Marketing Materials - First Step

31 August 2011, Marketing Materials - First Step

I'm showing you how I prepare marketing material for my novels.  Here is a repeat just to introduce the subject.  Today, I'm working on the first section of the long form information.

Marketing a novel is more difficult in my mind than writing a novel.  I'd like to just spend my time writing, unfortunately, before your novel is published, you have the burden of finding a publisher and after your novel is published, you have the burden of following your publisher's marketing instructions.

Marketing is a very important part of writing a novel.  The first thing after writing your novel is get your marketing stuff together.  Marketing information is critical to your writing and it forms the basis for the inner and outer cover and other future marketing materials.  Here is the outline of what is required.  I'll start with the long form information and continue to the short form.

I put all this information together in the same file.  I do produce a second file, that I will go over with you specifically for my regular publisher.  I put the commentary in italics.

Title of Work:

Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon

Remember, I told you you need to set a title on the work.  Go  back and look at how I've written about this.  This may not be the best title, but it is unique and meets the criteria I mentioned for searches and other works with a similar name (there are none).  You have to set a title because you need to call the novel something.

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

This is your nom de plume.  I use L.D. Alford as my professional writing name.  You put your real name on your cover letter or the top of the marketing materials.  By the way, you are producing these materials so you can give a publisher a couple of pages of information that definitively describes your novel.  You are also producing these materials for the future use of your publisher in producing other marketing materials and the front and back covers of your published novel.  These include the teasers for your novel.

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

This matters to some publishers and some agencies (don't ask me why.  Ask them.)

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

121,475 words

Novels are measured in the number of words.  This is the only measure that means anything.

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Russia, Austria, 1918, Wien, Vienna, Daemon, Demon, Aksinya, Asmodeus, Catholic Church, Sorcery, Travel, Orthodox Church, Russian Revolution, WWI, temptation, desire, convent, nobility, Countess, aristocracy, languages, Latin, Greek, German, French, contract, evil, Tobit

Will fascinate anyone interested in sorcery, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

This is an unbelievably important section.  The most important part is the end where we see the Market Focus.  The keywords themselves allow a publisher or an agency to get a feel of interest for the work.  They also provide the ability to categorize the work.  These are helpful to you in developing your websites and information.  Pick and choose carefully those words that uniquely describe your work.  Try to determine words that will excite and intrigue the publishers and possible readers.  These will become the words that generally describe your work.

Market focus is your real first chance to get the publisher excited about your work.  This will focus their interest and give them the first impression of what audience the work is aimed at.  Plus, this allows you to determine the audience of your work.  You wouldn't send a book like Aksinya to a cooking book publisher.  You wouldn't send this kind of novel to a young adult publisher or to a science fiction publisher.

Genre:

Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words

         

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.

Short form information: 

Reviewer’s quotes.

1.  No more than 3 sentences about the content of your manuscript.

2.  One sentence about successful works similar to yours.

3.  No more than 2 sentences about yourself. (use 3^rd person)

4.  No more than 2 sentences that include “other,” i.e. any reasons, relationships, or other factors that might make your work more attractive.

Tomorrow, we'll look at more information with commentary.

Marketing Materials

30 August 2011, Marketing Materials

Marketing a novel is more difficult in my mind than writing a novel.  I'd like to just spend my time writing, unfortunately, before your novel is published, you have the burden of finding a publisher and after your novel is published, you have the burden of following your publisher's marketing instructions.

Marketing is a very important part of writing a novel.  The first thing after writing your novel is get your marketing stuff together.  Marketing information is critical to your writing and it forms the basis for the inner and outer cover and other future marketing materials.  Here is the outline of what is required.  I'll start with the long form information and continue to the short form.

Title of Work:

Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

121,475 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Genre:

Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words

         

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.

Short form information: 

Reviewer’s quotes.

1.  No more than 3 sentences about the content of your manuscript.

2.  One sentence about successful works similar to yours.

3.  No more than 2 sentences about yourself. (use 3^rd person)

4.  No more than 2 sentences that include “other,” i.e. any reasons, relationships, or other factors that might make your work more attractive.

Tomorrow, I'll start filing in the information with commentary.

A Website for Aksinya

29 August 2011, A Website for Aksinya

Immediately after you set a title, you should acquire the website for it.  Go for the entire title, but pick titles that make good websites.  For Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon, I tried to get Aksinya.com.  Since that one wasn't available, I took http://www.aksinyanovel.com/, and I put Aksinya.com on back order.  It is critical that you get any websites directly aligned with your title.

In fact, in today's world, you should acquire all the web addresses related to your business and your name.  I own: http://www.lionelalford.com/, http://www.ldalford.com/, as well as my wife's name and my son's name.  I also own the websites of all my books plus some variations on their names.

I have a friend in IT who gave me five reasons for owning your own websites.  I can only remember one of them--it's cheap.

Tomorrow, more on marketing.

Formatting Your Manuscript

28 August 2011, Formatting Your Manuscript

One great question is how do you format your manuscript for a publisher or for marketing.  I'll show and tell you how I format mine.  This information comes from many sources, but is the way it was done before computers.  I haven't found anyone to give a really different formatting style, and my publisher hasn't complained.  So, unless you find something better, I'd use this.  By the way, this is for a novel and not a nonfiction work, although the formatting is similar.

