Book Extras: Sandra's interview

Sandra is one of the characters in Into the Tides, a middle-aged journalist who joins Kelly and her friends on their journey to rescue the people lost in the magic. Here's an article of hers that takes place a few weeks before Into the Tides begins.

Sandra

From The Daily News, out of Madison, WI:

You may have heard the recent news that Lorren's Oil plans to begin drilling in Lake Mendota. But what does that mean for the local environment? After all the recent efforts to clean the lake, will the drilling pollute the waters?

Lorren's Oil representative Marsha Annister sat down with The Daily News' Sandra Collins for an interview with the paper and explained how they plan to prevent such disasters.

ANNISTER: Keeping the lake clean is our top priority. You know that oil companies have worked in recent years to improve safety and cleanliness. Lorren's stands out and above even the best-known giants. Our CEO, Aaron Surry, demands we implement every new technology. In addition, we incorporate high numbers of earth Powers into our staff, employing their magic to seek for structural weaknesses in our pipelines.

COLLINS: What led you to drill in Lake Mendota? Wisconsin's not known as a major oil-producing state.

ANNISTER:  With the loss of the Gulf of Mexico production, it's essential to utilize all our possibilities for production. The Michigan Basin is actually quite significant. While the larger corporations are focusing their efforts east and out west, we're tapping into the rich middle-US fields. Doing so is challenging, in part due to the fact that the Michigan Basin overlaps into Canadian territory, but we've worked out mutually beneficial agreements with their government.

COLLINS: What other benefits will Madison see thanks to the drilling platform opening?

ANNISTER: Cheaper gas, obviously. But also an economic boost. We're bringing hundreds, potentially thousands of jobs to the area, and as Madison's population expands exponentially, unemployment is a major threat. So anything that can get people working is a good thing.

COLLINS: Thanks, Marsha. We appreciate you bringing some light on these issues for us.

ANNISTER: You're quite welcome. That's what I'm here for, to help all the citizens of Madison know that Lorren's Oil is looking out for them.

COLLINS: Sandra Collins with The Daily News

Into the Tides Book Bonus: Heat and Cold Powers

Today is a little book-bonus! In posts such as these, I'll give you extra information from my novel that you won't find in the book itself.

Elizabeth
and a squirrel

In Into the Tides, people who have magic are called "Powers." Each type of magic has a different set of capabilities, which is based on genetics. And for each Power type, there are 6 different levels of ability, called classes, with 6th class being the weakest and 1st class having the most magic. How a person's class is determined is based on what they can do.

I've been working on creating descriptions that explain what each Power type can do, by class. If you're reading the book and wondering what the characters are capable of, and what they would be capable of if they were higher in class, you can find out!

Here's more about heat and cold Powers. One of the main characters in the book is Elizabeth, a fifth class heat Power. Despite often being called "fire" and "ice" Powers, most heat and cold Powers can't create fire or ice; their truly impressive abilities come from being able to maintain and share core body temperature in lower temperatures. By third level it's possible to create active sparks or ice, but in this world, generally cold and heat Powers are considered more healing or utilitarian magics than direct attack magics.

