Making them special

JASMINE'S WISH

When something is a gift, you make it special.  Just a little something that sets it apart from the others.  Such is the case with this box set.  It is my gift to my daughtr, my angel in heaven.  So, these four books needed to be different from any others I publish.  With that in mind, I decided the layout of these books would be what made them unique.

The first feature I used in the books is categories.  As I mentioned before, Jasmine had sorted my poems so I decided to use her idea. I felt that by doing so it made her a part of the process which she always wanted me to do. So, the five categories became the first step in making my gift to her disinct.

In the layout of these four books, there is actually a poem before the table of contents.  An introduction to what you will find within the pages.  Readers of the e-versions may miss these poems as the books usually open at the first poem.  I don't remember why I did this, it seemed important at the time. 

The final criteria which separates these four books from my others is they are all dedicated to Jasmine.  The dedications themselves are also unique.  Each contains a poem as part of it. These I would like to share with you now.

 For Voices In My Head, the poem is Jasmine's epitaph, the hardest poem I ever had to write.

Our beautiful flower
Just beginning to bloom,
Loved and cherished,
Picked by God too soon

They Won't Shut Up was my second book and was published on her birthday. I made this a little more special by including a section of poems at the end written by her.

I miss you so much
Every day of the year
Feel your sweet hugs
Though you are not here

I give you this book
As my gift to you
The love in my heart
Will bring it to you

QUIET! Please? took many years to come out.  It should have been the third book, but actually came out after 3 others.  Somehow I just could not find the right cover to make it real.

Your belief in me
Made this dream real
A gift of love
For others to feel
Such is the magic
You poured on me
Opening my soul
For all to see

Silence was an unexpected surprise.  QUIET! Please? was supposed to be my final book but I guess Jasmine had other ideas.  Her spirit is always leading me where she thinks I should go.

Feed someone's dream
Help make it real
Encourage them
To think and feel
Use your words softly
Build confidences
Create playgrounds
Instead of fences
Dreams and visions
Need helping hands
To get us past
Our ruined plans

Poetry is in my blood, it is such a big part of me. Jasmine's Wish is my only book not found on Amazon.  It is available on Smashwords for kindle and on D2D  for all other formats.

Find Cindy on her:
Blog:
https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com/

Website:
http://indiebooksource.com/books-by-cindy-j-smith/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/cindysvoices
FB:  https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices/
GOODREADS:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6505989.Cindy_J_Smith
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https://www.pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1/

Portfilio Links
https://view.joomag.com/golden-box-book-publishing-cindys-voices/0568888001561494976
http://pubhtml5.com/ahsh/nmba

Multi-Author Colaborations

Multi-Author Box Sets and Anthologies are the worth the effort?

Anthologies are awesome in theory. You get samples of the writing styles of various authors usually for a pittance.  For the contributors, we get a little publicity with the possibility of increasing our fan base.  Avid fans of an author will often buy anthologies they are part of and, theoretically, they will read the books and see what the rest of us do!

How exciting, and it seems to be one of the easier methods of promotion.  One short piece and you have permanent exposure. Or so we believe.

Well, theory and reality don't always meet in the middle.  I remember being so excited when my poems "Balloon" and "Mausoleum" were accepted to be part of Cogs In Time.  I was over the moon!  They were my first attempts to write Steampunk, so I did not really think I had actually met the criteria. To be included with all the talent that was in that collection gave my ego a big boost. I continued to offer poems for any anthology.  

The Cogs In Time anthologies were just done for their promotional value. I actually was included in Cogs II but declined being in Cogs III.  At the time I could not guarantee that I would be able to promote as much as I should.

Others I was part of offered their royalties for good causes:  Read For Animals and  Authors Against Bullying were for social issues.

While Klarissa's Dream, Un-Turn This Stone, and Not Enough To Quit are to help raise money for cures.

One, Touched by Shadow, Caressed by Light,  I just participated in for the sake of seeing if I could write erotic poetry, lol.

For all of them, I enjoyed being part of the process.  There was camaraderie and mutual respect shared among all the participants.

Except for the ones raising money for cures, they are no longer even available, except as resales of paperbacks. Once the hype of the release events were over, there was no more interest. The books got very few reviews and they were mainly from the authors who had taken part. There was no increase in fan bases, no new readers, just another book that got lost in the internet.

