Manic Monday: iPad iBooks, Waiting on the Mailman, and Shiver Book Review…

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We Finally Meet iPhone’s Mama…

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Well, I guess I should say that no, I did not run out and buy one. I’m an author, and quite frankly, an iPad won’t do much good for me other than reading books (typing without real keys = not going to happen). At the rate I read books, though, the screen will hurt my eyes.

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I think it should have been named iTab…

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Anyways. So my books are making their way into the iBookstore, if they’re not on there already. I got a notification telling me Feather: Book One made it, and so far that makes me very happy. So all you iPad-dlers out there, look for me 😀

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Also look for me, coming soon to: Sony e-reader, Barnes and Noble Nook, and just about any other form, including in the Indonesian market, in your language! That’s right, we’re going global.

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Waiting on the Mailman…

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I’m awaiting my Author Review Copy of Knight Angels. Very Exciting!

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He never comes at the same time, and there’s no way of knowing if it will come today, or tomorrow. It’s killing me, and it’s so fun to finally get to see what it’s going to look like in person!

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*biting nails*

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Shiver Book Review…

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Ah, I love holidays.

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I read the whole book cover to cover yesterday, and I don’t think I could have done it any other way. I am a sucker for romantic stories of star-crossed lovers. I figured that was rather obvious because of my writing…

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I regret that I waited this long to read this book, and no, that does not mean I finished Beautiful Creatures. I’m still knawing my way through that one, not that it’s bad, it just wasn’t my taste. It’s like wine – personal taste.

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what made it better was the fact it was cold and windy yesterday, so I really got a sense of the story. Of course today it snowed again, like it did friday… Gotta love April.

Weekend Makings: New Websites!

New Websites!

All day I have been madly working, and I mean ALL day (got up at 5:00am and it’s now 12:15) I’m not quite finished with them, because eventually they will have their own web addresses:

featherbookseries.com (still has the old one up)
knightangels.com

but you can still see what I’ve got so far here!

Knight Angels
Feather Book Series

Also, check out my friends: The Emerald Talisman

Brenda just entered the ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) and made it to the second round! She is now awaiting the next cut coming at the end of March. I am very excited for Brenda, and she deserves this! Trust me. Leave her a few good comments and make sure you watch her progress!

From Writing Books, to Making Books…

 

 

            

 

 

 

 Writing Books to Making Books…

 

In college I used to hand sew my own books. I miss the assembly, but I think since then I’ve found something with the same satisfaction, and joy. Recently, I’ve been designing book covers for other writers and I love it. I’ve done a business book for an entrepreneur/CEO in California called Iron Ambition, an Art book for a very intriguing project where artists interview artists, based off the blog Thinking About Art by J.T… My own books, both Moonlight Manor and Feather Book Series, and then some sample covers for wall-street guru’s and real-estate tycoons…

By literally quitting my job, I have found a whole new avenue. After writing my first book, I knew that making and designing signs for the University in a tiny office with no windows, was not for me. Deciding to cut down on my hours at the University was a heavy decision, especially when I was on the cusp of getting a mortgage for our the house I had been remodeling for over two years. I lost the dream health coverage, and the security that the job brought, but what I’ve found is that in the two months since, I have built a career outside of that place, with little effort and all the talent I could give. 

I was wasting my talent at the University, literally flushing each great idea down the toilet, with no hope of advancement. When I first started there, I worked my tale off, but like most state jobs, you realize there is no point in being an over achiever beyond earning a lame slip of paper that says you are employee of the quarter (I was nominated twice and won once) After I won, I was a little bummed. Where did that get me? NOWHERE…

I feel that the freelance I am doing now is gratifying, self-fulfilling, and certainly more entertaining. I have my small office in the basement, it’s warm, cozy, my cat’s visit on a regular basis, and I can exercise, do laundry, bake bread, clean, and run errands while I send artwork to be approved and changed by my clients.

Freelance isn’t for everyone, I believe you really have to have the mind for it, and the talent. I work weekends, because I love to work, and the schedule is all mine. Being busy makes me feel alive, gets my blood pumping, and my mind out of the negative…

Needless to say, I love it, and I’m glad I made the leap, and took the chance.

And my mortgage got approved 😉

Abra

 

If you need or like any of the designs in this blog post, or are looking for layout of your own book, or design for business reasons, or other, feel free to contact me…

abra@featherbookseries.com

or find me on elance: HERE and review my portfolio

Coming Fall/Winter 2009…. The Moonlight Manor

Image Copywrite Abra Ebner

 

Copyright Abra Ebner

 

 

The Moonlight Manor

It’s not just your home anymore…

A house forgotten by time, but not forgotten for the creatures inside it. As we step into the world of our imagination, we will find a house of magic, and mystery, and a group of friends bound by the fate of their curse, and eternally tied to the place in which they live.

Come follow Jack, a young boy suddenly thrown into the midst of their world, where each thing has it’s place, and each creature their purpose. A house tricked into eternity, and locked in a curse so deep, it shakes it’s very bones.

Abra Ebner’s second journey into the worlds of her mind, and the mysteries she finds have plagued her all her life. What do you imagine when you take in the world around you? Come see what Abra sees as she works to illustrate it for you, creating a thick web of beauty, and characters that will leave you wondering for years to come…

I Finally Have an Office… and I’ve run off the Hippy ghosts…

 

remodeled kitchen

I finally have an office as of today, the extensive remodel on our bad 70’s home, turned contemporary, is finally becoming fruitful. The 3500 square foot, tear-out-all-the-wood-paneling-and-shag project has revealed many surprises, asbestos, mold, rot, leaky roof, etc etc. 

