PROMOTING MY BOOKS AND POETRY

  So far this year (2018) I've been doing a lot of book promoting, readings, workshops and even some poetry readings.  My two novels SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON and the sequel subtitled THE FIELDS OF HADES are both available on Amazon.com and The Book Depository.  I have prepared the full manuscript to be an ebook on Kindle and that should soon be posted on Amazon.com

My travel book ATHENS AND BEYOND is also available on Kindle.

During the year so far,  one of my poems Precious Moments on the Beach was published in an anthology with proceeds going to Syrian refugees.  In January I also became the host of a reading series IN THEIR WORDS, held bi monthly, where readers choose a favorite author, poet or playwright, tell about how they are influenced by this peson's work, and read some of their work.  It's a really fun series with lots of variety.

In February I participated in the series Tellers of Small Tales another series promoted by the Royal City Literary Arts.   I also was a feature poet at the Poetic Justice series and presented my novels at Spoken Ink, Burnaby Writer's group.

In March I went on a fun weekend (comp) to the Westin Bear Mountain Resort on Vancouver Island. I invited three friends along and we had a ball!  It was a good opportunity to do a travel article which I posted on my travelthroughhistory blog.

In April I was invited by Pandora's Poetry Collective to read with another poet in their Poetic Pairing Series.  This was also a lot of fun. 

During this time I was also instructing my writing groups at the Heritage Grill in New Westminster  (Mondays) and Brock House in Vancouver (Wednesdays).

On May 12,  the Vancouver Public Library held their yearly WRITE ON VANCOUVER and I had a table there where I could promote my books. This is also a fun event and  you get to meet lots of other writers and speak to people who are interested in your writing.   Later in the month I also did a Travel Writing Basics workshop at the Anvile Centre.

At Write On Vancouver

I decided to make a little road trip in June to visit two friends in the Interior.  And while there, I decided to book some readings/workshops.  I read for a writer's group in Kamloops and did a workshop on Creating Characters.  this one didn't go that well when I was rudely interrupted after about 5 minutes of reading (from Shadow).  The reading at the Vernon Public Library was better.  I  had a good reading of my novel and then I did a workshop on Travel Writing Basics  (explaining how a lot of my travel stories result from research trips from my novel.)  Later in the month I also did another Travel Writing Basics workshop for the BC Travel Writers Assoc. meetup group.

Another enterprise I'm involved in is the Theatre in the Raw's annual one-act play contest.  I help adjudicate the plays.  The Theatre in the Raw produced my play "The Street" back in 2000.  So over the months I was busy reading plays.   Of course, I'm also invovled weekly with my SCRIBBLERS writer's critique group.  So most of my time is spent in writing or writing related events and projects.

This month, August, was no exception and I was asked to participate in the Dominion Reading Series on Aug 17 where I read and discussed my novel as well as my love of travel with a very attentive audience.   I read alongside two other very talented local poets.   

Reading at the Dominion Reading Series.

I haven't done much travel writing this year (waiting for two stories to be published in EuropeUpClose) but tomorrow, Aug 23, I'm going on a riverboat cruise to Pitt Lake where I understand there are some historical things to view.  Looking forward to this  - and a chance to be on the water out of the humidity.   And Friday I meet with a friend to discuss her in-progress novel. 

September things will get real busy with classes starting up, including 3 weeks at Century House.   I have a reading at Renaissance Books on Sept 19 as well. 

The biggest event booked so far for the Fall, is a reading at the Victoria Public Library for October 6.  Preregistration is necessary because if I don't get a big enough audience they will cancel.  I am also hoping to books some other readings and workshops while I'm there.  I contacted several of the Victoria area writers groups but so far have had no response.

 That's a pretty good start to the Fall season.  Still waiting to hear from a writers group in Kitsilano, Vancouver, who asked if I could take over instructing their group.  And I'm hoping to get a few more workshops lined up.  

SHADOW OF THE LION: Blood on the Moon, Now available on Amazon.com

 

 

Here's the big news:  

SHADOW OF THE LION, Blood on the Moon is listed on Amazon. Surprised it's a hard cover. Pretty exciting though! Official release day, August 11.

http://www.amazon.com/SHADOW-OF-THE-LION-BLOOD/dp/0992715512/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407528500&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Shadow+of+the+Lion+Volume+1+Blood+on+the+Moon



VICTORY!