Multi-Author box sets I believe are suffering the same fate.  Although they get some sales, "15 books for 99cents" is a great deal. I do not believe many people actually read them.  They may read the one their "fave author" included but I think that is the end of it.


I am guilty of this attitude myself.  I will help out my fave authors, if they are in an anthology/box set I will buy it. If it is for a good cause, that is just a plus.  However, I would bet I will never open the first book.  I was made aware of this trait recently when Eva Pasco released her novella, Mr. Wizardo.  I have Once Upon A Fabulous Time, the anthology that it originally was published in...bought it the day it went on sale.  It is somewhere on my kindle.  I bought her book as a stand alone, and actually read it.  My only disappointment was realizing I had this entertaining work gathering cyberdust instead of being enjoyed.

I think these types of collections could do all they are supposed to.  I will continue to offer my support for any good cause, be it by participating or by purchasing the creations.  But in all honesty I will have to admit I won't read them.

I just believe that there are too many free and underpriced books out there filling up peoples electronic bookshelves that no one could ever read them all. Big time authors will be read, and us Indie Authors have to keep our fingers crossed hoping someone will take a chance.  I do not see how flooding the few true readers will ever be beneficial. 

What do you think?  Do you read all the collections you buy?

Animals in Folklore Part 2

Wolves in European Mythology

Wolves play an integral part in European mythology. They are found in almost every major culture in European history. I thought I would wrap up this small sample of their role with what I thought was the most interesting. 

Celtic

In Celtic mythology the wolf plays many roles. As in other cultures the wolf was seen as a bringer of death and destruction. The Celts never feared them though. These things were necessary for new life and re-birth to occur. Wolves had their own month at the end of winter, which they ruled over, called Faoilleach. This was a time of death and purification. To the Celts though death was celebrated, their loved one's spirit was free and living a better life.

In Celtic mythology the wolf was associated with several famous figure. They are the companion Cerridwen, the goddess of fertility and the moon. Brighid is the goddess of flame, hearth and a patron of warfare and has a wolf as one of four sacred animals. The Morrigan, the goddess of war, death and destruction also took the form of a wolf. The Celtic hero Comac was raised by wolves and was said to speak their language. All his life he was seen with at least four wolves.

Roman

The founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were rescued by a she-wolf after the king ordered them thrown into the river Tiber. The river god, Tiber, slowed the river and the basket eventually stopped on the roots of a fig tree where the city of Rome was eventually founded. It was the she-wolf, Lupa, who found them in their basket and saved them and subsequently suckled them. Eventually, a couple of farmers finds the wolf with the boys and adopts the children.

In Roman culture wolves are also associated with the gods, more specifically with Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, and Leto. They typically act as divine messengers. There is also a legend of Zeus transforming a king that tried to trick him into a wolf as a punishment.

Lupercalia, is a religious wolf festival, that had strange rites. It was primarily a fertility festival held on February 15th that included a chase through the town. It started at Lupercal, which was supposedly the site where Romulus and Remus were suckled by the she-wolf. It was suggested that a dog, and even puppies were sacrificed for purification.

Britain

While Britain has a vast amount of folklore that stems from it the most well known is the Legend of King Arthur. Merlin the king's friend and loyal advisor lived as a hermit for a period of his life and kept an old grey wolf for a companion. To this day both Merlin and the wolf are known as guardians of Britain.

A wolf plays a key role in my newest paranormal romance Honor Bound. If you want to see how my great white wolf features in my story you'll have to read it to find out. The book is featured in the Moonlight Mystique anthology so you'll get 9 other steamy romances as a bonus.

I am a mother, pharmacist and author. I love all things fantasy and sci-fi. Romance is always a welcome bonus. I have two little girls and I love dogs, I have two of those as well, a Boston Terrier and a Pittie mix. So technically some would say I have four kids. I am currently on a writing hiatus but hope to get back to my romance series or my fantasy series soon. Right now my girls are my priority. My all time favorite series of books is the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I've read all 12 of the original series at least twice and some 3 or 4 times. I know I'm a little obsessed but who doesn't like a normal guy that becomes a hero. Oh Richard Rahl! If you'd like to know more about me or my books please see my website. If you would like more info about my books you can find it on my store.