I don't have the first chapter of Aksinya up on its web page yet, but you can see an example of how I have already formatted the first chapter at this link:
http://www.alfordhome.com/LionelAlford.com/documents/Warrior%20of%20Darkness%20Chapter%201.pdf
The link above will take you to the first chapter of Warrior of Darkness. 

First Page Header
Note that on the first page, the title is in the header on the left side.  The chapter number is in the header on the right side.  Every first page of every chapter should look like this.  This way if the manuscript is printed and gets out of order, the chapter and title are obvious.  While the manuscript is on the computer, this allows the reader to immediately identify the work and chapter of the work.  I bold the title and chapter.

Subsequent Page Headers
If you look at the second and following pages of the chapter, you will see the basic header remains the same, but below the title, on the left side, is the author's last name and the page number.  I don't bold the last name or page number.  I do place a double dash between them.  If you set up the novel as chapter files in the outline view, you can easily get the page number in the header.  I don't advise writing your novels entirely in a single file, but if you do, this is easy too.  The reason for the last name is to identify the author on each page.  The Page numbers is for the reviewer/editor/publisher to keep track of the pages.

Subsequent Chapters
The next chapter is two.  You can do this in Word by having each chapter be a new section and listing the section as the chapter.  There are some other ways of doing this, but this is the way I do it.  The header format is the same for each chapter. 

First Page of the Manuscript
Don't include anything except the manuscript.  It should not have a title page, a thanks page, an attribution, a dedication, an author's prolog, or anything except the first page of the actual novel.  All that other stuff comes later.  Don't put anything extraneous in this copy.

The author's information goes on the left.  Give your real name, your address, email, and phone number.

The novel information goes on the right.  This used to be the copyright information and the word count.  Now-a-days the word count is all you need.  Use the word count of the entire novel.  The copyright is implied and unnecessary unless you really have one.  The author and novel information is single spaced.

Title
Move down a few lines and put the title and the "by-line."  Use your pen name--if you have one.  This is the name you want on the manuscript when it is printed.

First Line
Move down a few more lines and start the text of the novel.

This is the way to format the novel for marketing.  When you send it or parts of it away, the only thing you need is the cover letter and/or the publisher's requested cover.  Many publishers have a requested cover they want to see with the manuscript.  I'll talk about that more when we get to marketing materials.

Notice, I mentioned that Aksinya already has its own website.  I'll discuss that tomorrow.

Using the Files for Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon

27 August 2011, Using the Files for Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon

Yesterday, I mentioned that when I was done with Aksinya (Daemon), I had 22 chapter files, a Word outline file that linked the 22 chapter files, a normal Word file of the complete novel, a pdf of the complete novel, and a pdf of the first chapter.  Each of these separate files have a unique purpose.

1.  22 chapter files - these are the files I edit.  These are the basis files for the novel.  I triple back them up and treat them like gold.
2.  Word outline file that linked the 22 chapter files - this is your word count, formatting, and overall novel working file.  I don't like to edit in this file.  The chance of really screwing something up is too high.  It is the easiest way to get the entire novel into a single file with formatting.
3.  Normal Word file of the complete novel - this is the file I will send off to a publisher.  That is, if they ask for the entire manuscript.  This is also the file I will send to my prepublication readers.
4.  A pdf of the complete novel - this is the file to send to other reviewers.  Because a pdf can't aesily be messed with, this is the kind of file to give to those you trust less than your prepub readers.
5.  A pdf of the first chapter - this is the file you want to put everywhere.  I use it on the novel's website and put it on scribed.  I don't mind people reading and getting this file.  Since it is a pdf, it can't be messed with easily and it can be read. I want to get the work out into other people's hands.  Since this is the most exciting beginning scene and chapter, this is the piece of the novel that should excite people to continue reading.

The formatting of the final complete novel is important.  I'll discuss that tomorrow.

Getting the File Together for Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon

26 August 2011, Getting the File Together for Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon

Yesterday, I showed you how I set a title.  I'm not totally happy with this one, but for now, it works.  The next step is to get the files together.  If you write into a single file, this isn't a necessary step, but If you are like me and save each chapter separately, this is a required step. 

First, let's assume you've edited the first copy about five times.  That's the minimum number that I do before I'm ready to move out with a manuscript.  All of the steps I'm mentioning are accomplished at the same time. 

So, after the first cut of the novel, and a few editing run throughs, I'm ready to prepare the complete book file and a pdf.  I write in chapters and save the chapters individually.  For example, Aksinya (Daemon) has 22 chapters.  Each one is an individual file.  I use the outline view in Word to bring the chapter files into a single document.  I get the word count and format this document for presentation to publishers.  Then I cut the files loose from the individual files and produce a file that includes all of the novel.  This is the file I send to a publisher who wants the entire manuscript. 

I turn the file that includes the whole novel into a pdf, and I make the first chapter into a pfd.  So, when I was done with Aksinya (Daemon), I had 22 chapter files, a Word outline file that linked the 22 chapter files, a normal Word file of the complete novel, a pdf of the complete novel, and a pdf of the first chapter.

