New Zigon is on sale for only $.99 now until Monday!

The book is in one last Kindle Countdown deal starting today. It is only $.99 over the next three days. Then it goes up to $1.99 for another three days before ...returning to its regular price.

This is the last time I will be participating in a Kindle Countdown Deal, as I can only do this when Amazon is my sole distributer.  After the sale, I will be selling the e-book on #Goodreads.  Once I have it out in paperback, it will be available on several sites. This means it will no longer be in the Kindle lending library! If you want to borrow it for FREE, do it NOW! (I still get royalties, so win-win!)  Click on the picture of the cover (on the right side) to get the book on Amazon.

Thanks!

 
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Do you know... #3

Do you know...     #3

Do you know whether or not you hyphenate "short term?"  The answer is yes and no; you hyphenate when used as an adjective before a noun.  e.g.  One of my short-term goals is to paint a little every day. 

When "short" describes "term," and "term" is a noun, you do not hyphenate.  e.g. In the short term, I will go to the library every day. 

Made-up Monday - New Zigon

Made-up Monday is where I will share the background behind the creation of a word or term in New Zigon.  I put a lot of thought into every new word I created or picked.

I'll start first with the series title, New Zigon.

I've shared before that the concept for New Zigon started about ten years ago when my oldest son wanted a "new" story at bedtime.  The story I gave him evolved into the Prologue of the book.  About five years later, my two oldest boys were deep into the #Webkinz craze and had just discovered Club Penguin.  They had to create usernames.  Before they picked their final "#handles", "Zigon" came up, and I latched onto it for my book title.  It made me think of both "Zion" and "Zodiac."

When I started writing my book earlier this year, the working title was simply "Zigon."  I had even set up my blog and facebook page under "Zigon."  The problem was, that when I googled "Zigon," I got lots of hits for people with a last name of "Zigon."  I wanted a unique title that would bring my novel to the top of a search engine list.  By calling it "New Zigon" I obtained that objective, and it better aligned with the storyline.  Now my blog and facebook page both use "NewZigon" in their URL.

As a side note, the second part of the title, "The Founder's Curse," didn't get defined until the book was nearly finished.

Bonus Glossary section will be included in the paperback version of New Zigon - The Founder's Curse!

That's right, I've created a bonus glossary section containing 28 definitions that will be included in the paperback version of NZ-The Founder's Curse, which will be available in a few weeks!  Here are a few of the definitions:

Crystavis     [kris-tuh-vis]     A crystal that has been engineered to create patterns in the Pleovis.  A person can push their Visity into a Crystavis to mold it into a specific pattern.  (Similar in concept to how pushing air through a flute or other wind instrument makes music.)  A Crystavis only works for the person who created it, unless it is altered to accept more than one Visity Signature.  (see Generic Receptors)

Crystavis Amulet     [kris-tuh-vis  am-yuh-lit]     Each Zigonian makes their own amulet once they possess the skills to create a Crystavis.  Pollampium is in the center, and it is surrounded by up to twelve Crystavis, one for each Pleovis avenue.  Amulets can also be passed down through families.

Founder’s Curse, The     [foun-ders kurs]     A Reactive Projection The Founder managed to place on every Zigonian that reacts when a Zigonian is captured, turning both the Zigonian and his/her captor to impenetrable stone, looking like a statue.

Knowledge transfer     [nol-ij trans-fer]     Sending information directly into your long-term memory.  The transfer can occur from one person to another, or from an encoded Crystavis to a person.  Person to person transfers can be dangerous, and not many Zigonians attempt it.  If not done correctly, the person whose knowledge is being pulled may experience memory loss.   

Pleovis     [plee-o-vis]     The substance that is in-between all particles.  The Pleovis is fluid like water or air and moves in patterns around and through objects. It is what gives an item mass.  It holds things together, pulls them apart, moves them and stops them.  It is constantly changing.  Sometimes it circles around molecules binding them together, and sometimes it vibrates like when it supports an electric current or hums like when it transmits light energy.  Sometimes it stays still and acts like both a filler and a glue.  It has a song of its own, dancing around and through everything in the universe.

