Archer’s Aim Digest

Rain, Ideas & More

Hello from rainy central Alabama. It’s been busy since I last wrote an update but that’s good!

The mower deck repairs were completed just in time to mow the yard before the current weather arrived. The grass was really high and thick but the mower performed very well. We’ve had rain most every day so getting the yard done was timely. In case you’ve missed the weather reports, Tropical Storm Cindy is landing in the gulf which brings rain to central Alabama both before and after landfall. Rain will continue throughout the rest of the week. Thankfully, we were able to purchase a new cover for the mower to protect the old mower deck. Otherwise, I’ve completed all the small maintenance tasks on the mower. This thing has really taken a lot of my time!

Our new edition to the family, the kitten named Minou, had a new round of standard shots last Friday. By Monday, he had developed a reaction to the shots with a fever. He slept all day but did eat and drink though which was good. He’s slowly bouncing back to his energetic ways after his fever broke Tuesday night.

One of the dogs likes to get on my daughter’s bed when it thunders which she did while Minou was feeling ill. The cat got up and laid down right next to the dog and she didn’t know what to do about that. The Dog let it ride and got comfortable until her dinner-time arrived. It was quite humorous to see the dog’s confused reaction to the cat sleeping so closely with her.

At any rate, I continue working on The White Arrow though I’m progressing a little slower than I’ve planned. However, I do intend to finish the rough draft very soon and begin all the marketing and editing phases during July and August.

I did come up with what I think is a good cover idea for The White Arrow. I emailed my artist and he likes it too. I’m working with him now to complete the cover so maybe it will be here next week at which time I’ll schedule a cover reveal. However, it may have a few versions with differing color-schemes so I may have time for a quick survey for response on which version is best.

I’m also working on scheduling an online event for An Arrow Against the Wind right at the end of the month. I haven’t decided where I’ll host it yet but I do plan on a few giveaways, fielding questions and even offering some digital autographs (using Authorgraph) for anyone attending the event. If it goes well, I’ll schedule a few more over the next several months.

I’m working on a few other online appearances as I have time so check my News page for more about those as well as the online events I’m scheduling. Additionally, a few opportunities may come my way that I’ll announce on that page too. I may land an interview with a local radio station which sounds like a lot of fun. I don’t know if it will work out just yet but the thought of it is exciting. Also, I might land an interview on a local, independent bookstore website. Again, nothing final on it but the opportunity would be nice.

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section. I’ll respond as soon as I can.

PHS

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“Destiny can be… inconvenient”

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to share the most recent 5-star review of The Bow of Destiny from Amazon.

“Destiny can be,,, inconvenient, but is always unavoidable.“

“Without any spoilers, I can only say that the author was wise in his choices. The characters are multi-dimensional, yet true to the tone of the epic fantasy in progress. You will find yourself spending far too much time reading this one, and neglecting other things. But in the end you’ll have had a ride in a world of magic, and more. The journey to…. but that’s a spoiler, so all I’ll say is that one can almost see the trail, and fear the Trolls.“

Very kind and well-written words from a reader named Victor! I’m humbled by this wonderful review. I really think this is one of the best summations of the book thus far and I’m pleased every time someone leaves this kind of review. It’s truly made my day and one of the reasons I write – to hear that someone enjoyed the tale!

To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:

About the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

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What’s Your Favorite Part of Scrivener?

Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.

Scrivener is chocked full of helpful features – so many, in fact, new users can easily be dumbstruck. But after using this software for a short time specific features begin to shine. Users become attached to a handy tool or two and continually make use of them.

For me, the binder was so revolutionary in my work. I could easily find pieces of a project and jump to them. But since I imported several projects when I first started using Scrivener it wasn’t until I started developing a brand new project that I truly appreciated the Binder’s usefulness. I could play around with the order of a story and add or move chapters and scenes around so that they made sense.

When I did a structural edit of The Bow of Destiny, I was really able to quickly overhaul the big-picture and then begin adjusting content to fit my new organization. I did work in minutes that used to take days to assess and complete. I had the benefit of seeing the book like a blueprint using the Binder.

The Binder showing my Newsletter Template

The same was true with An Arrow Against the Wind. Even though I haven’t done a full structural edit, I was able to identify the holes so I could fill-in with missing content. Likewise, I could see how to order different point-of-view scenes and chapters so that these were in an order that made sense.

There are other main features in Scrivener to which writers gravitate based on their writing style and needs. The Corkboard is extremely useful for getting an up-close look of folder organization as well as that of documents in folders. It brings a subtle nuance to structural development. With the use of meta-data you can easily determine the status of folders and documents.

The Outliner is especially effective for large non-fiction books and papers as well as fiction. Once again, Scrivener’s flexiblility shines by showing that important outline as the scaffold of a project. Without this feature many writers would be lost.

But there are many other Scrivener features that assist writers. Collections, layouts, project templates and document templates are just a few tools that make writing simpler and more efficient. It’s hard to choose what my favorite is – and I may change my mind later – but mine is the Binder. I’ve included a poll so you can vote on your favorite feature in Scrivener. It you choose “Other”, be sure to leave a comment about it yours is.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Interested in more of my writing? Just click one of the retailer banners on the sidebar to see more.

About the Author

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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor.

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