Each of these files has a purpose.  I'll write about that tomorrow. 

Setting a Title on Daemon (working title)

25 August 2011, Setting a Title on Daemon (working title)

Okay, now that I've finished the first draft of Daemon (working title), I need to find a title for it.  The following is information I've given about setting a title:

Unless you get a bolt from the blue while you are writing your novel, a title is best affixed when you finish the first draft.  Sometimes it takes a long while to match the right title to a book, and sometimes the marketing savvy of your editor/publisher helps fix the title.  Here are some ideas on how not to put together a bad title.  Once you have a potential title or titles in mind:

Check it on Amazon, B&N, or any other book seller site.  You want your title to be nearly or absolutely unique.  This means no one else has used it in common practice or knowledge.  If you have a great title, but everyone and his brother is using it already, how will you separate yourself from the crowd?  Just take a look at some common titles on Amazon and see how many hits they generate--sometimes thousands.  If your title gets confused with a thousand other titles, no one will find your book.  On the other hand, if your book has a strange title, you might get no hits at all.

Make sure your title reflects your work.  Roz Young recommended my book Aegypt be called, In the Tomb of the Goddess of Darkness and Light.  That's catchy, but too long.  There are some other works with Aegypt in the title and another work named Aegypt.  Just one.  I felt that that was great probability.  Someone looking for Aegypt (either novel) would find mine.  This is a positive.

Don't hold on to your working title if it doesn't work.  For example, I gave a working title of Seeds for The Seeds of Rebellion to the work The End of Honor.  The working title of The Fox's Honor was Duel.  The title of A Season of Honor was Desert.  These titles simply stood in place for the final titles.  Eventually, the Honor theme became the focus of each of the titles, and finally, I gave the series the title The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox.  This was a request from my publisher and made sense from the context of the books.

So to recap, make sure you have a somewhat unique title, that can't be confused with too many works.  Check it out before you go to print.

So, taking my own advice, I checked the title Daemon using the Internet and found that by itself, Daemon isn't the worst or the best title.  I also determined that Daemon doesn't really fit the work that well.  What to do?  I decided to start with the form of the titles of my other non-related works.  I've been writing some fun works that all have a major character or main character who is a woman.  Those works, I've named for the major/main character for example: Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth and  Dana-ana: Enchantment of the Maiden.  Because of this, I'm naming this novel, for now, Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.

This title checks out, but it may not meet the test of time or a publisher.  Likely, a publisher will want a simpler title.  If my regular publisher or the same publisher wants to publish all my unrelated novels, they might like the set of titles for the works.  This is just an idea, but the most important point of publishing and your publisher is to sell your books.  The title is a critical part of the work and marketing the work.

Tomorrow, the marketing materials and setting up the work.

Daemon (working title)

24 August 2011

I hope you enjoyed reading this novel that is Daemon (working title).  In future posts, I'll go through the rest of the steps in editing, picking a title, preparing marketing material, presenting to a publisher, and the other steps an author goes through after the novel has been written.

Perhaps this is the point to say, no novel has been finished until it comes out in print (electronic or paper). 

Let's talk a little about this novel.  If you followed along for the entire trip (or maybe part of it), you can see that Daemon (working title) is a very complex novel.  It is a semi-allegory based on the book of Tobit.  The novel explores temptation and the power of temptation.  It uses as its primary symbol a demon, Asmodeus, who was called and contracted by the novel's main character, Aksinya.  Aksinya is a very powerful, but needy person.  I could say much more, but I've already spent about 100,000 words describing the details within the writing of a 125,000 novel.  During this trip, I've shown you many of my writing techniques and tricks.  There are many more--many I missed and many more that I don't use routinely.  Still, I passed on to you my ideas, and I hope you can use them well.  I do and will continue to use them.  This was my 21st novel, but I am already writing a 22nd, and I'm using all the techniques and the ideas I described here, in my new book.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about selecting a title.

A New Novel, Part 323 The First of Many

23 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 323 The First of Many
For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  Aksinya and Dobrushin are in Boston, and Aksinya has come to an Orthodox girl's school looking for a job.  The headmistress recognises Aksinya and embraces her... 

The woman before her gave a cry, “Princess Aksinya.”  She rushed around the desk and embraced her. 

Aksinya couldn’t get her breath she couldn’t speak.  Finally, she threw her arms around the headmistress and exclaimed, “Lady Natalya.”

Natalya buried her face in Aksinya’s thick braided hair and blubbered.  They stood together for a long time without saying anything.  Finally, Natalya spoke, “I thought I would never see you again, Princess.”

Aksinya kissed her cheeks, “Dear Lady Natalya, I would never have guessed I would find you here.  Is Herr von Taaffe with you?”

Natalya gave a laugh, “I am Mrs. Natalya Alexandrovna von Taaffe, though not called a Lady anymore.  And you?”

“Father Dobrushin married me although he is not a priest anymore, and I am no longer a Princess.”

Natalya’s moist eyes held Aksinya’s, “You will always be a Princess.  My lady’s maid told me you were looking for a job.”

“Please, Lady Natalya, I’m certain you would not wish to have me around you all the time.  I know I will bring back terrible memories to you.”