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Heat	6-	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to 40 degrees F) Active: Raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard by up to 5 degrees
	5	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to 10 degrees F) Active: Raise air temperature in 10 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees (if area unoccupied by unwilling living organisms); raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 10 degrees; radiate core body-temperature warmth (usually 96.8 degrees F) at touch (warmth extends onto surface of touched object/willing person 2 inches beyond point of contact)
	4	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -10 degrees F) Active: Raise air temperature in 20 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 40 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 5 degrees; radiate body-temperature warmth at touch to envelop willing person of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward)
	3	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -15 degrees F); radiates body-temperature warmth at touch (1/2" past point of physical contact) Active: Raise air temperature in 40 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 40 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 80 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-temperature warmth at touch to envelop 3 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); create a spark
	2	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -15 degrees F); radiates body-temperature warmth at touch (2 inches past point of physical contact) Active: Raise air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 10 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 160 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-temperature warmth at touch-chain (people may be touching each other and not the heat Power directly) to envelop 10 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); create a fire (2 cubic feet of seasoned wood/material or 2 cubic inches green wood); raise body temperature of willing person by 3 degrees per minute until normal healthy temp is reached (apprx 98.6 F)
	1+	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -15 degrees F); radiates body-temperature warmth at touch (envelop 1 same-size person); raise body temperature of willing person to body temperature or up to 5 degrees above normal Active: Raise air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 25 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 160 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 320 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; boil 3 gallons water; radiate body-temperature warmth via touch-chain for up to 30 people; start fire (10 cubic feet of material); raise the body temperature of another willing person within 20 feet to normal; raise body temperature of a touched person (willing or unwilling) at a rate of 1 degree per minute
Cold	6-	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 100 degrees F) Active: Lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard by up to 5 degrees
	5	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 130 degrees F) Active: lower air temperature in 10 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees (if area unoccupied by unwilling living organisms); lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 10 degrees; radiate body-comfortable coolness (usually 65-75 F, depending on person; only when ambient temperature is above this temperature) at touch (air pocket extends onto surface of touched object/willing person 2 inches beyond point of contact)
	4	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 150 degrees F) Active: Lower air temperature in 20 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 40 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 5 degrees; radiate body-comfortable temperature at touch to envelop willing person of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward)
	3	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 155 degrees F); radiates body-comfortable temperature at touch (1/2" past point of physical contact) Active: Lower air temperature in 40 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 40 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 80 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-comfortable temperature at touch to envelop 3 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); freeze a 1/4 cubic inch cube of water
	2	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 155 degrees F); radiates body-comfortable temperature at touch (2 inches past point of physical contact) Active: lower air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 10 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 160 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-comfortable temperature at touch-chain (people may be touching each other and not the cold Power directly) to envelop 10 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of coolness is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); freeze water (2 cubic feet); lower human body temperature of willing person by 3 degrees per minute until normal healthy temp is reached (apprx 98.6 F)
	1+	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 155 degrees F); radiates body-comfortable temperature at touch (envelop 1 same-size person); lower body temperature of willing person at touch to normal or up to 5 degrees below normal Active: Lower air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 25 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard as much as to 160 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 320 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; freeze 20 gallons water per ten minutes; radiate body-comfortable temperature via touch-chain for up to 30 people; lower the body temperature of another willing person within 20 feet to normal; lower body temperature of a touched person (willing or unwilling) at a rate of 1 degree per minute

Specific heat and Power application

 Affecting living tissue is exponentially harder magically than affecting non-living tissue; in non-living substances, the lower a substance's specific heat is, the less magic is required to raise or lower that substance's temperature.

For example, while causing burns directly to skin would require a second or first class, a third class could cause a spark to clothing, which could then burn the skin. A fourth class could raise the heat of a piece of metal the target was touching if it was already near, but not quite at, skin-burning temperature. A cold Power touching pipes running across a ceiling could lower the ambient temperature of a room at a higher level than by magic alone. And it would be easier to lower the temperature of a metal pot until the water in it froze, or the air at the surface of the water, than to freeze the water directly; dropping a nickel in the water and freezing the nickel would be more efficient than creating ice cubes for cooling a drink on a hot summer day. 

Because of this, most heat or cold Powers typically apply the rules of thermodynamics to achieve their desired results.


Living, willing & unwilling:

 In order to be "willing" or "unwilling" to accept heat loss or acquisition, a living creature's instincts must be able to recognize a desirable temperature. When raising or lowering temperature of air or water, an unwilling target in the area affected will not have its temperature directly changed; however it will make raising the task more difficult depending on the amount of will it possesses.

Particularly simple or minute organisms (below 1/4 cubic inch in size) do not typically have enough will to affect casting of magic. Normal levels of micro organisms in water (such as in most areas of the ocean) would usually not make it more difficult to lower the temperature of the water. However, water filled with algae and other micro-organisms (such as from near the shore of a still pond) would take noticeably more energy to affect.

By default, if a temperature rise/lowering is healthy for a healthy organism, then will be "willing" to undergo the transformation; if the temperature change would be damaging to the organism when healthy, it would be considered "unwilling." Living plant matter of at least 1/4 cubic inch is generally capable of creating resistance to magic (approximately 5x nonliving). Animal matter for non-sentient creatures generates more (12.5x nonliving), for creatures capable of self-identifying (such as some insects, rats, dogs, cats) yet more (62.5x), and sapient creatures--humans--more (312.5x). 

