I just got my final proof for my children’s book, and I approved it.
The Tale of Eartha the Sea Turtle is now an official Children’s book.
I’ve setup a web site, and I’m awaiting my first copies of the book. http://www.EarthaTheSeaTurtle.com
My second book is already being illustrated, and I am working on the story for a third book.
Well I just got back from Yellowstone National Park, and now I am planning trips to Missouri, and Las Vegas.
I have found that short extended weekends really push me to take great photos.
I rented a 400mm 2.8 Lens from http://www.lensrentals.com for my yellowstone trip.
Being from South Florida it was a great change to get photos of things other than Gators and wetland birds :)
Dan
http://www.naturocity.com
http://www.dbnature.com
(You can see some of my photos at these sites)
My wife and I planned on going to Arizona to do Sedona, the Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon. My brother in law wanted me to go to Vegas with him. Sure I said, but I’m taking a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon… no problem.
I found a tour company online that has an “Extreme” tour, which includes the helicopter tour, landing at the bottom, a 15 minute pontoon boat ride along the colorado river, a visit to the Indian reservation, and admission to the Skywalk.
I am totally looking forward to it.
It’s complete, and Illustrated. Now I just need to put it together for the publisher and start on the web site tie in.
Very exciting!
I registered the domain names http://dbnature.com and http://dbnaturephotography.com.
I also signed up with smugmug.com . They offer some easy to use tools to create galleries, and/or the pro version allows you to sell prints.
It’s a lot better than Shutterfly’s Pro, and all the hassle with StockPhoto sites.
It’s been about 4 weeks since I started with my illustrator.
I have 11 colored pages done, and the entire book story boarded.
I’ve started a web site, a cafe press store, and I am also working on some other marketing ideas.
“Exciting” is hardly the word.
I have written a children’s book that I am self publishing through AuthorHouse.com. I hired my own illustrator and have been working with him for about 2 weeks now.
Progress is going much faster now that the character development is done.
Ok I upgraded my Flickr account to Pro and have uploaded a bunch of photos. I have tons more to upload.
I’ve got most of the graphics done for the site, and I have started coding the classes, and basic page structure.
Much of the mySQL database structure is complete.
Using PHP as the primary language, and Jquery for the javascript framework library.
I’ve been designing a new Social Gaming site in PHP and mySQL. The language is not that difficult, it just takes time to get use to the syntax.
I found Sitepoint.com’s web site and books to be extremely helpful
I recommend the book, by SitePoint.com called “Build your own Database driven website using PHP and mySQL”
Its well written for the novice, but covers more advanced topics too.
Well after only about 4 solid days of learning, and watching Lynda videos. Along with a few books.
I have been able to read/write a mysql database, create two classes and manipulate the data withing.
I have created a MD5/Salt password encryption function to allow for secure passwords.
I continue to move forward….
kchristieh recommended ed2go.com which seems to have a real good course. My only issue is I need a self pace course.
I signed up for Lynda.com for 25.00/month. This has given me access to a PHP + SQL tutorial, as well as other tutorials for web design, javascript and more.
Since I already have a background in programming, the self paced courses from Lynda.com work for me.
So yesterday while working on chapter 5, then whole story fell into place. The underlying plot, the climax, even the ending. Wow. It was like a burst of inspiration.
The problem is I can write it fast enough. Its like the whole story is in my head, and I can’t get it out!
I’ve pretty much played the entire book out in my head. The hard part is writing the details.
Well I spent yesterday rewriting Chapters 1 through 4. One and Four were the toughest because they had the most content about the characters.
I am now stuck on a flashback to a soldier in the Civil War, Wikipedia here I come!
Cheer me for inspiration!
I live in South Florida, and have access to some really beautiful wetland areas. Here is an assortment of some of my photos. I also frequent Michigan, and North Carolina.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gecko68/
Let me know what you think.
So I was up to Chapter 5, and I realized my story lacked more excitement. The two people reading for me found it exciting, but in my heart I found it lacking what it truly needed.
My story “was” a borderline fantasy/reality. Think of it as reality with fantasy elements.
Well I found it rather boring that this amazing “team” of people had to fly in a commercial vehicle to get to “missions”.
There were other aspects too.
So I have expanded the Fantasy side of it a bit more. I am still linking it to plausible reality, but it will still engage mystery, and fantasy.
Chapter 1 re-write, complete.
I have written 18,000 words so far. I have solidified the plot more, and created the legend the story is about.
I joined nanowrimo.org and I have completed 2 chapters already. I have my plot, mt character dossiers and a bunch of gathered facts (Thank you wikipedia.org)
I’ve also come up with 2 great ideas for novels. When it rains it pours.
I am worried my first chapter may seem to comic book like. Its an adventure story, but my main character is sort of like “the Tick. I need to inject more realism.
