The Kickstarter site is up!  Please visit the post at the book's site for more information and to see an image of the cover!: https://thesolsticedance.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/the-kickstarter-site-is-live/

Add a Comment

Hi everyone,

I've decided to create a separate blog dedicated to my Moonflower and the Solstice Dance project.  From now on, I'll post separately at http://thesolsticedance.wordpress.com.  I'll still post here about that project and others, and I'll occasionally copy those posts in bulk over here, too, but that will be the separate site listed on the Kickstarter campaign.  I hope you'll join me at the new site!

Saskia

Add a Comment

I have the best kind of insomnia right now.  I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep because I'm so busy thinking about this book project.  Imagining the images, hearing the translations…

This weekend, I received the almost-final German translation of Moonflower and the Solstice Dance.  It is absolutely beautiful.  When I read it out loud to my kids, however, they looked a little horrified.  For those who don't know, our kids are trilingual.  They can speak and understand English, Turkish, and German.  "Mummy, just give it to me, let me read it," our oldest son said.  He read it beautifully!  The melody and rhythm could have put me into a trance...

As some of you know, I have a 9-month-old baby at home.  Who wakes me up multiple times at night. This morning, he woke me up at 5:45 a.m. and I never managed to get him back to sleep.  He's a cheerful and sweet little guy, and a great reason to get up at 5:45.  And this morning, I really didn't mind because my e-mail inbox contained some new sketches by the illustrator!  It is so exciting to see my visions become reality.  I can imagine, but I can't really draw or paint.  Ok, I can draw and paint, but my drawings and paintings never come out as I want them to.  I can see the final image I want, but I can't get there.  Fortunately, Solongo has been able to read my mind, so to speak, and put into sketches the visions that I have.  Right now, she's working on the cover, and it's magical to see it come to life.

Add a Comment

Google Translate is a handy tool that I use quite often to help me quickly understand correspondence such as e-mails from our sons' school.  Its translations are direct, rough, never more than partially accurate, and often hilarious.  It cannot translate books, and certainly not poetry.

This book (tentatively titled Moonflower and the Solstice Dance)  is written entirely in verse, which is exceptionally difficult to translate.  Rhyme makes it difficult to translate word for word, and so it is meaning that must be translated and rhyming attempted.  Word order cannot be maintained, and vocabulary must often change.  But a great translator can maintain the imagery, feeling, and rhythm of a poem.

I am so lucky to have friend who is a talented English-German translator!  I was already lucky to call
Andrea Etterer my friend, but she has also kindly offered to translate The Solstice Dance, and has nearly completed her translation.  What I have read so far brought tears to my eyes.  My German is far from perfect, but I know enough to get the same feeling from reading her translation as I do when I read the original in English.  Being good translator requires both skill and training, and Andrea has both.

Writing prose is like painting with words.  Translating prose is like painting the same subject with slightly different materials.  Translators are artists, too - think about this the next time you read something or watch a film that has been translated from another language.  One well-known example I can think of is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, which was originally written in French. I originally read the book in French, and got a feeling for the story in its native language.  I own two different translations of the book, and the difference is massive - one translation tells the story but the music is faded.  The other translation is a beautiful rendition of the original.

I never considered the beauty of the art of translating until I wanted my own words translated, and now I know I will notice it everywhere.

Add a Comment

When I set out on this new publishing adventure, I didn't realize it was going to be such a different adventure.  Putting together and publishing an illustrated children's story is a very different experience than publishing a coming-of-age novel.  In fact, one has very little to do with the other.  Let me count the ways:

