Alethea Kontis

05 Jan 2016 10 Comments

Quintessentially Me: Alethea Kontis

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis

Alethea MermaidHappy New Year, everyone! It’s so lovely to see you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with all of your hopes and dreams intact and goals still in sight.

Wanna know what I have in sight? A giant mess.

This Giant Mess is actually a step up. This time last year, Dad and I were rushing to install the floor in my bedroom. Dad thought it was because I wanted it done before my birthday (Jan 11)–in reality, I wanted it done before the mini-family reunion we were about to have for HIS birthday (Jan 8). We finished enough of the  floor to throw a mattress down and sleep a few people. Only one bathroom worked, but we made do. There was no kitchen, and the living room and garage were packed with boxes.

Needless to say, there wasn’t much done at my house besides sleeping that weekend.

This Halloween–after the last major overhaul of the…
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02 Nov 2015 10 Comments

Cannot Write Without: Alethea Kontis

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis, Cannot Write Without

The question in the lagoon this month: What’s the one thing you cannot write without?

Today’s answer comes from Waterworld Mermaids’ very own Alethea Kontis.

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Princess AletheaThis is one of those months where I’m always thrilled that my name starts with A…because it means I GET TO BLOG FIRST. (April, not so much.)

I’m excited because it’s November…which means MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WRITING AND WORD WARS.

My first foray into National Novel Writing Month was 2004 — I finished the first draft of a novel. Unfortunately, it clocked in at a measly 36,000 words. That’s right, to date, I have never successfully “won” NaNoWriMo. I’m hoping this year, that will all change.

I often get asked about my writing schedule, or what my writing area looks like. My answer is always: HA! I have yet to establish the Perfect Workplace, or the Perfect Daily Schedule.

However, it did get me thinking:…
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01 Nov 2015 4 Comments

Let The Write One In

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis, mermaids

WELCOME TO NANOWRIMO, EVERYONE!

It is time for some Word Wars.

ARE YOU READY?!?

This year for NaNoWriMo it’s THE BATTLE OF THE BLOGS!

The Waterworld Mermaids are battling Romance on the Rocks — it’s all about who will write the most words as a team. The winner will receive a pretty badge to post on their website…but mostly, we want bragging rights!

Also this month, the Waterworld Mermaids will be hosting authors from all over the world — they’ll be stopping by the lagoon to tell you all about one thing they cannot write without.

Drop in and see which author has the most in common with you!

So, who out there is doing NaNo this year?

Let’s buddy up and do this thing.   Now GET BACK TO WRITING!

 

Waterworld MermaidsMermaid Profiles on the NaNoWriMo Website:

Denny S. Bryce…
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04 Aug 2015 1 Comment

Alethea’s Convention Survival Guide

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis

NEW_LOGO_DCAt the beginning of every month, I put a blog post on my site directing folks over here. Well, this month I’m going backwards BECAUSE I CAN.

As I continue getting ready for DragonCon, my biggest convention of the year, I remind myself of all the survival tips I’ve come to adopt over the years.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY TOP SEVEN CONVENTION SURVIVAL TIPS.

They started out as particular to FragonCon, but they have served me well at other conventions and conferences over the year.

What are YOUR biggest conventions?

How do YOU survive?

xox

31 Jul 2015 5 Comments

Mermaids & Friends: David B. Coe/DB Jackson

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis, Mermaids & Friends

Alethea MermaidDavid B. Coe (a.k.a. D.B. Jackson) has been my dear friend for over a decade (David contributed a guest post on my blog recently in which he discussed the circumstances of our meeting in 2002, and our friendship since then).

David is not only an exceptionally talented writer (his Thieftaker books are my favorite) but he’s also exceptionally prolific. I’m not kidding–the guy has TEN books out this summer.

Okay…so maybe I’m exaggerating. But not by much. Check out: Water Witch, Dead Man’s Reach,  His Father’s Eyes…and I’m sure I’m missing something. On top of the hundreds of guest posts he wrote for this month’s blog tour to celebrate all these releases. LIKE THIS ONE! Which I demanded. Because what else are friends for? <grin>

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His first name ain't baby. It's David... Mr. Jackson if you're nasty.Read the Rest…

14 Jul 2015 6 Comments

Amazon, Friends, and Family

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis, mermaids

There’s been a bit of hullabaloo lately in the writing community and–SURPRISE–it’s all about our favorite website, Amazon.

