Proofreader Found Dead Five Days Later

I have decided to completely pull my e-book versions of Aurora Rescue off the internet as I prepare them for publication in traditional book format. Part of the reason is that I have, once again, edited them and made some changes. For one thing, I took a chunk of the story out of one of the middle chapters and used it to create what I hope is an attention-grabbing prologue.

After I dumped the latest manuscript for Aurora Rescue into the formatted-for-print document, I, once again went about the process of proofreading. I found punctuation errors, dropped words, and awkward sentences. Not good.

Now, I know I proofed this manuscript many times before I submitted it as an e-book, including:
1.  Performed several proofs on the digital version, some of which took place after I had put the manuscript away for several days (one of the "sacred cows" of proof-reading the first and subsequent drafts).
2.  Killed a forest and printed it out in order to proofread a paper version
3.  Created an e-book file and read it on a reader to see how the final version looked in a different format.
In spite of that, I was surprised how many errors I found when I read through it again after not looking at this manuscript for over a year.

So, now, after proofreading Aurora Rescue in its entirety on the computer, I have killed another, albeit smaller, forest and printed out my manuscript for a final proofreading. What I did was copy and paste the manuscript into two columns and took out all the "white space". I am going over it with multiple colored pencils and pens to try to catch everything.

Proofreading is tedious, tedious, TEDIOUS.

I recently read about a professional proofreader who passed away at his work desk and was found only after several co-workers realized they had not seen nor heard from him for awhile. The coroner estimated he had been dead for five days when he was found. Yep! I can see how that can happen. I am five pages into proofreading my 84 pages, and I already feel like I am there. This morning I even looked forward with pleasure to the diversion of swapping out my laundry and folding clothes just so I could take a break from proofreading.

I am not a professional, but based on problems I have found in the past with my manuscripts, this is what I am doing this time:

1.  I use a light blue pencil to circle every period or sentence ending, as well as verify quote marks and proper punctuation on both ends of my dialogue sentences. I also use it to track commas on complex sentences to be sure the wording is not awkward, or the subject and predicate are not misplaced.

2.  I use a red pencil to mark errors, whether they be punctuation, or needed word changes, or changes in sentence structure.

3.  I use a FINE TIP blue ballpoint pen for jotting  any word changes or notes of what I need to check on in the style manual or dictionary. After all, I have very little margin space, so I need to write small.

Only 79 more pages to go. If no one hears from me in five days, please ask someone to check on me.

Re-Do

I am in the process of pulling Aurora Rescue off as an e-book. I have decided to re-do it -- as in, update it a little and tone down the dialect for some of my characters -- then have it published as a paperback. I will use my own imprint, GENEALADY, to do that.

Don't hold your breath until Aurora Rescue is available as a printed book, though. That will take me awhile.

Made the ABNA First Cut

I entered Aurora Rescue in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. 5,000 entries were allowed. I made the first cut of 1,000. The next cut (quarter-finals) will be next month on March 22nd. They will whittle it down to the top 500 entries.


The grand prize is a nice advance and a printed book publishing contract with Penguin Group (USA).

Here's hoping!

e-Book on Barnes & Noble

Aurora Rescue is now available as an e-Book on Barnes & Noble.

If you want to download a reader app for a Mac computer, buy the book from Barnes & Noble.

Click on the link to the right.

Aurura Rescue Summary

            The summer of 2024, when Solar Cycle 25 reaches its highest level of solar wind activity, is a time of auroras and adventure for Marty Clark, high school graduate, and her former tutor, Cy Riverton, age 18, a physics and math prodigy entering the master's program at the university.

            For Cy, the hike to Dead Man's Drop Cliff means gathering information to solve the toughest physics problem he has ever faced: How did his friend, Eddie Burrows, disappear from there during 2024 Spring Break and end up in Pennsylvania in the year 1857?

            Marty joins the hike to spend time with Cy, someone she hopes will someday be more than a friend, just days before she is to leave on a two-month history immersion tour. She has no idea just how immersed in history she will shortly become.

            As a joke, Marty calls Cy's cell number while on Dead Man’s Drop Cliff. That starts an adventure through time that takes her from 1748 western Pennsylvania to 1758 Maryland where the fox terrier, Hunter, joins her. She befriends a Lenni Lenape woman, Green Corn, and stays with an English colonial woman, Maggie. She must rely on her wits as she is threatened by tribal warriors and British colonists alike.

            Only after Marty disappears does Cy realize how much she means to him. Unlike Eddie, Marty’s cell has rechargeable solar batteries, which he believes is key to getting her back. He communicates with Marty using text messages as they work to solve the physics involved with her travel back through time.

            Because law enforcement is already suspicious of him due to his involvement with Eddie, Cy decides his best hope for helping Marty is for him to keep her disappearance a secret. Their efforts become more urgent as FBI Special Agent Lee Hardin, refuses to “cold case” Eddie's disappearance and pursues Cy relentlessly.

            Cy and Marty race against time and across eras in an effort to use the power of auroras to become reunited before it is too late for both of them.

e-Book on Amazon

Aurora Rescue is now available as an eBook on amazon.com. You can find it at the following link:
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A157GW/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_H7HZmb13NY9TJ
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Or, you can click on the link on the right of my page.
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You can also download a Kindle reader for PC, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, iPad and Android from this page if you do not already own a Kindle.
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Do you want to read the first two and a half chapters for free? Click the link on my Aurora Rescue page on Amazon. I hope you enjoy it so much you will want to buy my book to read the rest.
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I loved writing this novel ~~ I hope you enjoy reading it!

Cover Art for Aurora Rescue