1. With a novel, you paint a picture with words.  Lots of words.  With an illustrated children's book, you paint a picture with words, but it also needs real pictures.  And because I am by no means an artist, I can only hope that the illustrator sees what I see (or sees better than I see).  Finding the right artist is of the utmost importance.  And because the story is under 600 words instead of 90,000 words, every word is heavily weighted.  Add to this the fact that the text in this case rhymes… and that some words have no rhyming friends, this is HARD!  And a great challenge.  
2. There are lots of options for self-publishing a novel.  Createspace. Lulu.  Ingram Sparks.  The list goes on.  When it comes to self-publishing a full-cover book, the list is significantly shorter: Ingram Sparks.  That's one company.  One option, at least in the POD (print-on-demand) market.  Because I live in Germany, it's really my only option.  I can't order 5,000 copies of the book from an offset printer and store them in my garage and offer people autographed copies and send them out when they're ordered and go around to bookstores begging them to carry my book.  No, I will have to rely on the worldwide distribution and shipping options offered by Ingram Sparks.  Captive customer I am.
3. Ingram Sparks is significantly less user-friendly than Createspace, and it's significantly more complicated to get an illustrated book print ready.  The IS manual for preparing the PDFs is overwhelming.  Welcome, Elance.  It is there that I hope to find someone who has done this before and who will do this for me for a reasonable price.  If they manage the first version (English) correctly, they will get the job for all the other versions.  Incentive for them to do a great job, I hope!  But I'm really nervous about this part.  
4. Ingram Sparks is slower than Createspace.  I will actually have to wait a few weeks for the print version once they have everything.  Which is still significantly less time than I would have to wait if this were being published by a traditional publisher.
5. It costs a heck of a lot more to self-publish a full-color book.  Thus the Kickstarter campaign.
6. If this book is going to be available for tablets, I'll also need someone to convert it to ePub.  Some things are really beyond my capabilities. 
7. I'm used to doing things myself.  Instead of being a one-woman show, from the writing to the cover art to the formatting and technical details, I now need a whole team:
1. Me, writer and project manager
2. Solongo Drini, illustrator
3. Translators (who knows how many there will be?)
4. Layout person from Elance
5. And let's not forget my editor-support team-inspiration, my husband :)  He was there for me with the novel, too, so I guess I was actually not a one-woman show, but a one-couple show.  Because yeah, I quilled the cover, but he took the pictures, fixed the lighting, moved things around… basically made it all look good. Because people do judge a book by its cover.

Add a Comment

Old Man Dalantai Copyright Solongo Drini

When I read The Solstice Dance to my kids, they like it. But they want to see the pictures.  The illustrations in a book can make it or break it.  The text has to start out good - I'm still working on that, trying to make the rhythm correct and the imagery magical - but the illustrations are of the utmost importance.  That is why I am so excited to be working with Solongo Drini.  You can find more of Solongo's work at http://msolongo.com.  She has the education, training, and imagination needed for this particular story, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Now you're as excited as I am, right?  Once I've got the English text finalized, I'm going to reach out to my friends around the world to see if anyone's interested in translating it into other languages.  I was thinking German, Swedish, Icelandic, Japanese… If any of you wants to offer, I would be delighted!  The text is in rhyming prose in English, but I would not expect translations to rhyme.

I've also figured out a timeline for the project now.  Once Solongo has finished the cover image, I will go ahead with the Kickstarter campaign.  If she can manage to finish all of the artwork by June, then I'll work on formatting the book by July, and maybe even have it in my hands by the end of July.  I'll then send it off for its Kirkus review and do the formal release and marketing blitz in the Autumn.  It should be in consumers' hands well before the Winter Solstice.

There has been some discussion about the title… the original title was The Solstice Dance.  Then it morphed into Moonflower's Solstice Dance.  Now, I'm thinking that "Moonflower and the Solstice Dance" might be a better title.  Do any of you have any thoughts on this?

It's coming together!!

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=10803&cpage=1#comment-80641

Author writes children's book.
Nobody wants to publish it. It remains unpublished.
A string of events brings the manuscript into the hands of a child.
Ten years later, child (now young adult) writes an e-mail to the author telling her how the book changed her life.
Get some tissues ready.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Novel plots and pitches follow pretty predictable formulas, but it's not so easy to find those formulas summarized simply.  This website does a fabulous job of it: http://www.iggiandgabi.com/2010/05/abcs-of-writing-a-pitch/.  Yep, the ABCs of writing a pitch.  It makes the incredibly difficult job of summarizing your 40,000-100,000-word novel in 300 words much less daunting.  I still haven't figured out how to summarize any of my novels in one sentence, though.  Any pointers?

Display Comments Add a Comment

And here's my interview revisited...

http://morgensauthorinterviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/author-interview-no490-with-ya-writer.html

Tell all your friends and family to download my book for free.  It would be even better if they read it!

