The Artifact is Published!

                                                            

The reason we all gathered in the first place has finally come to fruition…we are published!

4 1/2 months, several cases of keyboard-based carpal tunnel, dozens of sleepless nights and many,many version later, our book, “The Artifact: An Anthology” is done!

In 2 weeks it will be on Amazon.com, but you can get it now for only $8.99 at: http://www.createspace.com/3350744

If you get a copy, we truly hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for following us this far, and keep coming here for updates on upcoming projects!

whatever it takes

As I sit in the terminal at Charlotte airport on the last leg of our journey home from the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention, I am thinking back to something Spock said.

Leonard Nimoy was amazing as usual. His antecdotes were funny, and his memories were touching. However, someone asked him a very important question while he was on stage.

The fan stood at the microphone and asked: “Mr. Nimoy, I want to be a photographer. What advice do you have for me?”

Nimoy, an accomplished photographer himself, answered, “You do whatever it takes. Do what you love, do it often, and dont worry about getting paid for it. Just find a way to do it.”

Wow.

That translates into anything, doesn’t it?

star trek convention refreshes, renews

                                            

Like with most endeavors, writing requires a break. A time to relax, a time to refresh the spirit. Sometimes that means a trip to the mountains. Or maybe the beach. Or maybe horseback riding.

In my case, it means a trip to the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas!

As of now, we’re on day 4 of the 5 day trek (pardon the pun!), and it appears to be just what I needed. The sights, the sounds, the people. The whole package.

The coolest thing about this trip? For the first time, 4 of our group have had the opportunity to meet, in person, for the first time. After only interacting on the net for a year, I’m proud to report it was like we had always been friends.

Several of our other comrades had met weeks earlier at the Comic Con in San Diego, so we are slowly, but surely, developing some tight bonds.

It is a great convention, as well. Thousands of people sharing a common love and respect. Up close contact with some fan favorites. Cool and unique ways to spend lots of money.

And, only a week after Fanlib closed it’s doors, it is awesome to be reminded that fandoms are alive and well, and will never die.

So, the three things I have learned so far from this trip?

1. I had great instincts when choosing my friends online
2. It’s good to mingle with thousands of fans as a reminder where our passions lie
3. Never, never hit on 14 when the dealer is showing a 5

-Whig

things we’ve learned: Part II

Okay, some more things we’ve learned from doing this first project…maybe a snippet of something will be of some help…

5) The needs of the of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one. Okay, so I borrowed this from “The Wrath of Khan.” But so what? It fits! There are times when you may disagree with the rest, or when you’d rather cut out and catch a movie when you should be finishing your final rewrite which everyone expects by morning, but you suck it up, and do what it taked to get it done. That is the the #1 rule in collaborating.

6) Deadlines are fluid. Never forget this one. It’s more important to get it done right than to just get it done.

7) Respect. When you’re working with 7 or 8 or 9 other people, remember the old song: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  The first time you screw up by not respecting someone’s viewpoint, you have lost their respect…probably for good.

8) Artistic types need guidelines, not walls. If you are an anal type, like myself, you cannot expect an artistic-type person to stay on a leash and follow strict rules and conditions. They do, however, like guidelines to help them along.

These 8 guidelines aren’t carved in stone, but I guarantee they’ll make your project, and your life, move along a little smoother.

-Whig

cover unveiled!

We have finally decided on the final cover, and here, for the first time, is the cover for “The Artifact: An Anthology.”                                       

                                                                   

things we’ve learned: Part I

As we come to the last couple days before sending our novel (“The Artifact: An Anthology”) to print, we are beginning to think about some of the paths we chose, and things we’ll do differently on the next project…

1) When the book is done, it’s not really done. Last minute third party endorsements, and emergency re-write, and art issues are just a few of the things that we didn’t factor in our initial time frame.

2) Outside influences always change. Fanlib, the entity that brought us together, closed down. It is also where we were doing the bulk of our communicating, so we had to find a last minute replacement for the fanlib forum.

3) The Little Details count. Small things can drag final editing out a day or more, such as single or 1.5 spaced lines, and which symbol do we use for paragraph breaks. Yeah, they seem small, but they do matter!

4) The weather has a hand in the book. When you all live across the country, and the web is your only form of communication, a storm that knocks out the internet for a day or two can really hurt!

The list will go on, but as you can see, there are always things you can’t plan on. And, for a schedule-freak like me, it can be very frustrating. I think I need some Rolaids. Uh, oh…is Rolaids a copywritten name? Can I use it in this blog? (Just another last minute issue that can come up!)

Part II tomorrow.

 

-Whig

where do fan writers go now?

With the demise of Fanlib, thousands are flocking to other fan fiction sites, such as Myfandoms.com and fanfiction.net.  Why? Because they gotta get their “write” on, that’s why!

Now, these sites are all good. The definitely offer people of like tastes and writing desires the ability to express themselves in an accepting community.

However, I believe that those people can take kick their passion up a notch.

It’s easy to use fan fiction sites as a crutch. It’s comforting to know that you can put your 2500 word story on a site where almost everyone will give you praise, and you will do likewise for their work. And, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s that type of encouragement that gave me the marbles to start writing after 25 years of laying dormant…

goodbye, Fanlib…we barely knew you

As the old saying goes, “All good things must end.”

And so it is ending for Fanlib, the entity that brought our group, and thousand of other fans, together. It was a website that would let us all express our creative sides, and take the characters we knew and loved from tv and movies to a whole other place.

And, now it’s gone.

They just announced that they’ll be turning off the lights on August 4th. In reality, it’s just a business decision made by the owners of the site. But in our reality, it’s shutting the door on a place where we could unleash our creative souls.

But, another saying tells us that when a door is shut, another one opens…

I will always remember and be thankful for Fanlib. It helped me realize a dream that’s been building inside me for 25 years. Instead of continuing in meaningless jobs with my “music” dying inside me, Fanlib introduced me to my hidden talent, and to a community of people with similar dreams and aspirations.

And, Fanlib gave me the opportunity to meet the people who are collaborating on this project.

So, I guess as I’m looking for an appropriate tribute to a great website (Fanlib) that only lasted a year and a half, we’ve got the perfect one right in front of us…

…to carry on with this, and future projects, and to never let the music die within us.

Thanks, Fanlib.

Artifact: The Commercial!

Esr960 has produced an amazing commercial for our book…enjoy!

a new excerpt

Please enjoy a taste of chapter three by sheri…

https://kvpalumproject.wordpress.com/chapter-three-by-sheri/