Visity     [viz-it-ee]     The waves in the Pleovis caused by a person’s brain activity is called Visity.  Some people call it an aura.  A Zigonian can control the pattern their Visity makes in the Pleovis.  This is called Projecting.

Do you know... #2

Do you know...     #2

Do you know the difference between "blond" and "blonde," other than the letter "e" that is?  Actually, "blond" is an adjective and "blonde" is a noun.  e.g.  As a toddler, my son has blond hair, but I expect it to darken as he grows.  I doubt he will still be a blonde when he is older.

Second Version Available now on Amazon!

I just published the second version of NEW ZIGON - The Founder's Curse to Amazon.  If you have already purchased and downloaded the book, delete it from your device and download it again to get the updates.

There are no major plot changes in the second version; mostly punctuation adjustments and word tweaking. 

If you have any issues getting the updated version, please let me know!  You can send me a message on Facebook or email me at danellesdesigns@hotmail.com

Do you know... #1

In honor of the "reschooling" my Aunt Rose gave me when she edited my book, I thought I'd share some of the simple and more obscure grammar rules I have learned/relearned.  In future I'll title these "Do you know..."  I already posted this on Facebook; sorry for the overlap.

Do you know...     #1
Do you know that titles of TV shows of half-an-hour or less are to be in quotations and hour-plus show titles are italicized instead?

Book Objectives

I am very excited to tell you that NZ - The Founder's Curse will soon be available in paperback.  I don't have a date for you yet, but it will be by the end of September at the earliest, October the latest.

In the meantime, I'd like to share the book review I did on Goodreads.com, where, in place of a review, I shared the driving factors that went into the development of this story. If you get a chance to read New Zigon - The Founder's Curse, (and I hope you do) then you can tell me if I've missed the mark on any of these objectives.

BELIEVABLE SCIENCE FICTION - It is important to me to be able to defend the science mythos introduced. New Zigon's science stems from a combination of the force from Star Wars (huge fan here) and the modern day "God particle" theory. The underlying concept is that there is a thing/element that fills the in-between spaces called the “Pleovis.” In Latin that loosely translates to “filling power.” It is fluid, constantly moving, making various patterns in nature. If you can learn a pattern and push that pattern on the Pleovis, you can change the world around you.

INTERESTING CHARACTERS - I created my characters first and then came up with situations to challenge them. My favorite character to write was Mrs. McNeally, the widow a few farm houses down the road from the main character, John. She has a huge heart with a big old soft spot for John, but she can be eccentric, and she loves to play to human nature to get her way. She can manage John’s father like a master violinist, which is a good thing, or John would never get out from under his chores to go on their adventures!

"CLEAN" CONTENT - I want a twelve year old to be able to read my story without having his/her parents go into cardiac arrest.

APPROPRIATE FOR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS - My book is from a fourteen-year-old boy's POV. He is a Pennsylvania farm boy who goes to church and is riding the line between thinking girls are weird and noticing they can be pretty. This makes for some interesting internal struggles that boys should be able to relate to without getting embarrassed and that will make girls sigh knowingly.

GOOD READ FOR ADULTS – I am an avid reader, and most of my favorite books are young adult novels. I aimed for a balance between action and discovery/science reveals, with a sprinkle of humor and foreshadowing. The majority of my “test market” fell in the adult demographic, and all thoroughly enjoyed the book. Were they biased? Possibly… you will have to decide for yourself!

New Reduced Price! Now only $2.99 on Amazon!

That's right, my ebook, NEW ZIGON - The Founder's Curse, is now available on Amazon for a paltry $2.99.  That's less than a value meal at Mc.D's; it's less than a blizzard at DQ; it's less than a bag of Dove chocolate; it's less than a RedBox movie that you didn't return for three days; it's less than a matinee movie ticket (well, so are a lot of other things!) 

The point is, you can read my wonderful, incredible, captivating novel for less than three bucks!  What a deal!  What a steal!

Even better, I am working on getting it published in paperback and will be offering free give-aways on Goodreads.com, so stay tuned!