Add a Comment

The name of my new novel is Mystic Grounds, and here are a few words about it:

I'm querying it at the moment, hoping that an agent will like it enough to sign me, and then sell it to a traditional publisher.  I know, I know, there are lots of arguments against traditional publishing, but I'm going to try anyway.  Why?  Well, there are some arguments for traditional publishers, too:

1. They can get my book into bookstores.  It's something I can sort-of do, maybe, but not really.  Especially because I live abroad.
2. They can organize translation rights.  I cannot do this.
3. Agents have a relatively good idea of what sells. If one believes in my book well enough to take on the project, they can help me make improvements to the manuscript.  
4. Traditionally published books can get reviewed by all, not just some, review organizations.
5. One must admit that it would feel really good to hear that an agent, who reads thousands of manuscripts a year, liked mine.  So I hope that happens.

Add a Comment

The following photos were taken at the Boulder Bookstore by a friend who stopped by to see my book there.  How I wish I could see that in person!

Add a Comment

Who has enough time?  Nobody.  The truth is that often, there really is enough time every day, but one does need to sleep.  And to be honest, I spend most evenings responding to e-mails, looking at Facebook, and watching movies.  But I also feel that winding down is an important part of my day - it's downtime, and without it, I don't function well and I certainly don't sleep well.

What I need more of is morning time.  I am so productive first thing in the morning, when the air is cool and the birds are singing.  I feel refreshed after a night's sleep, the phone doesn't ring, and my creative juices flow.  Sure, sometimes I do write at night, but when I do that, I often find that the quality of my writing is poor, so most of the time, it's not worth it.

Recently, I accepted an invitation to write three articles for a book that is being put together for (new) expats in Germany.  The articles were on raising multilingual children, raising multicultural children, and trailing spouses.  In order to do the topics justice rather than simply writing up articles based solely on my personal experience and knowledge, I did a lot of research for the articles, and also conducted two surveys.  I read as much as I could, made sure I included references from the most well-known and important books and websites on the subject, and tried to write great articles.  It had been a long time since I'd written anything non-fiction (other than a blog), and I had to use a part of my brain that, unfortunately, had some cobwebs on it.

Great exercise, glad I took it on, but also glad it's over!  I only had a couple of weeks to turn in the articles, and having a deadline imposed by someone other than myself was rather difficult.  In those two weeks, I also had to organize my son's first day of school (quite a lot of preparation here in Germany), attend two parent-teacher conferences, two women's group meetings (they always take the entire day), book club (needless to say, I didn't finish reading the book!), and to top it all off, I had three days of debilitating migraine right smack in the middle.  How I got those articles written, I do not know.

I had been toying with the idea of exploring more freelance writing as a side-job, but I think this latest experience has extinguished that possibility.  I really loved the experience, but between regular commitments, such as laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc... and other commitments that one makes, it is very unlikely that I'd find enough morning time to do good writing.  And my second book?  That collected dust while I was working on the articles.  I also lost the momentum I had, and am struggling to find it again.

Now, I'm back to writing my book on my own schedule, as slow as that has to be sometimes.  I've got a self-imposed deadline of a completed first draft by the end of October, but it doesn't make me feel stressed, because if it's not finished by my deadline, nobody will be disappointed but myself.  If a great freelancing project falls into my lap again, I may take it, but I won't be seeking out any projects, at least not for now.

Add a Comment

I was recently interviewed on a writer's blog.  It was sooo fun to be interviewed, I must say!  Find the full interview here:  http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/author-interview-no-490-with-ya-writer-saskia-akyil.

Since the actual interview took place in May, some of the information is old, such as the subject of my next book... 

Add a Comment

I've never really had a good writing space before.  I just sort-of picked up my laptop and brought it wherever I wanted to write.  A desk, I had.  It was otherwise known as my dumping spot.  I complained that it was not a real desk, just a table.  I am not the least-organized person in the world.  After all, I manage to keep up with the personal appointments, laundry, nourishment, and paperwork of four people.  It has been mentioned that I could do a better job, yet I haven't been fired yet because nobody else is willing to do the job.  My desk really made me look bad, though.  Things would come in the mail, I'd collect our company's paperwork, the kids would bring home pictures, I would start writing holiday cards, and it would all end up in a pile on my desk until I sorted through it.  I was only somewhat aware of what was even on the desk.  My husband's desk, on the other hand, always looked very neat.  He also occasionally put papers on my desk. For me to sort through and take care of.  I was not very happy with the system.  One morning, our 6-year-old son got up at seven, and "neatened" my desk.  The organized piles of papers were now one disorganized pile of papers, but at least the desk could be seen.  "Don't mess it up again!" he warned me. 

As you can probably guess, writing at my desk was not an option. 