It's been a long journey and an arduous battle but at last, we are victorious!  All those years of persistence and dedication to telling the story of the fall of Alexander the Great's dynasty has finally come to fruition. I HAVE A CONTRACT FOR PUBLICATION!!!

Yes, the Media Arias Publisher in UK have sent me a contract which will be signed and delivered within the next few days. I've gone over it with a knowledgeable friend and will go over it again with information from the Writers' Union, but it looks very good.

I was a bit reluctant when they suggested they would like to make it into two books, because of its length. But after consulting with them and with my friends who know the story, I've decided this may be the best way to go. And it means TWO books instead of one.  The first book will hopefully be published by August 2014 and the second volume a bit later than that (not too much later, I hope!)

This 'victory' was accomplished because I wouldn't give up. Though I'd sent out many queries (most of which didn't even get a reply), just before I left on my journey to UK and Greece in June, I had decided to send out a couple more queries. Two days later Media Arias replied asking to see the full manuscript. I had a good feeling about them -- not only because of their promptness, but because evidently their director is a fan of Mary Renault and other writers about this history.  Meanwhile, when I was away I got three other requests for the MSS but had to wait til I returned. And then the news came that they wanted to publish it and just a couple of weeks later the contract arrived!

The lesson here for other writers is, DON'T GIVE UP! Because eventually someone will recognize the worth of you story. I am more than thrilled. But I won't start to really celebrate until next week when I ink my name onto the last page of the contract and send it off to the publishers. Then it's a done deal. And after all these years I'll be a published author. Not only that, but my novel, which I spent so many years to write, will finally be made available to the public.

Alexander was with me all the way. And when I was in Greece this summer I knew he was there, giving me courage. I am proud of this accomplishment and dedicate this in his memory.

INTRODUCING PHILIP

PELLA

 

 

I have just introduced Olwen to Pella. The first couple of chapters set in the Macedonian royal city have gone fairly smoothly. She has been rescued by the young Alexander and put in the care of a court physician, Theon, on a farm in the north.  But Alexander wants them to come the Pella before winter sets in, so they have arrived there and Olwen is introduced to Macedonian royal life. Quite a stretch of imagination for her after her months of wandering as Sholto's 'hostage', far away from her Celtic home on the Salisbury Plain.

 

 





ALEXANDER, a bust from Pella, aged about 15

 

This is the Alexander who rescues Olwen from her captor. He is fifteen at this time, and soon his life will take a drastic change, just as Olwen's has. 

 

She has already had one encounter with his mother, Olympias, and has been warned.  Now she's going to meet his father, Philip, who has been away in Thessaly.  This is the chapter I'm starting now and having a little bit of trouble setting it up just right. I'm finding it a bit more difficult writing this first-person totally fiction story than I did Shadow of the Lion which was based on an actual historic plot. Dragons in the Sky has a particular cadence and it is strictly in Olwen's point of view, so a bit more restricted than third person. So far, I've managed to capture her voice and my critique group is very enthusiastic about this story. 

 

I'm sure I'll find my way around this chapter, introducing Philip who is an interesting character to say the least. I'll also be introducing Olwen to the family dynamics between Olympias/Alexander/Philip. That should be quite a fascinating experience for her. 

 

KING PHILIP of MACEDON

Artist's reconstruction of Philip's face from the skeleton found in his tomb. Notice the scarred right eye. Quite a formidable fellow!





DOING THE WORK!

Alexander rides Bucephalus eastward to his conquests

It's done!  After literally years of work writing, workshopping,rewriting,editing, compiling my historical fiction novel Shadow of the Lion is finally on its journey into the big wide world of publishing. First step, I sent it to my historical fiction author friend in the States who is going to read it and forward it to his agent/publisher. Then we'll see what comes next. I feel a great sense of relief (especially after a heart-stopping moment yesterday when I went to finalize the script only to find my entire document file of Shadow notes, versions, etc had disappeared.) I freaked out! But once I calmed down and searched, I found it in the trash box.  Don't ask me how it got there. But for sure now I will get everything on the external hard drive and a zip file. (I had other versions on zips but as I had just finished the editing and was adding things like acknowledgements and authors' notes I was waiting til later that day to save it somewhere else.)  At any rate, it's safe and now in the hands of my friend. 