A cat, dog, rat, gorilla, dolphin, octopus, or other high-order animal might choose to be willing if, for some reason, it found the increased/lowered temperature appealing or soothing (such as numbing an injury or soothing a sore muscle with minor warmth). If the temperature caused discomfort, it is unlikely the animal would be willing, except in cases of extreme trust (such as a dog allowing its master to warm it up a few degrees before a swim in a cold lake). Once health became seriously threatened, or pain extreme, the animal's instincts would override its decision to trust. Heavy sedation can lower an animal's resistance slightly.

What's your interest?

I'd like to make regular features on the blog besides the publishing news (That one I'm keeping!) Here's what I'm thinking. Which of these would you most like to see? Should I rotate? Days are flexible, too, if you'd prefer one be every week and another pair switch off.


Tea Mondays: Mondays specifically related to tea, such as a tea review or a great tea pairing.
Memory-lane Mondays: I share a memory, event, or other reflection from my own life (such as treasure boxes or the State Fair).


Book Wednesdays: Wednesdays would be for extras related to Into the Tides, such as excerpts, character interviews, or news snippets from Kelly's workplace, The Daily News.
Geekery: Wednesdays would be for posts on geek subjects, such as D&D and Firefly and video games.

Friday Writers: Every other Friday would be a post related to the craft of writing, such as grammar, how I make and develop worlds, etc.
OR
Random Friday: Every non-news Friday would be a random ramble.
OR
Smorgasbord: Random topics that don't fit anything in particular, or fit into one of the above that doesn't get chosen!


Today's Random Ramble:

Lucios used to sell cars before the cars sold him. Now he's the steed for a small rabbit named Hairless Cat, who rides him to the state fair every week. They're scheming to steal the dragonfruit from the dragon who controls the fair, but it's an arduous task since talking animals are always held in suspicion by dragonfruit hoarding dragons.

Lucios has therefore agreed to be the mole who'll retrieve the dragonfruit while Hairless Cat distracts the dragon. Hairless will be delivering knight pies (cooked in armor pie tins, because using aluminum is such an environmental waste when the armor can be re-used and is readily available), which will of course be considered suspicious. Meanwhile, Lucios will be hanging out with the other steeds in back, probably discussing his former life as a cars salesman (since such a large percentage of steeds used to be salesmen of some sort).

When the inevitable discovery of Hairless's treachery causes an uproar (did I forget to mention the knight meat is spiced with dragonsbane?), Lucios will sneak into the back as if trying to hide from the angry dragon and retrieve the dragonfruit. Hairless will, after ditching pursuit, meet him by the garbage bin out of town, and they'll bring the goods back here.

Any questions about the plan? Good. Now let's get cooking. Those knight pies won't bake themselves.

Publishing Industry News (Part 2)

The second half of this week's publishing news covers interesting industry blogs for 2/15-3/7.

Industry Blogs

QueryTracker's Publishing News for 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, and 3/7.

Also on QueryTracker: 5 Easy Steps to (not) survive your release day (hint: obsession is good for you, right?). Do you need to interview someone for research purposes, but they're really nervous? Jane Lebak explains that "off the record" can get them comfortable. And Stinda Lindenblatt talks about where to get feedback.

Agent Rachelle Gardner reminds us that although in many ways the e-publishing revolution resembles the changes in the music industry, the two aren't identical. She lists some key differences to keep in mind when making comparisons. She also describes her "typical day" and her daily priorities as an agent (Hint: getting new clients comes after taking care of existing ones). And she looks at how the industry has changed since 2008, when she first began blogging.

Agent Janet Reid answers more questions: If you want to shelve a project that's not selling it, is it damaging to ask your agent to withdraw it from submission? (No; be polite, but it happens often.) Trying to contact your old publisher to fulfill "first rights," but they won't answer? (Keep track of what you've done and send a registered letter--after a certain amount of effort, you've fulfilled your legal requirement and may move on without hearing back.) How do you handle evidence that your memoir happened as said in a post-Frey false memoir-querying world? (Mention extensive records, etc). If you break an "iron-clad rule" of writing [like having the opening scene involve waking up], are you out of luck and never salable? (You can do anything if you do it well enough.)

Agent Janet Reid also advises: Make sure to use effective comparison titles. Sending an e-mail? Use an effective and specific subject title. Update your schedule of appearances. If you've written a book one genre but plan long-term to write a different genre, should you even bother querying the first work? (Do you think it's publishable and do you want to sell it? If so, yes.) Your agent has gone incommunicado for months, and you suspect she may be dead or crazy. What now? (Breathe. Then check if you're in contract with the agency instead of the agent, and if another agent there can help you. If needed, dissolve the contract.)