Well, now it is.  Presenting: the. coolest. desk. ever.

Now, my stuff is organized,  as there is a place to organize it.  I cannot dump stuff on her because she doesn't have much dumping space.  I plain old have to file things when I get them.  And for the other stuff, it has a place.  My cards, my colored pencils, my paint, my pens, my office supplies - they each have their own drawers.  Whether or not I will actually sit at my desk and type there as opposed to bringing my laptop to the most comfortable spot is yet to be seen.  But one thing for sure is that I will feel and be more organized, which will hopefully save me time.  And I will surely hand write cards there, because she's begging me to. 

Add a Comment

On this rainy Friday, full of laundry, ironing, and paperwork, this review improved my day!

*This book was received as a free advanced reader's copy*

This was a charming book. Highly appropriate for middle school aged children and even high school children it tells a very relateable story of a young girl and her exchange student trip.

Rachel is all set to go to Mexico for an exchange program. The only problem, there is no room for her. But then at the last minute a spot opens up for a trip to Turkey. At first she's not sure if she should go, she knows nothing about the country and their customs. But the more she thinks about it the more appealing it is, especially compared to working at a coffee shop all summer. So off she flies to meet her new host family, who has a daughter her age and one a little older. Turkey is nothing like she expects, the women are stylish, the food different but good, and the language hard to learn but worth striving for. She enjoys her new sister Aylin and her family and even develops a crush on Aylin's cousin. The summer is flying by with Rachel enjoying all of her experiences, so much so that she isn't sure she wants to go home.

Rachel is a very nice character. She has a few flaws and seems very shy, but in a way she is also open too. My only complaint about her would be that she is written a little younger seeming than seventeen. I actually pictured her more around thirteen or fourteen years old instead of almost being a legal adult. Perhaps she was just a little too naive. Aylin on the other hand was more believable with her naivete. Perhaps it was just because of her culture, but it seemed that she reacted more in an age appropriate manner to different things. The rest of the characters really fleshed out the story and I enjoyed being "introduced" to each one. Especially the adults as they represented a different side of a culture compared to just the exchange story.

There was no real strife in this book, and that was fine. It was more just a growing up, exploring kind of tale rather than something that had to have an antagonist. It was almost like sitting down with a friend, or reading someones journal on their trip to Turkey and you felt as if you could almost know Rachel in real life. I do think that the language in this book and the writing style is highly appropriate for the younger age ranges. There was nothing inappropriate and there were even some very helpful lessons on Turkish culture thrown in. And the "voices" the characters used were authentic enough to replicate a new learner of English. An adult could read it and enjoy it as well (I did and I consider myself an adult some of the time) but I really do think this book is a prime target for the 12-18 range. Or anyone who is considering a school trip abroad. I do think the ending was a little abrupt though, I wanted to know what was going to happen in the future. Perhaps that means another book coming?

A very nice book, one I enjoyed reading. I can only hope that Akyil continues writing.

Secrets of a Summer Village
Copyright 2011
293 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2012

Display Comments Add a Comment

One of the best things about writing is reviews.  Obviously, good reviews are preferred, but just the fact that someone is reading the story I wrote and getting feedback - any feedback - is a lifeline.  I am a SAHM.  Stay-at-home-mom for those of you who don't know the acronym.  It makes it sound like I'm always at home, and I'm not, but I do have contact with fewer people than I would if I worked outside the home.  But my novel helps me reach out to the world, and sometimes people reach right back out.  In the past few weeks, I've gotten a few new reviews on Amazon, both from people I don't know.

And the good reviews don't make me think yeah, I'm an awesome writer.  I rock.  They make me think wow, someone took the time to sit down and read the story I wrote.  And it brought them pleasure. And maybe they learned something new.  That rocks.  So, reviewers, thank you!

Here are the two reviews that appeared on Amazon:

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

For those of you who are in Colorado Springs, or who have friends or family in Colorado Springs: I'll be doing a reading/book signing there on Saturday, August 4th from 5-7pm.  I'll have books available for purchase, too.  Please help me spread the word!

Click on the image to see it larger.

Add a Comment

This book was very nicely written and you start to get into the characters' lives and their growing relationships. It is about an American exchange student who travels to Turkey for the summer and the evolvement of her relationships in Turkey as well as back home.

It is very clean but still interesting so safe for a younger teen to read without worrying about language and overt sexual descriptions. I enjoyed that, without knowing it, you learned a lot about the Turkish culture and way of life as well.