Click here to read a nice, concise summary of the new policy.

Firstly, Amazon decided to ONCE AGAIN change the way books are reviewed. Remember the “Like” buttons? And then the “Author Likes” and then the “Author Page Follows”? Well, now reviews are being weighted based on “helpfulness” (that box you get to check under each review) and “verified purchases” (if you actually bought the book through Amazon, as opposed to another reputable dealer).

I didn’t bat much of an eyelash at this one, since Amazon seems to change this aspect of Likes and Reviews and Follows about once every six months. I don’t even bother asking my fans to “support me” every time this happens, forcing them to ask “How high?” just because Amazon has once again yelled “Jump!”

I’ve learned not to get too attached.

TRIXTER... <br /><a href=Read the Rest…

02 Jun 2015 4 Comments

To Be Or Not To Be…a Local Author

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis

Lunch Money -- Family Indie Rock for Kids!It’s June, everyone! Three weeks ’til midsummer, countdown to the end of the school year, and advent of THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM.

I love Summer Reading Programs. Always have. Even before I was a Children’s Librarian running puppet storytimes and painting faces at Carnival, I was a kid checking out 20 books every two weeks (the Richland County Public Library max at the time) and racking up the prizes.

This past weekend, my friends in the band Lunch Money held a concert to kick off the RCPL Summer Reading Program. (If you happen to have young children in your life and they don’t have these CDs, they are missing out!) J.P. texted me after the show and told me that he’d name-dropped my one of my children’s books (AlphaOops: The Day Z Went First) during the set and highlighted the fact that I was a…
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05 May 2015 14 Comments

Judging A Book By Its Cover…and Then Writing It To Match

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis

The manuscript for my fairy tale novella, Trixter (available today!), was supposed to have been finished in January. I had not factored in home renovations, my father’s surprise birthday party, Marscon, houseguests and a dual book launch (Hero & Dearest).

Oops.

So I found myself back in DC for the NoVa Teen Book Festival in early March, having an impromptu Mermaid Brunch with Kerri and Dana. I’m sure I whined about the fact that the novella still wasn’t finished, but I showed them the preliminary cover art and smiled when their jaws dropped.

“Yeah,” I said, “it’s not exactly what I had in mind for the character…he’s really kind of scrawny in the book, but this cover is SO gorgeous that I’m going to keep it.”

Kerri and Dana–mouths still open–looked at me as if I was insane. (It’s a look I’m used to.)

“You have to do something about that,” said Dana.

“Your book is a fairy tale,” Kerri said vehemently. “Can’t you just…I don’t know…whip…
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28 Apr 2015 4 Comments

Mermaids & Friends: Delilah S. Dawson

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis, Mermaids & Friends

I met Delilah S. Dawson at Dragon Con. We were on a panel together — I forget how many years ago. She was the other author on the panel (besides me) wearing a fabulous costume. We did not sit next to each other. I slipped up and accidentally called her “Delia” and felt like an idiot. I don’t think I saw her again that year. But I remember thinking, That woman is really cool and I wish I knew her better.

Getting to know Delilah S. Dawson has been one of the better decisions of my life.

My love for Delilah started with her tweets of verbatim dialogue with her kids. (Delilah’s son once decided to be an evil supervillain whose goal was to shut off the sun. She asked him politely not to, because she needed it. His response: YOU HAVE A LAMP.) Then there was her blog, with its incredibly helpful entries on being an author and reader…
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08 Apr 2015 23 Comments

Finding My Joy

by Alethea in Alethea Kontis

Norton Nominated PrincessI finished a new novel yesterday.

I didn’t write the words “THE END” because I was running late for a dinner party. I sent the last chapter to my mom (she reads chapter by chapter) and the whole thing to my editor and went off to watch the sunset at Cocoa Beach (technically, the Banana River).

I don’t think I was much fun at the dinner party. Which was okay–it meant I got to sit around and soak up other people’s stories for a while. And it allowed me to process some things.

Because I had just finished the first book I’m ever going to self publish.

I know what you must be thinking right now: “I get it. She got dumped by her publisher because she’s a terrible writer. Ugh. I don’t have to listen to this.” I know this is going through some people’s minds because…
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