“You don’t understand at all Princess.  You are the reason I am here today.  Wait with me for a while.  Let me hear all that has happened to you since we parted, then we will have luncheon with Sister Margarethe, and we will discuss your teaching work in my school.”

“Sister Margarethe is also here?”

“Herr von Taaffe retained her as our housekeeper.  She converted to Russian Orthodox and entered an order in the United States.  Our school is loosely affiliated with Saint John’s.”  Natalya held Aksinya at arms length and looked her over, “Dear friend, we have so much to talk about and so much to share.  I do love you, Princess.  I want you to remain with us forever.”

“In spite of everything that happened?”

“Because of everything that happened before.  That time marked the end of a horrible and wonderful period, yet redemption came to you, to me.”  She held Aksinya close, “I could not bear to lose you again, Aksinya.  You redeemed me, the first of many.  You shall redeem many more.  God exceeded our expectations in spite of what we had done.”     

- The End -

This novel was all about loss and what people are willing to give up for their own desires.  Aksinya did indeed lose her old life.  She lost her position, her money, her goods, her family, her friends, her sorcery.  She lost literally everything.  She gained salvation, and lost the demon.  We recognise the things she gained and the life she gained in spite of the losses.  I wanted to convey this in this scene.  I gave Aksinya back her two closest friends because I wanted to remind you that this novel was also about salvation.  Aksinya found salvation in spite of the demon and in spite of who she was and what she had done.  She paid a high price for the salvation, but in retrospect it was a lot less than her savior.  I mean that about both her saviors.  Dobrushin became her savior from a physical standpoint.  He saved her from all the harm she had brought upon herself.  Her other savior was Christ.  Even though everything seemed to be contrived against Aksinya, ultimately, Christ provided spiritual salvation and eventually freedom from her demon.

Do you remember that I told you this novel was about the demons we all carry.  Aksinya's demon was just more real than most of ours.  This novel was a novel about redemption on many levels.  The redeemed was the one who seemed the least likely to have any hope, yet she, Aksinya was redeemed--and along the way, she did redeem others.  This is the point I wanted to make in this final chapter.  It does no good if your efforts only benefit yourself--even salvation.  In this way, salvation is both individual and communal.  The salvation of the individual leads to the salvation of the many.

In this piece, we see Natalya.  She is unbroken, but she carries the scars of Aksinya's beating.  Aksinya carries scars as well.  Natalya embraces Aksinya.  They are both overcome by the meeting.  Natalya buries her face in Aksinya's "thick braided hair."  Do you ever think I could let you forget the hair.  This is the symbol for Aksinya's contract with the demon.  Natalya gets to see a whole Aksinya for the first time.  Aksinya's first thought is for her friend: "Is Herr von Taaffe here."  Natalya is not a kept woman, she is a wife with rights.  I let you know that she and Ernst had to give up something--she is not called a Lady anymore.

Then I remind you of a little that Aksinya and Dobrushin have lost.  That's when I get to deliver the clincher.  Aksinya states:  "I’m certain you would not wish to have me around you all the time.  I know I will bring back terrible memories to you.”  Natalya's response: “You don’t understand at all Princess.  You are the reason I am here today."  We discover that Sister Margarethe is also a teacher at the school--do you remember Stacy's tormentor. 

Already Aksinya has a job.  Now we find that some of the damage that was done to Natalya, Ernst, and Sister Margarethe has been blunted.  Nothing can ever return to the way it was, but it can be better.  Not everything is resolved.  Not everything is made right, but in spite of the pain and suffering, as Natalya says: “Because of everything that happened before.  That time marked the end of a horrible and wonderful period, yet redemption came to you, to me.”  She held Aksinya close, “I could not bear to lose you again, Aksinya.  You redeemed me, the first of many.  You shall redeem many more.  God exceeded our expectations in spite of what we had done.”  

This is the message that I wanted to leave you with.  No telling allowed, but if you didn't get it in the rest of the novel, I wanted to make certain you didn't miss it here.  This is the kicker at the end--it should conclude and leave the reader with the theme:  "You shall redeem many more.  God exceeded our expectations in spite of what we had done.”  It is faith based, but hey--how can a novel so deeply involved with the spiritual not be faith based.  I hope you have enjoyed it.  I'll get into the next step details tomorrow.

A New Novel, Part 322 Princess Aksinya

22 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 322 Princess Aksinya

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  Aksinya and Dobrushin are in Boston, and Aksinya has come to an Orthodox girl's school looking for a job.  She is waiting for the headmistress to call on her, Stacy is called into the office first... 

After a few minutes, Stacy exited the office.  She held her features set in a look of contrition.  The moment the door closed, she gave a very American, thumbs up to Aksinya, and mouthed, “It worked.”  Then louder she said, “I hope you do teach here.”  She skipped back down the hall to her class.

The door opened a crack, “Mrs. Aksinya Andreiovna Lopuhin, please enter.” 

Aksinya stood and entered the office.  The headmistress had her back to Aksinya and walked back to her desk.  The woman seemed young.  Very young for a headmistress.  One shoulder drooped a little lower than the other, but her back was ramrod straight and her clothing was very fine, much finer than Aksinya’s. 

