in a new nationally-distributed mass market hardcover two days after the one year anniversary of my keynote address, and two days before the next LTUE Symposium. Sometimes the synchronicity you find is the synchronicity that you create for yourself.

The struggle turned into prosperity, because my choices never wavered. That’s how my synchronicity works. There’s no elusive pattern that creates success; it’s the benefit of following a straight line.  Everything important to YOU is your signal. The rest is signal for someone else. Follow your signal. Trust your judgement. Hold firm to the choices you believe in.That’s how it works.

James A. Owen is the author of the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series, the creator of the critically acclaimed Starchild graphic novel series, and the author of the Mythworld series of novels. He is also founder and executive director of Coppervale International, a comic book company that also publishes magazines and develops and produces television and film projects. He lives in Arizona. Visit him at HereThereBeDragons.net Stay tuned for a follow-up post by James A. Owen regarding the hinted-at projects. Something exciting is in the works.

Jess Owen: Kickstarter – The Indie Author’s New Secret Weapon

Guest Posts Marketing Publishing The Writing Life Writing Tools 2 Comments

Guest Post by Jess Owen

If you haven’t heard of Kickstarter yet, as soon as you finish this article you’re going to be inundated with emails from old friends, family members and distant colleagues asking you to support their Kickstarter campaign. Just wait.

So what is it? A streamlined, user-friendly website to facilitate an idea called crowd funding. The folks at Kickstarter believe that, “…a good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide,”* . . . and gain support. Monetary support. What began as a grass roots fund raising method for indie music bands has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon that gives individuals the financial power to see any creative project through to completion, and gain a tribe of new friends and fans in the process.

Artists, musicians, authors, inventors, restaurateurs, film makers, you name it, Kickstarter supports it.

All you need is one tangible project, a timeline, a bag of goodies to hand out at the end, and you are ready to dive in. Don’t forget a “can-do attitude.”

I used Kickstarter to fund the hardback printing of my debut novel, Song of the Summer King. Rather than turn to POD, I decided to research printers in order to gain a wide view of all available options to the modern self-publisher. While I waffled on how best to go about paying for and distributing my book, a friend mentioned Kickstarter.

This is how it works: an individual creates a project. This must be a tangible goal with an end date and a product (like an album, a book, an art show; no “fund my life” projects). For me, it was printing the hardback book. A traditionally published author might want to create a whole bunch of snazzy schwag for her launch event, but not have enough funds. Kickstarter can do that too. Once you create your project, you figure how much money you need, set the financial goal, give yourself a time limit within the maximum of 6o days, and launch! (For more detailed information on the mechanics, read through the Kickstarter School on their web page.)

I raised $9,000 in thirty days, with an initial goal of $6,000. Here’s how I did it.

I found my audience. It is critical that you know where to find the people who will actually want to read your book. If this is starting to sound like every other writing article on marketing, it should. If you don’t understand marketing yet, it will be difficult for you to succeed with Kickstarter or any other fund raising program. Kickstarter is basically a way for readers to pre-order your book, plus fun and prizes. So know where your peeps are, and how to get their attention. I write fantasy, and for years have also been a minor member of the fantasy art community. Still, this was a place to start. I began to draw a lot more gryfons and wolves when I knew I was going to self-publish, and with that work, I started to attract fans, fellow artists and readers with those interests.

In other words, I built a platform. Start doing that now, no matter what stage you’re in.

Next, involve your family and friends. My family and friends were my biggest supporters. I hope yours are too. If they aren’t, go to your chosen family, your good friends, your writing buddies, your neighbors, church-whoever supports you. Don’t be ashamed that you’re asking for money, either. Be proud! Be excited! You have created something, or you’re certainly about to, and the people who love you will be excited for you.

Have a plan. I had a plan to give interest a boost at the beginning of each week of my campaign. The first week was family and friends. The second week, I had artists post pieces of special promotional works centered around my book. Yes, I had to pay for them, but I was supporting other artists. Also, their work was better than a simple advertisement, because their 10,000 interested fans were suddenly looking at beautiful pieces of art about my book, with links back to Kickstarter. The next week I was in my hometown newspapers, and after that, I appealed to bloggers. It doesn’t matter what your plan involves, as long as it targets your audience base.

As far as figuring out rewards and timeline, I researched other projects. Art featured heavily in my rewards, because I’m close to the fantasy art community. I picked a cover artist who appeals to my target audience, and offered prints of her work at several reward tiers. I was also surprised that my own artwork was a relatively popular reward option.

Choose rewards that are pertinent to your story. Got a cool sci-fi novel? Get nifty badges or buttons or figure out a way to do super slick holographic bookmarks. Think of what you’d want in a grab bag from your favorite author, and offer that stuff as rewards. Study what other publishing projects are offering. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just figure out what’s already working.

Remember to factor the cost of rewards into your funding goal. This is a mistake I made, and I’ll admit it without shame. (The point is I’m wiser now . . .) Factor in rewards, shipping, and the percentage that Kickstarter takes out for processing credit cards. I asked for $6,000, raised $9,000, and walked away with $8,110 because of the processing fees and people whose pledges didn’t go through. I had just enough to cover my project.

Aside from all the technical information, what I will say is what I think Kickstarter, and websites like it, mean for authors-particularly, self-published authors. Many aspiring authors have sometimes said or thought, “If I could just get my work out to the people, they would love it.” Well now’s the time to saddle up. You can use Kickstarter to raise money for that professional editor, cover artist, layout and lettering designer, and any other initial costs associated with self-publishing.

We are in the Information Age. Anyone who understands how to move information and get it to the masses will succeed. Writers who can track down and target their fan base will sell books. Now, that fan base can invest even more love and support by actually helping you publish your work. The psychological power of active community support is going to be huge in the near future. Your fans are not just fans anymore. They’re investors. They’re partners. They’re going to be excited for more than just your next book, they’re going to be excited for you. And that is priceless.

Kickstarter and other websites that facilitate crowd funding are about more than just money. They’re about community. They help you find your fans, your friends, your colleagues. They help you build your tribe. The people who pledge to your project don’t just want to buy your book. They want to help worthy dreams come true and watch people succeed. And they want to be a part of it. Even if you’re an independent author, there’s no reason you have to do it alone.

To me, that’s pretty darn exciting.

Guest Writer Bio: Jess has been creating works of fantasy art and fiction for over a decade, and founded her own publishing company, Five Elements Press, to publish her own works and someday, that of others. She’s a proud member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Authors of the Flathead. She lives with her husband in the mountains of northwest Montana, which offer daily inspiration for creating worlds of wise, wild creatures, magic, and adventure. Jess can be contacted directly through her website, www.jessowen.com, or the SOTSK facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/songofthesummerking