I have a lot of people to thank for helping me, encouraging me and sticking with me during this long, long adventure which took about as long (if not longer) than Alexander's trek across Asia. But I know in the end it is a great story, a piece of literary fiction not just fluff. And paying out a lot of money to a pro editor was worth the investment in the end. What I sent off was as polished as I could get it. Of course, it was a lot of work. But if you want to succeed as a writer, especially a novelist, you have to be prepared to DO THE WORK!  Author Steven Pressfield has written several blogs on this subject, stressing that it is important to dedicate your time to your writing.  If all you do is poke away at it once a week or randomly, it will never get finished. Determination. Dedication. Discipline. These are key words for a writer.

Of course, in the early years of writing and researching Shadow I was also working full time or at least part time so I had to schedule my writing times. At first it was usually one week night and weekends and I jotted down notes in between. During the '90's when I was seriously working on the novel I had the good fortune to live in Greece six months of the year for several years running and this allowed me time for research and writing. Even when I was there I had to discipline myself though, and always wrote from 11 am to 4 pm before I allowed myself to venture out and hang out at the tavernas or beach. These past years since I retired from daycare work I have devoted all of my time to writing, including instructing writing classes in order to top up my pension.

To make sure I'm not wasting time I keep a daily time sheet and this includes actual writing/editing time as well as attending writer's groups, events, research etc. That way I can see if I am shirking (and it is also in case I ever get audited as a self-employed writer I can prove I am not just putting in time as a hobby).  And yes, some days I am working (writing) longer hours than I would in an office.

Now that Shadow of the Lion is finished, I still have a pile of projects to attend to. First, I want to finish the half-written Celtic novel Dragons in the Sky which I had begun long ago and set aside in order to write Shadow. And then I want to start browsing through old journal notes to compile my memoirs Life Below the Acropolis. In addition to this, I must get more travel articles written.  And I promise I'll try to be more diligent at posting here on my blog.

ON THE QUEST FOR GREATNESS

When Alexander the Great set off on his conquest to drive the Persians out of Asia Minor, I wonder if he realized his journey was going to last over ten years and take him to the farthest reaches of the known world.  (In fact, if his men hadn't mutinied when they reached the Hydaspes River in India, he would have kept going to the Encircling Ocean.  He already knew about the silk route that came from far beyond to the east.)

Just so, when I started writing my novel "Shadow of the Lion", I had no idea it was going to take me on such a long journey over such a lengthy period of time.  I started small -- writing a juvenile historical that should have only taken me about a year to write.  I'd already spent over a year researching it not counting my interest in Alexander that dated back to the age of 16.  Alexander crossed the Hellespont intending to drive the Persians back, but every battle was a victory so he kept on going.  I realized after a year of writing "Shadow" that it was too political a novel to be completed as a juvenile historical. So on the advice of a kid's book writer I started over, using a multiple point of view, given more attention to the theme "how blind ambition and greed brought down a world power."  And so it went...and the years passed and finally by the end of 2010 I had written"the end".  But that wasn't really "the end" any more than Alexander's story ended with his suspicious death in Babylon at the age 33.  Because the battles went on long afterwards.  (And that's what I was writing about.)

Now it's 2012 and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,  or the completion of the 'conquest'.  After a whole year of having two reader's critiques done and going through the manuscript painstakingly at least three times (not counting the block editing I did while writing it, thanks to the adept critiques of my writing group), I am now editing again, thanks to the professional help I have had in taking a final serious look at what I've written : corrections, cutting, formatting.  And pretty soon now, I hope I'll be finished!

However, just as in any other conquest, there are other things to take care of.  (Alexander left behind some of his soldiers to populate the cities he had establishing along the way. He entrusted his empire to his Successors, who unfortunately managed to destroy it.)  I have to make sure everything is taken care of: synopsis. query letter, Author's notes, bibliography, glossary, a map, a list of characters.  And then, hopefully, the manuscript will be in fit shape to send out into the big world of publishing.

I'm aiming for this summer.  This means I must stay on track, work a bit every day on completion, make sure everything is corrected and presentable.  Then I hope I can turn it over to good hands who will see that it finds it's rightful place in the world of books.  With all the research and writing, rewriting and editing, this has become like a 'life work'.  But I don't regret a minute of it and I feel confident that it's going to be a success.