The desk was large and filled one end of the room.  The office was rather deep and had a fireplace on the left wall.  Some padded chairs and a simple tea table were arranged before the fireplace.  An unpadded chair sat before the desk.  Without turning, the headmistress pointed to that chair.  Aksinya stood beside it and waited for the headmistress to sit. 

The moment the headmistress turned, Aksinya dropped her briefcase.  Her mouth fell open.  She couldn’t speak.

The woman before her gave a cry, “Princess Aksinya.”  She rushed around the desk and embraced her. 

I wanted to show you how Aksinya has gone from a person who could not intentionally help anyone to a person who could not help but help.  She gives Stacy good advice.  The advice pleases Stacy and obviously made the headmistress happy.  The foreshadowing and the encouragement from Stacy is that she wants Aksinya to come teach at the school.  Can you imagine Aksinya as a teacher--not before, but perhaps now.

Then the headmistress calls Aksinya into her office.  The headmistress' back is to Aksinya--perhaps she has already written her off.  I give you some clues: the headmistress is young, one shoulder droops, but her back is straight.  Her clothing is finer than Aksinya's.  Then I set the scene and describe the room.  This is an advanced writing technique--I give you the info I want about the headmistress, then I move to the room description.  This gives you time to process the information.

Aksinya waits for the headmistress to sit.  Then I do give you a grand coincidence.  I will admit, this could be considered a Deus ex Machina.  I wanted to give a final punch to the novel and this is it.  Tomorrow, who is the headmistress.

A New Novel, Part 321 She is Quite Strict

21 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 321 She is Quite Strict

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  Aksinya and Dobrushin are in Boston, and Aksinya has come to an Orthodox girl's school looking for a job.  She is waiting for the headmistress to call on her, but she happens to be sitting next to a girl named Stacy... 

The girl, Stacy asked, “Are you going to go to school here?  Where are your mother and father?”

Aksinya laughed, “I’m applying to be a teacher here.”

The girl’s eyes widened, “You look so young.”

“I’m married,” Aksinya held out her right hand.

Stacy admired Aksinya’s plain golden ring, “Mother told me they married young in the old country.  Just how old are you?”

Aksinya laughed again, “I’m twenty-three.  I just graduated from Radcliffe.”

“Do you like school that much?”

“Yes, I like it very much.  I never was able to go when I was young.”

“You’d hate it if you were my age.”

“Why is that?”

Stacy held out her red hand, “Sister already used her ruler on my hand, and now I have to speak to the headmistress.  If she tells my mother, I’ll get the strap for sure.”

“Perhaps you should tell the headmistress you didn’t know what the words meant and beg her forgiveness.”

“I truly didn’t know what the words were, and I still don’t know what they mean.”

“Then tell her that.”

“Sister wouldn’t listen.”

“Sometimes they are like that.”

The door cracked open, and a call came from inside the office.  It was Russian accented English and sounded very pleasant, “Miss Anastasiya please come inside.”  To Aksinya, the voice seemed slightly familiar.

As Stacy passed Aksinya, she whispered in Russian, “Don’t let her voice fool you, she is quite strict.”

Aksinya nodded.

More advanced techniques.  At the beginning of this dialog, I describe Aksinya to you through the eyes of Stacy, but I don't use a single word of description.  Stacy asks if Aksinya is going to school there and where are her parents.  This indicates that Aksinya still looks like a teen to Stacy, plus there is just so much wrapped up in this comment.  It drives to the core of Aksinya's previous lack of confidence.  Look how she handles it now--she simply answers the girl as though nothing were amiss.  This indicates her maturity. 

Perhaps Aksinya gets this kind of reaction all the time, because she answers it in an interesting way.  She shows her ring and indicates she is married.  Note, the ring is on the right hand and not the left.  In general in Europe, the wedding ring goes on the right hand, in the US, it is the left hand.

Stacy attributes this to the old country, but notice the admiration--all women (and girls) in this era admired those who were married--it indicated a level of maturity, worth, and wealth.  This lets me move on to give Aksinya's age and again that she graduated from Radcliffe.  The reason for this is a setup to give the point about school.  Aksinya loves school--she never got to go except in Wien for a few short months, and then Radcliffe.  That idea is a lead in to Stacy's complaint about the Sister.  I show you Stacy's hand and Stacy tells you that the sister struck her with a ruler--this was a common punishment for girls at the time.  Poor Stacy knows that the headmistress will tell her mom and Stacy will get the strap.  Again, not an uncommon punishment at the time.

Aksinya's advice comes directly from her own experience.  This is supposed to be a small parallel.  This sets up the conversation for a couple of jokes, one about the sister not listening and the other about Stacy not knowing what the dreaded words meant.

Then, the headmistress calls for Stacy.  She speaks English.  The fact that the voice is familiar is a foreshadowing.  Stacy has accepted Aksinya as an intimate--she passes on some advice herself.  Tomorrow, the result of Stacy's interview.

A New Novel, Part 320 What were the Words?

20 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 320 What were the Words?