 

My office until today, had been the dining room table, which is never very exciting, or good, hardly the place to escape the television and write…

Along with an office I have a bedroom, no longer haunted by the swingers of it’s horrible past, and a closet large enough to fit all my husbands clothes… yes, my husbands.

I am still hoping for another snow storm to hit and tear off the deck, but considering there was already fifteen feet piled on it from the snow drifting off the roof, it now seems unlikely that I will score a new porch via insurance…bummer.

 

the kitchen before we tore down the wall and canned the avocado...

 

 

The record player, that once housed the ever delightful Neil Sedaka vinyl, is long since trashed, as well as the avocado bathroom, and mint green kitchen.

6 bedrooms are now 5, and the entire lower floor is a separate apartment all together. 

The Bomb shelter (yes BOMB shelter) under the garage is still just storage, but someday it will serve as the wine cellar, but thats still a long ways away, so the bottles continue to collect dust.

There is still a hole in the floor that looks down on the lower level and basement, but the cats rather enjoy collecting nails and dropping them down there, so I can’t yet bring myself to patch it.

All in all I’d say. Never do this, you’re crazy.

A Great Website for Freelance Designers, Illustrators, Web, and Photography. If your looking for Work, or looking for Freelancers, this is totally your site!

I came across this site recently, and I’ve joined the thread. Basically, you write up proposals for various client needs, right from home! For Freelance designers, it’s a dream come true. I know there are other sites out there but elance seems the most credible so far, and I love it. There are a lot of fun jobs, and you only have to apply for what suits you. The best part is that you can try it out for free! You get three proposals, but I do suggest making sure your profile is in top shape, before entering. People are probably a lot less likely to accept someone new, me for example…

Also, for all you out there looking for help with design, you can also place a request, and get logos, book covers, photography, website design, all sorts of things!!

check it out…

Another Frosty Day in Dreamland…

I actually got out of the house today, granted it was my backyard, but the point is, I got out. Four squirrels were fighting over an apple in my apple trees, and getting up close, allowed me to see how beautiful the frost actually was. You just plum can’t see that from the window, so it was worth the trip. Believe it or not it’s actually sunny today as well, I suppose it’s just not quite warm enough.

I was pleased that my post on starting a book helped a lot of people out, I got some good comments. I’m currently reading a book by Author Brian Rathbone, The Dawning of Power, and it’s taking my mind into a different world, and it’s interesting how that world changes my views on things in real life. His world of Godsland is unique, but then also just like ours, making the events of his novel tangable, and fun. 

I actually encourage female readers out there to give the book a read. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but then as I got into it, it turned out to be very personnable to the female reader. There’s no lack of horses, or otherwise, and so far, it’s very exciting…

Well, thats about all for today, just remember, Feather arrives in paperback in only 13 days! Reserve yours now…

The Battle over Book Cover Art…Word to the wise, Don’t let Stephenie Meyer design her own…

For most of us, it’s obvious that we leave the cover art up to the professionals…As seen here with Stephenie Meyer’s attempts at her own… craptastic is an understatement…

Being a Graphic artist,  has it’s upsides, but yesterday was the deadline for the cover art to be sent to the publisher, and needless to say it was a nail biter. I literally second guessed myself the whole way, to SEND. I even drove 30 miles to take a picture of my tree, that I love. Unfortunately that tree is on a major Highway, which is not fun when your out there, taking pictures, likely CAUSING an accident…

Anyways, I just hope it’s good, a hybrid of all the covers seen out there right now, the cat the tree the glowing etc etc. all that stuff Fantasy novels love on their covers…

Besides, do you really think that Stephenie could have ever sold her books with THOSE covers?? We can, and DO judge a book by it’s cover, it’s human instinct to do so. Just as we do with humans, the initial interest is purely based on look after all.

So in the end, I guess all we can say is that we did our best, sei la vie…

When It Rains, It Pours…Working from Home

I’m remodeling my home, and well, it leaks. It’s literally pouring today, and water is streaming down my unsealed brand new solid Cherry front door, not cool.

But aside from the pouring rain, I’m sure all us Northwesterners have come to love, it seems my story I deas are pouring in as well. I can’t keep up, and I’ve created several outlines now and it’s hard to focus on writing Feather: Book Two “Guardian”

I’m trying to focus, I really am, but between the rain and my spratically crazy mind that won’t stop running, it seems impossible. I’m the type that starts something, usually, and ends up literally not sleeping or eating until its done, so trying to tackle two books at once is a lot to think of, and a lot of weird dreams.

I think I’ve begun to live a life when I go to sleep, since I don’t allow myself to do anything but work during the day. But the problem is, when you work at home, it’s really hard to NOT work, when it’s so accessable, and at times, exceedingly entertaining.

I feel like there are a lot of people out there, that could benefit from writing a book…

I was surfing various pages recently, and fell upon many topics like boredom and depression, etc etc. And a lot of the people I’ve met seem they could really benefit from writing, whether in a journal, or a novel. I know that when there’s someone in this world that really pisses me off, I like to write a book with them in it. It makes everything better, and gets it all out.

Hate your teacher? Write about it. Hate life? Write about it.

I’m really interested in some of the deepest thoughts people have. Especially when placed into a fictional setting. Making yourself into a fictional character allows you to fight through your own demons, whether literally, or metaphorically. You never know, maybe something will come of it…