'The tears of the unicorns' and CreateSpace

The time has finally come to tell you about this: The tears of the unicorns is now published in English! The first volume (of three) so far.

It is available as eBook for Kindle (FREE for Kindle Unlimited!) and trade paperback.

And before you ask: The English version is self-published, yes. 

Why, you ask? Well, I will not say much, only this: This time I can be my own master, do my own layout, my own cover. This way there is no one to interfere in what I believe is right >_<

I know, there are a few downsides to self-publishing, but the same counts for working with a publisher, so nothing to lose here XD

About the book:

When I first held the paperback in my hands I was like "wow, it is so thin! Why is it so thin?"

210 pages is not that short (about 50k words) I believe and I checked with other, mostly older books I own. All of them are way thicker, even though their page count is not that much more.

Than I remembered something I read quite some time ago.

Publishers often use thicker paper for their books to make them look like "more". The quality of that paper is also different, because the paper of self-published books often is copy paper, which is not bad! On the contrary, it is high-grade paper and technically better than that of a "normal" publisher's book. But who cares anyways XD'''

I published the paperback with CreateSpace (an Amazon company). It is quite easy to use and I really enjoyed using the Interior Reviewer, which is something I have not seen on other self-publisher sites. You upload your file and order a proof, and only when that proof reaches you, you see what it looks like.

The Interior Reviewer shows you your book file as a book, that is really cool and gives you a feeling of how it will look in the end. I find that much better, because you do not have to wait for the proof to arrive to see what your text will look like in the book.

Here´s a screenshot of the Interior Reviewer. It looks nice, does it not? X3
It is perfect to see if your text looks good as a book.

This does not mean you should not order a proof before publishing it! Always do so! There are many things that could go wrong if you do not, so spare yourself the embarrassment >__<

I also tried Lulu (tried that one first), but I was not satisfied so I tried another self-publisher before I decide which one I am going to use.
There are a few things why I went with CreateSpace.
One is, of course, is because of their Interior Reviewer. It allowed me to change some stuff because I realised it does not look good in the book (but it did in my file). Another point is, that the CreateSpace team checks your uploaded files before you can order a proof and tell you if there is something wrong. What I also liked are the different cover versions, you can choose between glossy and matte.

I chose matte, because it looks much better in my opinion!
Here's the printed book, front and back. I looks nice, doesn't it? ^_^

Star Wars: Das Erwachen der Macht

Nachdem ich den zweiten Teaser-Trailer nun gesehen habe, muss ich jetzt auch mal meinen Senf dazu geben >_<

Ich hab mir viele Gedanken drum gemacht, aber bisher konnte ich mich noch nicht so wirklich damit anfreunden ... um nicht zu sagen gar nicht.

Etwas stört mich ...

Vielleicht liegt es daran, dass ich gehofft hatte, dass man eins (bzw. mehrere) der Bücher für den neuen Film/die neuen Filme hernimmt ... Ich hab das Gefühl, dass es jetzt nur noch den Namen "Star Wars" trägt, aber nicht wirklich etwas mit dem Original zu tun hat, ja eher eine Art Ableger ist wie bei manchen TV-Serien. 

Die Trailer haben mich nicht überzeugt und da bezüglich der Story überhaupt nichts bekannt ist, schreckt es mich eher ab. Gut, aus Neugierde werde ich mir den Film bestimmt angucken, aber ich werde das Gefühl nicht los, dass es eine Enttäuschung werden wird.

Ja, ich weiß, ich sollte dem Film eine Chance geben, aber es fällt mir so unendlich schwer. J.J. Abrams ist jedenfalls ein toller Regisseur X3 (die Star Trek Filme haben mich total begeistert, auch wenn sie einige Logik-Fehler beinhalteten -> Blog-Eintrag von August 2014)

Ich bin ein riesiger Star Wars-Fan und habe bestimmt an die 100 der Bücher gelesen. Es gibt viele Bücher, die wirklich toll sind und sich hervorragend für Filme geeignet hätten - warum musste man hier etwas komplett neues machen? In der Hinsicht bin ich sehr enttäuscht ... vielleicht erklärt das meine Antipathie?