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  Aksinya and Dobrushin are in Boston, and Aksinya has come to an Orthodox girl's school looking for a job.  She is waiting for the headmistress to call on her, but she happens to be sitting next to a student... 

The maid turned a stern look at the girl then pointed to the seats.  Aksinya sat next to the girl.  The maid knocked at the office, entered and closed the door behind her.  She exited just a moment later, “The headmistress will call for you in a moment.”

Aksinya answered “Thank you.”

The girl beside her stared at Aksinya.

Aksinya stared back, “I’m Aksinya Andreiovna Lopuhin, and you are?”

The girl answered, “I’m Anastasiya, but everyone calls me Stacy.”  Her Russian was from Moscow, but the name Stacy was said purely in English.

Aksinya laughed, “Do you speak English?”

“Not well.  We’re supposed to learn it here.”

“Are you?”

“Too well.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“My brother taught me some words and the Sister didn’t like me to say them at all.”

“What were the words?”

Stacy motioned for Aksinya to lower her head a little and whispered into her ear.

Aksinya blushed, “Is that why you are here to speak to the headmistress?”

Stacy nodded woefully.

“You have a Nun teaching here?”

“Yes, she is Orthodox but not from Russia.”

“What does she teach?”

“English, German, and French, but mostly German.”

“I see.”

All right, here is an advanced method to show you about a character.  I set up a situation.  Here is a girl who is being punished for some misdeed.  I sit Aksinya next to her.  The ensuing conversation allows me to tell you something about the school, but even more about Aksinya.  This is a method to get across information to your readers without telling them anything.  Plus, you can use this type of conversational scene to get under the skin of your character a little. 

The first glance is interesting enough--the girl stares at Aksinya.  Aksinya looks odd enough for a child to stare at her.  We will discover why, but the point should be made that the girl feels comfortable about Aksinya--comfortable enough to stare.  Aksinya stares back--that's just Aksinya.  She introduces herself, and the girl, Stacy responds. 

The point I wanted you to get here is that the girl is from Moscow, but she is acclimating to America.  Stacy is certainly not a Russian diminutive for Anastasiya.  Stacy was pronounced so well in English, Aksinya asks about is, and we learn that part of this school's focus--English and assimilation.  Then we learn why Stacy is waiting to speak to the headmistress.  Notice, I never tell you the words--don't have to.  Your imagination provides them for me.  This also lets me bring up the point of a nun teaching at the school.  This is a foreshadowing, and one part of the reason I wanted to put in this scene.  We get a little information about this nun.  Tomorrow, more about Stacy.

A New Novel, Part 319 The Headmistress Will Call for You in a Moment

19 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 319 The Headmistress Will Call for You in a Moment

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  Aksinya and Dobrushin are in Boston, and Aksinya has come to an Orthodox girl's school looking for a job... 

Aksinya pulled the bell.  After a couple of minutes a matronly woman dressed as a chamber maid answered the door.  She was pleasant looking.  Aksinya smiled and announced in English, “I am Mrs. Aksinya Andreiovna Lopuhin.”

The maid responded in broken English, “This is a Russian academy, are you certain you are at the right place?  We don’t accept married students.”

Aksinya changed to Russian, “I am here to apply for the position of English and linguistics teacher.  You posted it with the Russian exchange office.”

“Yes, so we did.”  The woman frowned and looked Aksinya up and down.

“Is there a problem?”

“None at all.”  The woman’s tone of voice said there was.  “I’ll take you to see the headmistress.  She is also the wife of the owner of this school.”

The building was similar to many of the row houses Aksinya was familiar with in Boston.  The foyer wasn’t large.  It opened to a stairway that led up into the building and a hall that led to the rear.  A parlor was on the right and a classroom on the left.  Aksinya could hear the teacher lecturing through the closed door. 

The maid didn’t lead Aksinya into the parlor or upstairs but rather headed down the hall on the first floor.  They passed a second and a third classroom on the left and right and finally arrived at a large dining room and kitchen.  They were also on the left.  On the right was a door labeled Office of the Headmistress.  The door was closed.  Outside the door sat four hardback chairs in a row.  A girl of about twelve slumped in one of the seats.  She didn’t seem very happy.

The maid turned a stern look at the girl then pointed to the seats.  Aksinya sat next to the girl.  The maid knocked at the office, entered and closed the door behind her.  She exited just a moment later, “The headmistress will call for you in a moment.”

Aksinya answered “Thank you.”

The scene setting is complete and notice I move directly into conversation.  Aksinya announces herself in such a way that she doesn't give her title or her rank.  She uses her husband's name.  This might catch the modern reader off guard.  A noble woman would continue to use her title.  Aksinya has given up her nobility--just as Dobrushin gave up his profession and Church rank.

The maid responds in broken English--this way you know she is Russian.  I don't have to tell you this--I show it to you.  The maid mistakes Aksinya for an American, and she punctuates Aksinya's fears by thinking Aksinya is seeking to be a student there.  This is another reminder of Aksinya's appearance.  Notice the advanced writing technique used to show this.

