Friday 23 August 2013

Guest Post Melodie Campbell


COMEDY WRITER FALLS RIGHT OVER CLIFF



Ever make a really bad typo?  
I mean really bad. 

My worst ever professional mistake was in an Annual Report for a one-hundred-million dollar corporation, in which an innocent little ‘t’ went missing from the word ‘assets.’  The board was not amused by “This year, we experienced an increase in corporate asses.”

Today, I found out what one little vowel can do to ROWENA AND THE DARK LORD, book 2 in the comic fantasy Land’s End series.

Okay, REALLY uncool when you misspell the name of your own book on your own blog.

ROWENA AND THE DARK LARD is probably not the best way to get sales for a fantasy series. However, as I do write comedy, I'm thinking about a parody.

Is it okay to write a parody of your own book?

Draft one: ROWENA AND THE DARK LARD
Synopsis 1: Rowena moves back to Land’s End and opens up a bakery.
Synopsis 2: Cedric’s use of dark magic goes totally out of control, and so does his appetite.
Synopsis 3: Thane and Rowena return to Land’s End and become pig farmers.
Synopsis 4: Rowena messes up another spell that causes all who look at her to turn into donuts.
Synopsis 5: Rowena kills off Nigella Lawson in a battle with pastry rollers, and assumes the role of Prime Time Network Food Goddess <sic>.
Synopsis 6: Someone takes a totally justified whack at the author. End of series.

Excerpt from 
ROWENA AND THE DARK LORD

Men’s voices again, echoing like souls lost in a fog. The mist lifted in one swift movement to disappear into nothingness. In its place, were at least a hundred men.
Bugger! I messed up.
“Houston, we have a problem,” I said out loud. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I must have pronounced one of the spell words wrong.
“Who is Houston?” Lars said.
“Romans!” Gareth hissed. He drew his sword.
“Romans?” I stared at the battle-scarred men before us. They looked exhausted. They also looked bloody, dirty and rather short. Not to mention confused.
How the heck could they be Romans?
Someone yelled “Form Square!” in—yup—that was Latin.
“What the hell?” I stared. The men came to life moving with purpose into a square. Within seconds we were facing a shield wall bristling with spears.
The man on horseback stared at me. No stirrups on his saddle. A helmet that was in history books. Definitely Roman. I stared back at him.
Romans? In this time? What the poop had I done?
“It’s a freaking temporal rift!” My laugh was strident. “Where the hell is Spock when you need him?

Rowena Through the Wall is the
first book in the Land's End Series.
Melodie Campbell achieved a personal best this year when Library Journal compared her to Janet Evanovich.  She has over 200 publications, including 100 comedy credits, 40 short stories, and 4 novels. She has won 6 awards for fiction

ROWENA AND THE DARK LORD Buy Link:
And the one that started it all: ROWENA THROUGH THE WALL, book 1 in the Land’s End series




20 comments:

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  4. I've enjoyed this series! Nice to learn more about Tugger! And the author!

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  5. The tale of your typos made me laugh Melodie. Reminds me of when at the end of a presentation to a work colleague who was leaving I asked him if I could smell his pants, when I meant to say plants - part of his leaving present was some Rosemary plants for his garden. Your books sound amazing and they are on my to read list - I've downloaded book 1 already.

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    1. Second try to post this!
      Thanks you SO much for your comment. You have given me a well-needed giggle for the day (pants/plants) and I think my typo has been topped!
      I sincerely hope you enjoy Rowena Through the Wall. I wrote it as a good-natured parody of bodice rippers (she rips her bodice in every scene!) but many readers haven't realized this, and think it is a funny medieval romp. Both are just fine with me.
      Going to your site now...

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    2. And of course, I have a typo in the second line of that comment above, which I can't edit now. !@#$#%% (Very bad word.)

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    3. For me it was "pubic affairs".

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  6. I have to jump in here to set the record straight. Poor Rowena gets more than her bodice ripped, in fact, her garments are ripped off so consistently that it's a wonder she hasn't come down with hypothermia...it's a hoot. I hope the Dark Lord in the second book offers her a generous clothing allowance.

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    1. Laff! Oh Mary, you have me snorting. Yes, in Dark Lord she meets (wait for it - ) Val the wizard, who really wants to be a couturier dress designer. (Not kidding. How could I not...) But she shreds her skirt every scene in Dark Lord. Finishing Rowena and the Viking Warlord now. I'll keep that wardrobe destroyer a secret for now (wink).

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    2. I love Val and hope he makes it to the Viking Warlord.

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    3. He does indeed, Alison. He gets to make a spectacular voyage in book 3. He also designs more dresses :)

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  7. I like Val, too. And Cedric. Oh, and Thane, he's hot, too. Geez, I guess I like them all. Even the Roman commander was a sweetie. Any new guys in Book Three?

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Gloria! New guys in book three...Remember Lars, who plays a minor character in the previous books? The title of book 3 is Rowena and the Viking Warlord :) Lars also has a younger brother, Soren. And many of the old characters will be back. Viking Warlord will be out in April.

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  8. Great post, and I laughed so much at the comments. A story with that much bodice ripping sounds fabulous. Can't wait to read it!

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  9. Hi Mary - Just opened my blog, saw your month old comment and replied to it. I see you publish with MuseItUp too!

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