Wednesday, February 13, 2013

WIP Wednesday

Hello, my pretties. I'm introducing this new thing to my blog. WIP WEDNESDAY because I basically have so many Works In Progress that it might be difficult for some of you to keep track.

While I'm currently writing the 6th book in the Sabrina Strong Series, and waiting for the 3rd one to be available to all of you wonderful fans out there, I'm also working on one book which is very close to my heart--Spell of the Black Unicorn.  This was my very first self-published book. I paid a "POD" Publisher to get it into print form and place it out there back in 2008.
Spell of the Black Unicorn
Since it has not been selling as a print book in a few years, I've decided to work on it some, and present it as an ebook--which would have a much lower price on it, and I'll be in total control of the pricing and so forth. It will be absolutely a self-published book.

Today I wanted to tell you a little bit about the book and how it came about. I believe I began working on it in 2003 or 2004. I was inspired by J.K.Rowling's work Harry Potter Series. I fell in love with the idea of magic and all the great characters which came from that series. I also was inspired by the TV Show Bewitched--it was one of my very favorite shows on TV while growing up. And, not to forget my love of vampires and all things weird, and whatever my imagination might dream up.

Spell of the Black Unicorn is basically about a sorceress, Zofia Trickenbod, who has come to Earth to hide from an evil sorcerer who was so evil he was placed in Hamparzums--which is magically fortified to keep all evil wizards, and nasty things inside and other people out. But when the wizard became sick, the wards all fell and the evil sorcerer, Vesselvod Blood escaped and went looking for Zofia. She doesn't know this until things begin happening around a small, quiet town where she lives. When she and her family begin seeing the black unicorn, the know that the evil sorcerer has found her, because the black unicorn is known to follow Blood everywhere (it's thought that the poor creature merely wants his white coat back, since Blood was responsible for turning him black).

Zany characters include a very nosy neighbor who constantly calls the police on Zofia believing that "something strange is going on over there"--this is reminiscent of the nosy neighbor in Bewitched who always spied on the Stevens.

Zofia, as a sorceress, has an invisible servant called a ghogal, and two cats--which are not cats, really but deadly warrior women--who happen to also be cannibals of men (why they were turned into cats).

Also, Zofia's husband, Dorian, was believed to have died at the hands of Blood. But when she opens the door to him one morning, she learns he's not exactly dead, but un-dead, as in vampire.

I'd saved a few ideas from when I thought about writing a funny book where the husband comes back as a vampire, and the wife is magically endowed for decades. I wanted something for adults, and yet be zany enough to keep anyone entertained.

At the moment, I am going through this WIP, after my beta reader, Shelly Arkon, has read through it.

I don't recall how many copies of the book I sold, but it was more than enough to get back what I spent on the POD publisher's price. Now I simply want to make it available in e-book formating so that more people can enjoy it.

Also, this having been my very first book and had been so very lucky that I had a local BORDERS in my area, I look back upon this as my dream-come-true book. I got to see my name on the cover (the cover I drew), and held it in my hands after decades of being rejected by every agent I tried. I felt validated when people who read it came up to me and told me how wonderful the book was and when the next book would be out. I was offically an author the day Spell of the Black Unicorn came out in print.

So, I hope, my dear readers, fans, and friends alike, you'll be on board when I do release this ebook--I'm hopeful this spring.

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