Aksinya changes to Russian--another reminder of the maid's language.  She announces her intentions.  I give you a little historical knowledge.  There were no Russian embassies.  The USSR was not acknowledged by the USA.  The best there were was exchange offices.  The maids attention to Aksinya builds the tension.  The woman finally decides to take Aksinya to the headmistress, but she isn't happy about it.  I give you a little information as a foreshadowing that the headmistress is the wife of the owner of the school.  A little history here too--men usually owned the property of their wives.

Now, I give you scene setting of the inside of the building.  It is a typical row house that incorporates a school.  The rest is a tour of the lower floor to the headmistress' office.  Outside the office are chairs for waiting and a girl is sitting in one of the chairs.  You can guess already why the girl is there.  I don't tell you anything--I show you: she is slumped and not happy, and the maid gives her a stern look.

Aksinya sits next to the girl.  You knew Aksinya would--that is her personality.  The maid announces Aksinya.  Tomorrow, conversation with the girl.

A New Novel, Part 318 I am Mrs. Aksinya Andreiovna Lopuhin

18 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 318 I am Mrs. Aksinya Andreiovna Lopuhin

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  The last we knew, they were contemplating travelling to Boston in the United States... 

Aksinya swung off the streetcar and skipped down the Union Park in Boston.  She wore a tweed dress and a jaunty tweed cap.  She carried a leather briefcase her Dobrushushka had given her at her graduation only a month before.  It reminded her of the briefcase she owned when she attended Sacré Coeur, but she never remembered carrying that one herself.  She was very proud of this briefcase—it held her diploma in linguistics and teaching from Radcliffe College.  Radcliffe was one of the few woman’s college she could attend since all the Catholic ones excluded her.  She had mostly escaped notoriety, but still she and Dobrushushka attended a very small Russian Orthodox Church near his office. 

Aksinya spotted Saint John the Baptizer Greek Orthodox Church across the street and started counting the buildings down from it.

She and Dobrushin had been in Boston for a little over four years.  They were delightful years.  She already wondered what she would do to seduce him tonight—it had been two days already since the last time.  He was already a partner at the law firm.  Everyone in the firm knew he was married, but Aksinya rarely showed her face there.  Dobrushushka begged off officially because of her schooling.  That was a good thing, she didn’t need notoriety.  She didn’t want her Dobrushushka to lose this job.

Aksinya halted when her counting reached the correct house number and glanced at the building.  She stopped skipping and walked carefully up the stairs in front.  The sign was right beside the door: Sacred Heart of Christ, Russian Orthodox Seminary for Young Women and Girls.”

Aksinya smiled.  That sounded like just the place for her.  All the other schools where she applied to teach mistook her for a student.  None of them had called her back.  She luckily heard about this place from a friend at their Ecclesia.

Aksinya pulled the bell.  After a couple of minutes a matronly woman dressed as a chamber maid answered the door.  She was pleasant looking.  Aksinya smiled and announced in English, “I am Mrs. Aksinya Andreiovna Lopuhin.”

This is an entirely new scene and location.  First, I set the scene.  I do this by showing you Aksinya's actions.  She swings off a streetcar and skips down Union Park (that's a street).  I give you a description of her clothing.  Do you remember the type of clothing she wore once before--it was silk and satin.  In the beginning of the novel, she was dressed in a dress fit for a princess--that didn't fit her well.  Now, she is dressed like a Kelly Girl.  She has on wool--it is nice clothing, but not very fine.

I give you another past reminder and some information.  She carries a briefcase that was a gift from Dobrushin at her graduation only a month before.  This tells you that she went to school.  I also tie the briefcase to Sacré Coeur and to Natalya (Aksinya never carried her old briefcase).  I use the briefcase as a tool to tell you her degree and her college.  Then I remind you that she couldn't attend any Catholic colleges. 

I give you more information: they attend a small Ecclesia and near Dobrushin's office.  Do you see how I am bringing you up to date about Aksinya and Dobrushin just using description.  I really haven't told you anything.

Then more of the setting.  The church on Union Park and Aksinya counts the buildings to find the proper address.  More information--they have been in Boston more than four years.  This is mixed with a little of Aksinya's thoughts--to tell you how precious Dobrushin is to her, and how they keep her nobility a secret.  Again, mixed with this is information that Dobrushin is a partner in the firm.  The reminder here is that Aksinya's notoriety could lose Dobrushin his job.

So, Aksinya arrives at her destination.  She stops skipping.  Did you get that before?  Aksinya is so happy, she skips.  She stops intentionally to not give the wring impression.  The name of the school is another connection with the past.  Sacré Coeur means Sacred Heart in French.  The sign is in English (I don't have to tell you).  The name is why it is just the right place for her.  

Then I give you some information--Aksinya's appearance is young and small.  The schools where she applied mistook her for a student, and they didn't call her back.  We also find that Aksinya heard about this school from a friend in the Russian Ecclesia.  This is an important connection. 

At the end of this piece, Aksinya announces herself to the maid.  A maid answering the door indicates the wealth and status of the school.  Tomorrow, the school.

A New Novel, Part 317 I Like to be in Control

17 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 317 I Like to be in Control

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  They consummated their marriage and are speaking together... 

“You were much more passionate before.”

“Shall I be passionate again?”

“Yes,” she trembled as she stroked his face, “But I have an important request.”