Add a Comment

I can create book covers, but I am not too talented in the computer graphics department.  Thus, my lovely husband created a much nicer promotional poster for me:

I like the way it keeps the theme of the cover art without everything being in all the same places.  Like.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Creating the lettering is the hardest part

The good thing about quilling is that you can move the pieces around on the page until they look right.

Front cover, finished but not glued

back cover quilled image

The cover of Secrets of a Summer Village was made using colorful strips of paper and glue in a technique called quilling.  The technique is very old, we could even say ancient, but as of late has been rising in popularity.  If you're interested in doing some quillwork yourself, there are lots of sites that talk about it, but I found this blog entry about quilling letters very useful: http://miyyahatkertas.blogspot.de/2012/07/tips-quilling-typography.html.  Another blog that has paper art techniques in general, and includes both quilling and other techniques, is: http://www.allthingspaper.net.  Enjoy!

Add a Comment

I made a promotional poster for my book.  It's not fancy schmanzy because I am not a graphic designer.  But it'll have to do, and I think it's attractive enough because the book cover apparently attracts attention.  At least that's what I've been told.  But it matters less what I think than what you think... what do you all think?

Display Comments Add a Comment

The other day, I decided to start calling independent bookstores to see if they'd carry my book.  I started in Olympia, Washington, the hometown of the protagonist of Secrets of a Summer Village.  There are three indy bookstores there.  The first one, Last Word Books, said they'd love to take some copies on commission.  It was totally easy and they were incredibly friendly.  I love Olympia, and thank you Last Word Books.  The second one, which I often frequented while in Olympia, Fireside Books, said they would have loved to, but they're closing in a month :(  Sad.  The third one, Orca Books, shocked me when I introduced myself.

"We already have a copy of your book - Secrets of a Summer Village, right?" 

I was floored.  Long story short, I found out that a friend and former colleague of mine asked them about my book, and I guess suggested that they carry it.  So they did.  As easy as that.  So if any of you have local independent bookstores you frequent, please ask them if they'd be interested in carrying my book! It works, apparently.  Have they sold my book?  No.  But they needed a little promotional data - some quotes from reviews recommending it.  I sent those along, and hope that they are able to sell the book. 

In further news, a guest blog I wrote was featured today.  Please check it out: http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/guest-post-what-kind-of-writer-do-i-want-to-be-by-saskia-akyil/

Finally, book 2 is coming along.  I have about 2,000 words written.  Next to nothing, I know, but it's flowing easily, and I'm very happy with it.  If you need some perspective, I'm aiming for around 60,000 words for this one.  Secrets of a Summer Village is around 90,000 words.  So, 2000 down, 58,000 to go.  It sounds daunting, but it's not that bad at this rate - it's taken me two days to get the 2,000 words, and I haven't been working that diligently on it.  Now, let's see how much I can write in the next half hour..... MY personal key to writing is writing in very short spurts... because sometimes that's all I have :)

Display Comments Add a Comment

There is a fabulous book review website out there in Cyberspace, called Flamingnet.  I think its name is unfortunate, both because it's hard to pronounce and because the name doesn't give anyone a clue what kind of a site it is.  Even so, it has been found.  New books are offered for review on Flamingnet to reviewers - who are adolescents!  I honestly care what adolescents think of my book because I wrote it for them.  Yes, adults seem to really like it, too, but they are my secondary intended audience.  My primary intended audience is aged 12-18.

Here's how it works: a book is offered to Flamingnet for review (they prefer electronic copies, but paper will do).  Then, if a reviewer picks it, reads it, and writes a review, the review is posted.  But it's not as simple as that.  It's also a learning experience for the teen readers, because they are given guidance by adult volunteers as to how to write a review.  It's a wonderful program, something I would have loved to have been a part of as a young reader.

I submitted my book for review by Flamingnet at least nine months ago, and I was a little bit saddened to think that it hadn't been picked.  Actually, I was more than a little bit sad.  Because I want young adults to pick my book.  I wondered what they didn't like about it.  I wondered if the cover wasn't "sexy" enough to compete with attractive vampires and dystopian universes.  And then, when I had all but given up, I got an e-mail from Flamingnet that my book had gotten reviewed!  Not only that, but it got seven out of ten stars, and a smiley face.  Here's their content rating criteria:

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

View Next 25 Posts