DOING THE LIMBO

The little girl in the picture is typing on the same kind of typewriter I got when I was sixteen and a budding historical fiction writer. I love this picture because it reminds me of how many years I have worked at being a writer, and I reminisce about those many years of working toward fulfilling my dream: to get a major novel published!  At the moment I'm in a kind of writer's 'limbo' waiting for the next step in the fine-tuning of "Shadow of the Lion" before I sent it off into the big wide world of publishing.

You never imagine from the time you begin a novel until the time you get to his point how much work is involved. This was a complicated novel that turned into a much larger piece of work than I'd ever intended. When I began researching and writing it back in 1990 I intended it to be just a short juvenile historical but after a year or so realized it was too vast and political a story, so was encouraged to start over.  I did. And it became an epic!

Then you finish and all the editing begins. I was block editing as I went along and had lots of valuable critiquing advice from my Scribbler's writing group. But after it was finished, because it had become a lengthy piece of work and needed cutting, I had two excellent readers critiques done, and then began fine-tuning with the editor's eye, not the writer's.  In all I think I went through it meticulously at least four times! Then I turned it over to a professional editor who is still working on it.  A big investment, it turned out -- something else I had not really expected, but it IS an investment and needed to be done.

It's funny not having the manuscript to work on. I miss the characters as much as if they had been living souls keeping me company all those years. I feel like I'm in a bit of a vacuum because I was so used to devoting most of my time to writing about them or researching about them.

In the meantime I'm trying to keep busy with travel articles, but these are quick little pieces of writing that don't require the intense work the novel did.  And I'm retyping the first-draft old manuscript of the novel I'd half finished before getting discouraged and setting it aside in favour of Alexander and his story.  The wonderful thing is, when I workshop the chapters of my Celtic novel, Dragons in the Sky which is written as a first person narrative with a much difference voice and style than Shadow, my writer's group just loves it.  This is a Celtic novel, set in ancient Britain 4th century BC with an eventual connection to Alexander.  Parts of it are written in Bardic verse.  As I retype it I am amazed at the prose and wonder if I can continue it in order to finish the novel. But I won't do any research or rewrites until Shadow of the Lion is out of my hands.

I do have another idea cooking for a novel about Alexander's mother, Olympias.  I've had that idea for years but didn't pursue it as I was too determined to finish Shadow first. I also have a half-finished play about Sappho, the lyric poet.  So there's no end of work to keep me going for awhile. 

The monetary investment I'm making in Shadow of the Lion means I can't go back to Greece this summer, and that makes me feel sad. But I am looking at the future, because I know this novel is worth it and needs to be shown to the traditional publishers first.  Then, if all else fails I'll consider self-publishing. So this long journey won't be ending any time soon!

POETRY & PUBLICATIONS

I have been totally immersed in the poetry world the past weekends.  Two weeks ago I went to the book launch for this poetry anthology "Sudden Thunder" which has 3 of my poems in it,  all thanks to Candice James who is the poet laureate of New Westminster BC.  She and her partner published this anthology.  It was quite a thrill to read from it, then sit and sign autographs with some of the other poets whose words were published in the book. 

Reading at Hyack Square, New Westminster BC

The following weekend I was invited to read poetry at Hyack Square in New Westminster for the annual Culture Crawl.  Again, this event was organized by Candice who has become my poet mentor.
This weekend I am one of the feature readers at Poetic Justice in NW and will read from the collection I am preparing for eventual publication,  "Songs for Erato" (Tragoudia yia Erato) - poems written in or about Greece.  Thanks to all this inspiration and encouragement I even wrote a new (long) poem for the collection this week, prompted by one line in a Yannis Ritsos poem.

Til now I've not taken my poetry that seriously although I've been writing it on occasions for some years.  I have the collection "Hymns for Gods and Heroes" which was a challenge by a Greek/American friend to write a collection with an Alexander theme some years ago. It was read with accompanying flute music with two voices, a long time ago at a writer's event in Burnaby.  And my old novel (which I am reviving now that Shadow is finished) has some chapters written in Bardic verse. (Amazing how I did that!)

