Welcome to Black Wolf Books. Author Magnolia Belle has written two series of novels, "Black Wolf" and "T'on Ma". The first and second book of each series is now for sale. Please click the "Black Wolf Books Website/Sales" link on the right to read excerpts and to make a purchase.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
More Blogging 101
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall. If you wish to be notifed when this book is for sale, please go to the BlackWolfBooks website and click on the contact icon from the second page.
Today as been more blogging 101 for me. I’ve joined a ‘group’ blog, where several of us likeminded e-tailers are making ONE blog. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all works out.
On the publishing front, I’ve sent the final edit back to my editors for the last spit-and-polish before the mss goes to the publisher. Hopefully by this weekend, editing will be over and we’re on to the next step of seeing the Black Wolf brothers reach the public! Yipee!
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall. If you wish to be notifed when this book is for sale, please go to the BlackWolfBooks website and click on the contact icon from the second page.
Besides being able to write, self-publishing that includes a website and blog means having a learning curve that, for me, goes straight up! RSS feeds. Huh? Pinging. What? And I always thought a chicklet was a piece of gum. Not any more! But, as my editor says, “Onward! Onward!”
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall. If you wish to be notifed when this book is for sale, please go to the BlackWolfBooks website and click on the contact icon from the second page.
Progress is being made in small steps. The publisher received the book cover illustration today and seems very pleased with it. There are only five more chapters to edit. Then it will be on to the next step of publishing, which will take approximately 6 weeks. Everyone that has requested it will be notified as soon as the sale date is known.
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall. If you wish to be notifed when this book is for sale, please go to the BlackWolfBooks website and click on the contact icon from the second page.
I have always been fascinated in Native American culture. My current project occurs in 1847 in north Texas with the Kiowa nation. Here is an excerpt from that novel.
* * * *
In a few minutes, the door opened and May and Lana stepped through, carrying their trade goods.
May set a small sack of hard sugar on the blanket in front of Broken Man. Lana then placed two jugs of molasses beside it and stepped back. As she did so, she caught the eye of Two Hawks, who had been staring at her. Opening one of the jugs, he stuck his finger in and then pulled it out, covered in rich, sticky sweetness. Sticking his finger in his mouth, he looked at Broken Man and grinned, nodding.
Kicking Bird said something to him and then got on his horse. Two Hawks picked up the two jugs and walked over to Kicking Bird, handing them up to him. The Coopers stood up as Broken Man also mounted his horse. Two Hawks returned to the blanket and stepped over to Lana. Holding her chin in his right hand, he stared deeply into her eyes. Yes, they were really blue.
Lana quit breathing, afraid to move or to blink. She desperately tried to remove the fear from her eyes. But, if she could hear her heart pounding this loudly, she was sure he could, too.
“T′on Ma,” he said, pointing to her chest. “T′on Ma.”
“Let her go!” Joshua ordered, his rifle pointing straight at Two Hawks. Two Hawks looked disdainfully over his shoulder at Joshua, dropped his hand from Lana’s face, and grunted. Swooping down, he picked up the sugar sack and then effortlessly jumped back on his horse, his long braid swinging behind him.
The three braves turned their horses and rode away without any concern for the rifles behind them. The trade had been a good one. There would be feasting tonight.
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall. If you wish to be notifed when this book is for sale, please click on the BlackWolfBooks website (on the right of this page)and then click on the contact icon from that site's second page.
This is just a quick update on progress. There are only eight more chapters to edit, so the deadline of August 31 doesn't look impossible. Also, contact has been made with a publicist who is eager to help get this book launched. It seems all the major pieces are falling into place. Stay tuned for more updates.
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall. Since the story concerns a musician, I thought this excerpt was appropriate for this blog.
Read the following scenario about a popular musician, put yourself in his place, and then answer the question:
WOULD YOU WANT TO BE FAMOUS?
It had been a crazy night, lasting well into the early morning hours, pushing, bumping, crowding up against the dawn. Exhausted, he falls into his bunk on the tour bus, the hum of its engine singing him to sleep.
Several hours, several miles, several towns later, he wakes up and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. Hunger drives him to the kitchen. Looking out the bus windows, he sees rural landscape rolling by, guardrails and fence posts, cattle and trailer houses. Semis and sports cars compete for space on the highway as the bus bounces between them.
Yawning, he reaches for a cereal bowl when his cell phone rings.
“Hey, you up?”
“Kinda,” he mumbles.
It’s his business manager with important information for the day. The label suits are screaming about CD deadlines — again. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
Getting through that conversation, he manages to sit down and eat breakfast before his phone rings again. This time his promoter has a new wrinkle in his already full schedule. Some big hotshot is going to be at the next show, so an impromptu meet-and-greet has been added. He sighs and agrees.
Walking up to the driver, he asks how much longer before they get to the next scheduled stop.
“About two hours,” he is told. Nodding, he goes to the back of the bus. There’s nothing to do now but wait. Picking up his cell phone, he calls his wife.
“Hi, honey,” he smiles into the phone. “How are things?”
“I was just about to call you.” From the sound of her voice, he can tell there is something wrong.
“What is it?”
“The baby is running a fever. If it gets much higher, we’re going into the doctor.”