Etwas verwirrt mich, im zweiten Trailer wird Darth Vaders zerstörte Maske gezeigt und der Sprecher sagt, dass die Macht in seiner Familie stark ist, dass er sie besitzt, sein Vater und seine Schwester. Soll das nun eine Anspielung auf die Skywalker-Familie sein?

Es gibt so viele Gerüchte ... welche sind wahr? Q_Q

Ich würde schon ganz gerne wissen, was die Story nun wirklich beinhaltet, denn wenn ich eine eigene Theorie aufstelle und versuche eine logische Erklärung zu finden um mir nen Reim auf die spärlichen Infos aus den Trailern zu machen, werde ich nachher sicherlich noch enttäuschter sein, weil es wahrscheinlich überhaupt keine logischer Erklärung geben wird *auf die neuen Star Trek-Filme deut*. Gnaaaa, J.J. Abrams, warum quälst du uns so, sag uns endlich was du planst Q_Q

Ich weiß auch nicht, die Synchro schreckt mich auch irgendwie ab. Irgendwas klingt da komisch, zumindest was den Sprecher angeht ... oder bin ich mittlerweile so sehr die englische Sprache bei Filmen gewohnt, dass ich die deutschen Versionen als seltsam empfinde?

Hier sind die Trailer, damit ihr wisst, wovon ich rede XD

Teaser-Trailer I

Teaser-Trailer II

How to sort the chaos of your ideas - my writing process

Another blog entry I have written in German quite some time ago and forgot to translate (here is the German version).

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Because I have been asked many times  for advice by now, I thought it would be best to just write a blog post about how I write. This way it is available for everyone and I do not have to type it again and again (yes, I am lazy ^_~) - still, feel free to message me any time if there are still questions you would like to ask me. I will always answer ^_^

Well, what does my writing process look like?

Part of my messy notes for "The tears of the unicorns" XD

First, I collect notes to an idea weeks, sometimes even years, in advance (In case I have some new ideas while still working on something else - happens quite often and I do not want get confused or forget something) - with what is it combinable (which often brings new ideas with it) or I just do some research about places, creatures or certain objects I might want to use in my story. As an example (because I have researched these objects) I will now name the Holy Grail, Pandora's Box, aso.

Research is especially important if your story plays in a country that really exists, because the customs there are normally different from that of your own! (school, behaviour, aso.)

Before I go to the step of creating a character, I decide the central theme of the story, no details yet, just the framework what this story should be about.

In hindsight, everything will change again anyway, at least it is like that with me. I commit to something, but the further the story and new ideas go, the more it changes and deviates from the original idea. Do not let yourself be discouraged by that.

Some say you need to stay with your central theme, but I am of the opinion why should you not change it, if that modification makes the story even more interesting? The central theme is only a guideline, something that can change, nothing conclusive. In my case, through this, my story has become much more complex and marvellous. I am much happier with that outcome ^_~

Because of that, I write the synopsis only when the story is finished (but maybe that is just because I hate to write these synopsis things >__<'''). I always get the feeling through this "only to summarize the most importan things" that the story itself gets a raw deal and everytime when I lay my hands on a synopsis I ask myself how much of the story fell by the wayside ...

Tutorials about how to write a synopsis are to be found on the internet in great numbers ^_~

At the beginning, I also make some notes for the characters, about his/her nature, positive and negative characteristics, maybe even some ideas about the character's past - these ideas often come to me in the progression of the story.

It is said that the author is the God of this world he/she creates. He/She has control over the characters.

I have never really felt that "being a God", because my characters consistently begin to have a life of their own and do things that are characteristic and okay for them to do, but not on my project - freewill that is ^_~

All in all: A good story needs lots of time! It will not be written overnight (the idea to it might ^_^).