And Reid answers more questions: If other agents have requested pages, should I mention it in my query? (No. If there's a request for more, maybe then.) If an agent requests 30 pages or 3 chapters, which should you send? (Unless specified, whichever is more.) You have a prologue, and it's good, but agents hate prologues. How should this be handled? (Maybe send the sample requested sans prologue, or call it chapter 0 until later.) Should you mention that you once had an agent as a way of getting "street cred" in your query for a revised version of the manuscript? (No. Now it's this-thing-has-history-baggage, not a sign of awesomeness.) You've written the first book of a trilogy. Should you write the next one before getting an offer on the first, or wait to see if it sells? (Yes, write the second. Now get writing.) You're not getting responses on the query. Is it the query, the manuscript, or the agents? (Complicated. Reid suggests going to an authors' conference pitch session--but not actually pitching--to find out.)

Aerogramme Studio assembles assorted opportunities for writers (contests; literary submission dates) for March and April.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch continues her Discoverability for Authors series with Part 10 (Social media, young people actively run away from ads, and the generational gap on what works), Part 10-2 (People still see your stuff on FB; don't do things you dislike), and Part 11 (networking).

And a very interesting article looking at Amazon by the New Yorker (link found by Connie Keller--Thanks!)

On Publishing Perspectives, Dennis Abrams asks if binge reading--reading an entire series at time--is the new "binge watching" fad.

Theresa Ragan offers a way to estimate your sales based on your author rank.

Nathan Bransford disputes the "you must write every day" myth.

On the Futuristic, Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance Writers blog, Veronica Scott talks about using actual mythology to enhance your fiction.

Writer Peter Salomon evaluates whether or not Facebook ads are worth it before and after the new algorithms, sharing his results on how much he spent, how many new likes he got, and how he things it paid off (or didn't).

Humble Bundle's looking to get into e-books with a more regular e-book feature.

What countries spend the most time reading?

Publishing Industry News

Whoo-hoo, we're back on schedule! Another 3-week post broken into two shorter posts (because I have to sleep sometime!). Today we'll cover publishing news from 2/15-3/7.

Publishing News

Since Apple appealed the court-ordered monitor and tried quite a few tactics to remove him, Judge Cote ruled that Apple should to go a magistrate to referee any future disputes. Apple said they'd only provide the monitor with documents that fit within their understanding of the ruling, but Cote then ordered them to give the monitor anything requested; and anything they want to be withheld must be filed with paperwork. In a turn of events that falls somewhere between "absolutely expected" and "duh," Apple asks the U.S. appeals court to overturn Judge Cote's ruling on the DoJ vs Apple lawsuit, under the claim that Judge Cote based her decision on primarily circumstantial evidence and ruled poorly.And just to be on the safe side, also because Apple thinks Judge Cote didn't even have jurisdiction, and also they consider her to be bringing her biases into her decisions and therefore she should not be allowed to decide the damages. (Gotta give it to Apple's lawyers--they're certainly giving Apple their money's worth!)

Lately there's been a lot in the news about how much authors make. Several studies have been going around. Hugh Howey releases an earnings report for the 7000 best-selling e-books. Digital Book World shares (and by "shares" I mean "offers for sale for $295") the results of a survey from self-published authors with various levels of earnings, and Dana Weinburg analyzes it in terms of the authors' attitudes towards publishing vs income. Note that both surveys have their limitations.

Hugh Howey's advocating for more transparency in actual sales earnings of self-published authors, including for Amazon and other retailers to disclose actual sales, on the grounds that withholding the information is preventing writers from making a good judgement when choosing whether to self or traditionally publish. (Retailers currently do not disclose self-published authors' earnings, and most contracts include confidentiality clauses forbidding self-published authors from disclosing their actual sales except by specific permission.)

Vook, a digital publishing and distribution platform, releases a program allowing authors to track digital sales across all platforms. It's called Author Control and is free for your first 10 books.

Amazon's Audible is lowering the royalty rate on its self-published audio books. Exclusive distribution now nets authors an across-the-board 40%, as compared to the previous 50-90%; non-exclusive sales are now 25%. Getting a new reader to sign up does now earn authors $50, double the previous $25.

