Author: jongraylang

Sometimes I ask myself…  Side quest much?

Yes!  Whew!  Two Cons in the bag and they were back-to-back.  Am I tired?  You better believe I am.  Was it worth it?  Every minute of it. 

First off, I must give huge props out to WhimsyCon 2021 and Mile Hi Con 2021 for making a newcomer feel welcome.  An enormous thank you to the staff and the volunteers to both Cons for a fun time!  Two Cons with completely different focuses for me.  

WhimsyCon was my first Con being on Author Panels and it was exciting, nerve wracking and a huge learning experience.  I was very particular about the panels I chose to be on and luckily, I was put on panels with seasoned pros like Vennessa Robertson, Michael Kilman, Mike Cervantes, Lyndsie Clark and Stace Johnson and others!

Considering how nervous I was up to the point that the panel, each panel started, I think I did pretty well!  I had a couple minor hiccups on the “About Me” portion of one, but smooth sailing on the rest!  I’m not sure if this works for other people but focusing directly on the questions and the person asking while using my ‘outside’ voice definitely worked for me.

Mile Hi Con was my first time running an Author Table.  I was all set for this back in 2020, but the world exploded and um… yeah, everything was delayed a bit.  Set up was quick and easy.  I thought I’d be nervous the whole time, but I wasn’t! 

I got to talk to a lot of potential readers about my story, my characters and what drove me to write.  I also got to speak with other authors (Jason Henry Evans, Lou J. Berger, Jim Henderson, and J.D. Jorissen, to name a few!) about the craft, swapped lessons we’d learned about the Con process and where we might come across each other again. 

Oh, by the way, I had an amazing table mate, Alison Kimble, author of Strange Gods (you should check it out).  She killed it at the Con panels and I can’t wait to read her book!

And now time to breathe…

I know I mentioned it before, but I will be at Mile-Hi Con 2021!

I am really excited to be a part of the Mile-Hi Con experience!  This will be my first convention running a table on Authors Row and I am beside myself!  (Not literally… well, I hope not anyway).  You better believe I will be posting about my involvement over the whole weekend.  This is a big step in my writing career, and I want to preserve the moment.

I’m hoping that I’ll have a bit of free time to catch some of the panels, the Guests of Honor, the cool rooms, and the cosplay!  The convention will be happening in Denver, CO from October 1^st to October 3^rd. 

So come on down and say hello!

I finally get to add Conventions to my author experience belt and I’m super excited about the opportunity! (Oops, cut that notch too deep… now I need another belt…)

This will be my first time getting to be on a panel as an author and there’s more than one! Come on down and find me at these panels:

• Panel Name: From Writing to other Media
  • Time: 9/24/2021 7:00 PM to 7:50 PM
• Panel Name: Women Warriors
  • Time: 9/25/2021 2:00 PM to 2:50 PM
• Panel Name: Self-Publishing on a Budget
  • Time: 9/25/2021 7:00 PM to 7:50 PM

Thank you so much Whimsy Con!

It’s Secret Matilda Release Day!

Today is the day!  Secret Matilda is available at Amazon in both Kindle and Print!

After getting attacked by the ship that has been chasing them across all known space, can Jacquie and the crew find a way out?  What are Mr. Leon and his soldier genorgs up to?  Will Dr. Wyeth finally get her hands on Lieutenant Galena Chadov?  All I know is that there is something strange afoot on the M33 destroyer and even stranger things in store for our intrepid crew! 

There is only one more book to go and the story will be done!  Woo! 2022, I’m looking at you!

Sometimes listening to music makes the writing process easier. I really find that it helps with the editing process. For this series, where music is integral to the story, I’ve created Playlists. If you missed it, here is that post again. Well, I did it again on the ole Spotify! Do you want to give it a listen? Here ya go!

Secret Matilda

Strap yourself in with Jacquotte and the crew and sit back to the grooves, I say!

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Here I am plowing through the final edit on Secret Matilda, and now seems like the perfect time to give you a sneak peek at the cover!

Ta da!  (So much jazz hand)

Isn’t she a beauty?  Each time I look at it, I burst with excitement!  The book is so close to being done, and I can’t wait for you all to read it!

It’s coming soon, folks!

The work continues…

When I first received the lengthy corrections from my editors, I wasn’t too concerned.  At a glance, it looked like there was less red ink than there had been in say… The Matilda.  Some sections looked like an absolute breeze to get through while others indicated more of a knock-down-drag-out fight.  But with it in hand, I can make progress!

And progress was made…

It took a while (some were an absolute fight… I’m talking tooth and nail here), but all those corrections are done!  By the way, can we give some love to the editors?  No matter how many times I’ve read my work, I still miss things.  Some things are as simple as a missing letter (on vs. one), others are more involved from beginning to end (why is everyone sighing?  Why, Jon, why?).  I can’t thank my editors enough for the time and focus they take to help my little stories move right long. 

Timing is everything…

After all that, I found some spots that need a little more and I have plenty of notes on how to fix this.  And, lo and behold, my last beta reader sent me a pile of constructive criticism!  Some of it hits on bits I found while others are new and shiny (like diamonds).  I’ll be going through the story with a fine-toothed comb and making the last alterations and corrections and then prep it for print.

Secret Matilda is so close to being ready!

Oh!  Last but not least, I just found out this morning that I will have a table at Mile-Hi Con! I’ll post more about that as the date gets closer. 

This year is chock-full of adventure!

Image by Masashi Wakui from Pixabay

“Red Ink is The Lifeblood of Improvement.”

This is going to be a short one, but the edited book has arrived!  And it’s huge!  I mean gargantuan!   There is a lot of red ink!  And if you haven’t figured it out yet, that’s where the quote above came from. 

Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me.  But the end result is that much closer for release.  Now I have to lock myself in for the next bunch of weeks to get this done!

Oh!  So close!

Image by Pexels from Pixabay