People who think they have to write 100 A4 Word pages in 2 or 3 weeks and call that story complete and done, ready to be published without any corrections, are wrong. (It might be possible that there are one or two exceptions, but I have not come across one so far)

You will never be able to eleminate all typos, but it is essential to work through your work multiple times. Now and then an logical error slips in and that way you are able to filter them out and correct (hoping that the continuing story does not need to be changed due to that - yes, I also had that problem, but luckily the changes only covered a few pages because I consistently start to read from the beginning and luckily noticed that mistake in time)

Eventually I stopped counting how many times I worked through my story from its beginning (correcting typos, changing sentences because they sounded weird), but it has been many, many times XD

This is only an insight how I approach things. Everyone needs to - it is the same with drawing - find their own way to get to the wished outcome ^_^

Some thoughts 'Game of Thrones' rose ...

Somehow, it seems to me stories with lots of blood and death and entrails are mostly loved by readers nowadays, oh and not to forget lots of sex and rape - why is that?

These thoughts rose in my mind when I started to watch 'Game of Thrones' recently (I am through the first two seasons).

I was curious about the story that seemed interesting from its plot, not least because I saw a somewhat white (or at least almost white) haired girl in the previews ;)

I still think it is, but not that extensive bloodshed and explicit sex scenes. It is way too much ... Yes, sure, it is a different world, but still - is it really necessary to show that much killings and entrails and beheadings? I don't think it is. In my opinion 'Game of Thrones' can be summarized in: Lots of bloodshed, intestines, beheadings, sex, rape and the fight over the reign of the Seven Kingdoms - if you like these themes, this series is perfect for you.

I had a peek at the books, but didn't like it because of what I wrote above.

I might continue to watch the series because I want the question answered: Who will sit on the Iron Throne in the end? I might, not sure yet ... or I will just google it someday :D

Buuuut, I think the author's attention is too much placed on violence.

I have noticed, stories with lots of violence and extensive bloodshed are more loved by readers and watchers than those with a somewhat "normal" amount of violence.

Lots of books and TV shows these days make good use of that craving and the trends and it works perfectly!

But what does that mean? That people long for war and blood?

I don't know, but I find that somewhat precarious ...

What do you think?

The times change, I know that and everyone wants to go with the trend to maximize their profit. 

First it was sparkling vampires - and suddenly vamipre stories sprung up like mushrooms, then zombies rose  - and suddenly lots of stories about killing the undead came up and other themes with lots of killings and bloodshed and so on.

I miss the old times when quality and variety still meant something ... When I have a look at the current TV series running, it all seems to be the same. Vampire stories, zombie stories, detective stories, investigation stories - tons of them!

My version of the Thorin Cocktail

Okay, here comes my version of the Thorin Cocktail ^_^

After so long I was unable to find a recipe and eventually decided to create one on my own.

Yes, I am crazy, but when I saw that interview with Richard Armitage talking about a Thorin Cocktail, I was wondering what it would be/taste like X3

The specifications were "heady and intoxicating" and "it bites you on the back of the throat" - quite a challange - but then I remembered something really mean in our cupboard that sounded perfect XD

These are the ingredients:

add

1 cl Lockstedter

2 cl Branca Menta

2 cl Fernet-Branca

If it is too strong for you add 2 cl of water

The Lockstedter really bites you, so be careful not to overdo it with that one (it is a really mean schnaps) and I also do not recommend to drink that one pure (go on, try it, but don't say I didn't warn you XD).

Why did I use these ingredients?

Well, the Lockstedter was used to meet the "it bites you on the back of the throat" comment of Richard. It is a mean schnaps that also fits Thorin's mean character traits.

The Branca Menta represents Thorin's gentle side and levels the intense taste of the Lockstedter. It is also quite refreshing because of the mint. I really enjoy drinking that one (mint is an awesome herb X3). The Fernet-Branca is to complete it ^_^

It can be enjoyed pure or with ice. I prefer the pure version as a shot.

Cheers, enjoy ^__^