Camelot & Vine: Casey's adventure (and mine)

Official Announcement:

I have a publisher for my novel, Camelot & Vine.

That publisher is me.

I have weighed the goods and bads, the ups and downs, the fats and thins and now is the time! No more dilly-dallying and thinking and wondering and ohIdon'tknowing. I have watched my friends make successes of their self-published works. I see four self-published authors on the New York Times Bestseller list this week. Just yesterday another self-published novel was purchased to become a Hollywood film. Self-publishing is in! It's hot! It's the latest thing! And you know me, I am all about the latest trends. You should see my wardrobe. 

No. You shouldn't. There are advantages to the internet.

What I mean is there's no better time than now, no better publisher than me, for Camelot & Vine. And I'm excited.

Ten years ago, self-publishing was creepy. The only people who did it were desperate types who couldn't get the publishing industry to give them the time of day. But now we have the internet, with different platforms and pricing. It's the wild west out here, and speaking of my wardrobe, I look fine in cowboy boots.

I'm excited to be part of this new wave of publishing. I took a baby step (in my boots) by publishing Belinda's Birthday as a free download on Smashwords. (If I said I got my feet wet would that be too confusing, with the boots image?) Now I'm ready to move forward with the whole shebang. 

Actually it's not a shebang. It's a novel.

I've added a new page to my blog. You can see the link at the top here. It's called Camelot & Vine: Casey's adventure (and mine). I'll update the page whenever I have news of my publishing adventure. Of course I'll remind you here when I post there.

I don't mind telling you it's scary and I'll be grateful for any encouragement you feel inclined to give, whether it comes in the form of cheerleading, questioning or critique. But I'm right about this. My main character, Casey, goes on her adventure by accident. I embark on mine with a sense of purpose, the t-shirt in the window of the photo notwithstanding.

Arthur Everywhere

I like how Margaret Finnegan has been including her blog readers in the creation and promotion of her wonderful novel, The Goddess Lounge. We'll do some fun stuff like that here, too, when the time comes.

In my novel Camelot & Vine, a Hollywood actress with a penchant for dishonesty loses her job, her married boyfriend and perhaps a modicum of sanity at the approach of her 40th birthday--though she's never told anyone her real age, not even the IRS. She has a romantic fantasy about King Arthur, so in a fit of pique (or panic) she flies to England to take a vacation and visit Arthurian sites. When a car accident sends her flying into the night, she lands in the sixth century and accidentally saves King Arthur's life.

It's not exactly what she'd planned for her vacation. Arthur is not the handsome romancer she'd imagined. The Dark Ages are dangerous. And dark.

The king's helmet, by the way, looks nothing like this one. And this blog is not about my novel, it's about Pasadena. So what does all this have to do with Mr. Teeth here?

Maybe it's because I've got knights on the brain, but I find stuff like this everywhere. There's a suit of armor in a barber shop in Altadena. Another one stands outside Pink Plum Antiques in Pasadena, and a half suit perches at an auto mechanic shop at Orange Grove and Lincoln. Over in Studio City, the Psychic Eye Book Shop has long been guarded by armored sentries. Knights--not to mention castles, swords, shields and all things medieval--advertise all kinds of businesses. We love these things because they appeal to our romantic side.

What that has to do with Mr. Teeth (and Margaret Finnegan) is this: I'm collecting pictures for my website and blog. Please let me know what you see in and around Pasadena and I'll head out to photograph it for the blog. Or if you'd like to send in a photo, please do. I'll post it on the website and give you credit.

There was no historical person named King Arthur, though he's probably based on a real person or persons (historians debate this). Whoever he was (or whoever they were) predates the medieval period by a few hundred years. That means my king is a Dark Ages guy, post-Roman and before the British kings (the first being the eighth century king Offa). When so few people in Britain knew how to write, little is left to us but the archaeological record.

Although he probably would have dressed more like a Roman soldier, it's fun to imagine Arthur stomping through the forests of ancient Britain wearing a scary-looking helmet, wielding Excalibur and making the world right.

Saturdays Are For Fun

 

As usual, I'm intrigued by the window display at Pink Plum Antiques and Collectibles on East Colorado Blvd. I can identify most of the items here but what are those colorful little fluff-mice thingies? It matters not. I need them.

Stop by Litfest today if you have a chance. It's free, it's at Central Park just south of Castle Green and I will be there at least until 1:00--longer, if I'm still standing. I'm a Litfest volunteer so I might even have a name tag. Say hello!