He tried to make out her face in the dim light, “A request.”

“It’s wet and sticky over here.  Can I sleep on your side of the bed?”

Dobrushin let out a great laugh, “It’s a little damp over here too.”

Aksinya scowled, “What did you do to me?”

“Didn’t you like it?  Wasn’t it what you always desired?”

“Yes, but I didn’t think it would be so messy.”  She pressed herself very close to him, “I want to be on top this time.”

He smiled again and tried not to laugh, “Why?”

“I like to be in control, and the wet place will be on your side and not mine.”  She placed her lips on his and did not remove them.

Aksinya had him twice more and both times she was on top.  They slept very late into the next day.                     

I always wanted to use this kind of scene and event as a kicker.  The point is to show love between married people.  Too often the only passionate lovemaking between people is illicit.  I wanted to show a married couple who were delighted with one another.  I've done this with my other novels to one degree or another, but this novel, because of it's tie to marriage, I wanted to be a little more detailed and intimate. 

The scene at the end is one that plays out often in real life, but I wanted to make the joke stick and drive the point of Aksinya's personality home.  It is a fun end and a gentle conclusion to a novel that has been very tense throughout.  The novel could end here, but I had a much better idea.  I wanted to resolve it a little more tightly, so I have a secondary dénouement.  It's really an epilogue, but I don't like epilogues, so I'll just tie it to the end of this chapter and tomorrow we will see what happens.

A New Novel, Part 316 We Will Go to America

16 August 2011, A New Novel, Part 316 We Will Go to America

For those who haven’t been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Austria.

Dobrushin and Aksinya married.  They consummated their marriage and are speaking together... 

When she caught her breath, she brushed the hair away from his forehead, “You gave up your position as priest for me.”

“At this moment that is what you are thinking…?” He smiled at her, “But the answer is yes.”

“You would have given your life for me.”

“But in the end, you saved me.  I don’t think Raphael would have been able to cancel any harm the demon would have done to my body.”

She stroked his face, “Did the demon injure you?”

His voice cracked, “No, but the demon almost stole my beloved, my wife.”

She smiled and kissed him, “Truly your wife now.”  She nestled in his arms, “What will we do in the future?  Where will we go and what will we do?”

“We will leave Wien.  I have been working in immigration law.  The Americas are a place where many of our Russian compatriots are escaping…”

She snuggled closer to him, “We will go to America?”

“To Boston in the United States.  I already made connections.  They are looking for lawyers who can speak Russian.”

Aksinya pouted, “They speak a kind of English there.  How will we communicate?”

“We shall learn English.”

“Yes, I guess.  You’ve thought this through for a long time.”

“I realized early that Father Makar would oppose any help I gave you, and I knew that you would require much help.”

Her pout deepened, “Am I such a problem?”

“Yes, Aksinya, you are a very great problem.  Plus, I don’t think there is a diminutive for Aksinya.”  He rolled to face her, “What will I call you, wife?”

Aksinya wasn’t certain she should frown or smile.  She harrumphed and plucked at her lip, “My father called me Aksyusha, but I would like you to call me, Aksenyushka or perhaps Princess.”

“Very well, I shall call you Princess Akenyushka.  May I kiss you?”

“Yes, you may kiss me all you wish.”  Their lips touched. 

“You were much more passionate before.”

“Shall I be passionate again?”

There is an old joke I will not repeat--it isn't very dirty, but it speaks to the thoughts of women during intimate moments.  Men perhaps are too one tracked--women want to know what is going on.  Aksinya is all woman.  She is thinking about how much Dobrushin loves her.  So much that he would give up his position and his money and his life.  The joke here is that Dobrushin isn't certain why she is thinking these things, his thoughts are somewhere else completely.  Then, we see, he does understand her thoughts.

Then Aksinya wants to know his plans.  Can you see the wheels going around in her head?  If he doesn't have a job or any prospects, how can he take care of her.  Although Aksinya has learned to live with very little, she doesn't wish to starve and this is post WWI Austria. 

You shouldn't be surprised that Dobrushin has everything planned out.  He planned everything from the beginning.  He is a planning type of person.  He knows exactly what he will do--just as he planned out everything in working with Aksinya. 

Aksinya isn't so sure about America.  She will have to learn English!  Listen to Dobrushin's response: "I knew that you would require much help.”  Aksinya is a great problem.  She was a great problem for the demon, for Natalya, for Ernst, for Sister Margarethe.  Aksinya is a person who can't help being a problem.  It is good that Dobrushin understands this.  He uses humor to distract her.  Aksinya can't go any further with this because she knows she is a problem.  The joke is that all the diminutives for Aksinya sound more proper than Aksinya (I picked this name for this reason).

Dobrushin extends this joke and so does Aksinya.  She certainly doesn't want her lover and husband  to call her by her father's pet name for her, but Aksenyushka is just silly.  Dobrushin is just as silly.  He shall call her Princess Aksenyushka.  You can guess that he calls her princess.  Then, a gentleman, he asks if he can kiss her.  This is what Aksinya wants.  She has not been allowed physical love all her life, and she wants to be loved.  We get a little joke here too.  Tomorrow, details of sleeping together.