According to the latest VIDA account, reviews of books by female authors are still lagging far behind those for male-authored books.

Interested in living on a train while writing your next book? Amtrak's offering writer's residencies.

Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware updates us: The Bookseller will no longer be accepting advertising from vanity publisher Author Solutions, Inc. Now Strauss is asking readers and writers to ask other major publishing industry organizations to do the same. Jane Dowary Agency, run by Jane Dowary, doesn't have experience but does have a lot of name-changing. The authors of 2 Moons Press, stuck in a legal limbo while their publishing house went into bankruptcy, are trying to gain the funds to sue for their rights back. And there are some concerns over Simon451's contest, in terms of how many rights it gives over.


What publishing news have you encountered in the past two weeks?

The Feline Feed

Sonnet: *wandering in* I'm not toothless. I still have two teeth, thank-you-very-much. And my claws are perfectly functional, so watch your tone.

Bard: I can't. It's noise. My vision isn't acute enough to see the vibrations in air caused by normal feline speech.

Sonnet: Normal feline speech? The fact that we can talk isn't precisely normal.

Bard: I thought the super-spy training was supposed to stay secret. Don't talk about it!

Sonnet: Our handlers didn't say we shouldn't blog. 

Bard: Your handlers were llamas. They couldn't talk.

Sonnet: Well, it's not my fault the experiments on them failed. Or that they then went rogue and decided to try experimenting on cats without human supervision.

Bard: Great, just let everything out, why don't you? You never know who's listening.

Sonnet: The only thing in the room is the computer. Both the humans are gone for the day. And the dog won't share; he's not going to risk losing your portion of the canned cat food.

Bard: Like you've never hacked a webcam before, yourself. For all we know, the human's getting suspicious and left it running.

Sonnet: Seriously? She's clueless. She didn't even notice the bugs we planted, or the death ray I'm constructing from hairballs.

Bard: I said, shush!

*Pounce*

*Small feet charge up and down the stairs*

The Five Best Teas for Reading Fantasy

You probably know by now that I drink tea and read (and write) fantasy.

So obviously, it's time to combine them! What teas would I recommend for a evening with a fantasy book?

Since there are different kinds of fantasy, I've pulled out 3 well-loved subgenres. Here are my recommendations for teas to pair with each.

Swords and Sorcery Fantasy:

Magic, adventure, elves and monsters, in a world with little to no modern technology--you'll want the spice of adventure and twist of sweetness of exploring a new and fantastical world, something with a touch of caffeine to get your heart racing and your mind ready for anything. But you'll also want something mellow and down-to-Earth when you're ready to return to reality, such as nice black tea. That's why I'd say an orange spice black tea, such as Constant Comment or another similar tea, would be perfect for this read.


Urban Fantasy:

Urban fantasy is known for it's noir or dark fantasy feel. Whether it's a detective investigating the most elegant members of the seediest sides of town, or a vampire just trying to be human when his enclave is trying to take over the world, it's usually the darker parts of town where the characters edge out an existence. You'll want something dark and rich and smokey, and for that you'll find lapsang souchong, a Chinese smoked black tea, perfect with its mellow but smoky flavor.


Contemporary Fantasy:

Today's world is a quick-paced, action-filled place, and a reader will want something chic and modern. But contemporary fantasy is lighter than traditional urban fantasy, and so a hint of something sweet and pleasant is welcome. Therefore a jasmine green tea is the way to: green tea, fashionable for the on-the-go, business-minded modern person with an eye for health; and jasmine, for the sweet fragrance and reminder that not everything is cut-throat in the world.

Science Fantasy:

Think Star Wars--science fiction blended with fantasy. For this genre, the tone is adventure, speculation, what-if.

It's Earl Grey, all the way, the traditional tea of all things science fiction. Picard would proud. But more to the point, a rousing cup of Earl Grey is the perfect way to start an adventure, bracing you for anything that might come your way. With the logic of science and the endless possibility of fantasy, you'll need a hearty cup under your belt!


Paranormal Romance:

 Romance, magic, and usually the modern world: sweet with love and spicy with the touch of magic. This calls for a vanilla chai, with a healthy does of cream and sugar. The exotic spice of the chai will make magic in an ordinary world plausible, plus pair well with a zesty courtship; and the sweetness of vanilla will fill your heart like the story's inevitable happily-ever-after.


What kinds of teas would you recommend for different kinds of reading?