“Oh, no.” His shoulders slump. He should be there, but there’s absolutely nothing he can do. “Call me if it gets any worse.”
“Okay.”
“Other than that, how are you doing?”
“All right.” She doesn’t sound all right. She hasn’t sounded all right for the last two calls. After a moment’s silence, she asks, “When are you coming home?”
“You know I won’t be back for another week.” He can hear the heavy sigh. “Baby, I’m sorry. That’s just the way it is.”
“I know. I know. I just miss you. That’s all.”
He tells her he loves her and hangs up the phone, worried about his sick child.
The bus rolls into the big city and threads its way through unfamiliar downtown streets to the concert venue for that evening.
His cell phone rings again. This time, the concert promoter tells him that he’s on his way to the bus. From there, they will go to the local radio station for a ½ hour on-air interview. After that, a music magazine has a journalist waiting with a photographer. The meet-and-greet has been squeezed in following that. There will be just enough time to grab dinner before it’s on to the concert.
Fans have spotted the bus and are crowding around it, waving, smiling, chattering excitedly, hoping for just one quick glimpse of him. It will be like this for the rest of his stay in this town. Autographs, photos, handshakes, kisses, messages, demo CDs from hopeful musicians, screaming, tears. They love him. They all love him. And they want to show it. But there’s only one of him and dozens of them. Later tonight, there will be thousands. It doesn’t change and it doesn’t quit.
He smiles, graciously, genuinely. He couldn’t have made it this far without their support. He returns their hugs, listens to their stories, signs whatever they hand him. He’s been told thousands of times by thousands of young lovelies how hot he is. He’s been told thousands of times by thousands of eager young musicians how talented he is. “You rock, man!”
Each one that sees him hopes to be singled out, to be brought into the inner circle. They vie for his attention by being the most provocative, the sweetest, the loudest, the most complimentary, the most outrageous. He’s seen it all before and there’s nothing he can do.
And through all of this adulation, he keeps thinking about his baby, wondering if the fever has gone, and about his wife, knowing she needs him.
He gets through the gauntlet of interviews and the meet-and-greet. A quiet spot has been found for dinner, but even there, he is interrupted for autographs. Then it’s on to the show. From backstage, he can hear the crowd — hungry, eager, impatient for his music. He steps into the middle of the spotlight and rocks the house. He plays his heart out. He loves playing. It’s the blood in his veins, the air in his lungs.
After the show, there is an after-party that he is expected to attend. Lots of ‘beautiful people’ are there, journalists of varying degrees of professionalism, floozies, and ‘gimmies’ (people who are hoping to get something from him — an endorsement, a ‘deal,’ anything to further their own career, their own life.) Finally — finally — he autographs his way past the fans waiting at the bus in the small hours of the morning. He climbs on, bone weary, and makes his way to the back.
It had been a crazy night, lasting well into the early morning hours, pushing, bumping, crowding up against the dawn. Exhausted, he falls into his bunk on the tour bus, the hum of its engine singing him to sleep.
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series, "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall.
Here is an excerpt from Chapter 6. Enjoy!
* * * * *
Caleb strode down the hall, his long hair swaying in time to his boots striking the floor. He was on the hunt. He saw Mike standing alone and caught up to him in three long strides. Before Mike could say anything, Caleb slammed him against the wall. Caleb’s left forearm was across Mike’s throat. His right hand was pushing hard into Mike’s chest. Mike’s feet were barely touching the floor and the briefcase dangled loosely from his left hand.
“Next time — if you’re stupid enough for a next time — you won’t see me coming,” Caleb warned through clenched teeth.
“Sorry, man,” Mike choked, his face dangerously red. “Didn’t know you two were involved.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Caleb growled. “You never corner a woman like that — any woman.” He glared at Mike and leaned in even closer to whisper, “but especially not Sara.”
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series "Black Wolf: Lakota Man," by Magnolia Belle, will be published this fall.
In writing this series, a few Lakota Sioux terms have been used.
misún [mee-SUNG] — younger brother (the proper letter for the 'n' won't show up here, but it looks like an 'n' with the tail of a 'g')
čhiyé [chee-YAH] — older brother
Wakú kte [wah-KOO ktay] — I’ll see you again.
Inipi [in eh peh] — sweat lodge
In my research on Lakota language, I never came across any terms of endearment, such as 'sweetheart' or 'dear.' If anyone reading this knows any of these words, please click on the ‘comment’ button and tell us.
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series "Black Wolf: Lakota Man" by Magnolia Belle will be published this fall.
I am happy to report that there has been a good response to notification of the sale date. If you are interested in being notified when the book is ready for sale, please go to the Black Wolf Books website and click on the "contact" icon to leave your e-mail address.
Editing is about halfway done and should be finished by the end of August. The cover is finished and has been submitted to the publisher. As soon as possible, the webdesigner will post the cover on the website.
The next, and probably most important, step will be to get a plan of action for publicity. Contacting professional reviewers, local newspapers, etc., will be a full-time activity and present yet another learning curve.
If you go to Black Wolf Books website, please sign the guestbook while you’re there.
Welcome to Black Wolf Books - where the first in the series "Black Wolf: Lakota Man" will be published this fall. If you are interested in being notified when the book is ready for sale, please go to the Black Wolf Books website and click on the "contact" icon to leave your e-mail address.