So here I am - the poet who didn't know it!  And it's become a fun diversion while I prepare final edits on my novel.

Meanwhile, I am writing up a storm with travel stories and getting a lot of new ones published either in EuropeUpClose, two accepted by Off Beat Travel and two more for Senior Living in early 2012.  Also attempting to catch up with blogs and regain my readership here.  It's been a very productive summer!

LIVING THE EDITOR'S LIFE

Me, reading from "Shadow of the Lion" at the wrap party.

These days, aside from some travel writing for http://www.istopover.com/ and working on some of the travel stories that I have back-logged in my files while I spent time on Shadow of the Lion,  I have begun the final edits for the novel.

I try to do a few chapters a day, red pencilling in corrections and making notations for changes or omits.

Yesterday I spent 3 hours with my critique reader going over some of the parts she has been reading for me.  She was enthusiastic about the story, amazed at the research and the character development.  And was impressed with the way I've built the tension throughout, which was good to know because in such a long saga it's hard to tell if you've done this or not.

She says she is enjoying the story so much it's hard for her to choose what I should cut.  But I know the novel needs lots of cutting so I guess that means the 'editor' (me) will have to be a bit brutal.  For now, though I'm just noting the places that probably can be eliminated.  After all the red pencilling is done, I'll start working from hard copy to computer again and set up a new file for the more polished version.

It's a bit strange being the 'editor' now, instead of the writer.  I have to admit I miss my characters and wish they were still running around in my head, but I can't let them interfere with the technical work so I've had to put them out of mind.  I think that taking a week or two break before starting the editing was helpful, as I am now more distanced from the story and can be more objective.

Today I spent several hours with an actor friend who is going over the first act script of my play about Sappho, "House of the Muses".  She has been reading and critiquing it and gave me loads of helpful hints for improving it.  Looking at the play script is different from the novel and what she has pointed out is important for me to know.  She also suggested perhaps I should take another playwright's course to workshop the script which I think would be an excellent idea. 

However, one thing at a time.  I must not get sidetracked from the work on Shadow so I am not intending to work on the play until later.  When I took the workshop at the playwright's centre a couple of years ago I didn't get any of this valuable feedback and that's why I got discouraged with it, even though I knew it was a good idea.  Now at least I know where I can begin and what to do to make it better.  That in itself is pretty exciting.

So, for now, the busy bee editor has lots to do with her novel manuscript.  But sometime before too long the writer will go back to work on new projects.  I'm quite excited about those prospects!

Oh yes, take a look at my website and you'll see a page about Shadow of the Lion.  I still have another couple of pages to add later on -- one for plays and one for travel. http://www.ruthkozak.com/

PROGRESS REPORT #69: MAKING SLOW PROGRESS

As the Greek's say "sega, sega!" Easy, easy.  And that's how I'm approaching the last bit of work on Shadow of the Lion. It's taken me awhile, as I've only been home 3 weeks from my travels and have been caught up in new classes, some literary events and a bit of recovery from jet-lag and culture shock.  But I'm slowly starting back to work on the finale of the novel.  Who would have thought it would be so difficult to write this last bit? 

Garrison walls, Amphipolis



Where am I now in the story?  I am in the garrison of Amphipolis.  There has been a lull in the action as far as the threats against Roxana and Iskander.  The new garrison commander, in charge while the evil Glaukias is away, has shown some respect and tolerance to them and has allowed the boy and his companions some freedom.  But watch what happens next!

I found that I was dissatisfied with the last chapter segment I wrote, so I've been trying to figure out how to improve it, editing and adding some new bits.  Still not certain it's what I want, but for now I'll let it go and move on to the next bit.  As usual, I always find it hard to write the transitions between chapters or chapter segments so although I have some of it written in note form, I haven't launched into it as yet.

Meanwhile I spent some time writing travel stories and have to polish up one about Pt. Townsend, WA to send off.  And of course I have started submitting to The Vancouver Guide again.  Still, I have a lot of travel stories yet to write so I must squeeze these in between what work I am doing on Shadow.  Fortunately I've had a bit of extra time to do some of it, but it all requires DISCIPLINE and FOCUS which are somewhat difficult to achieve (for me, anyway!)

But, I will continue to post my progress reports and very soon I hope to be able to write THE END.
Watch for more chapter segments to come.