rowyn

After posting yesterday's poll, I came up with a few new possible pairings. So I'm narrowing this down some and splitting out the Book 2 possibilities because there's more of them.

Somewhat to my surprise, the many hours I spent staring at the files for my current work-in-progress has resulted in actual progress. I only have one item left on my to-do list for the first book! I expect to cross this item off in the next day or three, so I'm looking for beta-readers for it now.

This is book one of a duology. It's a long book (over 220,000 words; a little longer than A Rational Arrangement ). I am still editing book two (which is around 120,000 words and about the same length as The Moon Etherium), but expect to finish with book two before month-end. So I want beta-readers who will be able to read and comment on both novels in the next six weeks or so.

Book one's current title is A Dragon's Scales. I have called it variously Silver Scales and The Warlock, the Hare and the Dragon. I'm going with the current version because then I can call the sequel A Dragon's Birthright and they look like they go together. This is the book I started writing in 2003, finished the first draft of in 2006, and then trunked when I became hopelessly blocked on the sequel. Unlike some of my other projects, I never forgot this one. In part because my first readers kept reminding me of it: "When are you going to publish Scales?" (In 2017!)

For those who read it while it was in progress: I've changed a lot of small things, but much of the substance remains the same. If you'd like to beta-read it again, that would be great! I expect it's been long enough for most of you that you've forgotten much of it anyway. :)

For those who haven't read it, Scales is a fantasy of manners, with some action and a romantic side plot. Unlike my other works, the romance is not the main plot and doesn't get resolved until book 2. There are also no sex scenes in either book.

Blurb:

The fate of Sir Damon Kildare's soul rests on finding the silver scales of a living dragon. One catch: everyone knows that dragons are extinct.

Zenobia Gardsmark, daughter of the one of the few surviving dragonslayer, may hold the key to finding those scales. But how can she help Kildare when she can't cast even the simplest spell?

Kinds of feedback I'm looking for:

* General feelings about the text (this scene was fascinating/boring/sweet/confusing/exciting/implausible/fun, etc.)
* If you don't like a part, I love to hear suggested changes (which doesn't mean I'll change it, obviously. But suggestions are great.)
* Favorite lines and lines that made you laugh (I want to use some good single lines in teaser images).
* Suggestions to improve the blurb.
* Because book 1 is so long, I am particularly interested in things to cut from it, so comments about things to remove are welcome. Not as concerned with that on book 2.
* Continuity issues
* Proofreading and editing artifact corrections.

If you'd like to read book 1 & 2 back to back and so want to wait until I'm done with book 2 to start, that's fine too.

If you want to volunteer, leave a comment with your email address! I have them screened, so email addresses will not show. You can also email my gmail account, LadyRowyn, or use Dreamwidth or Livejournal's message system. Or ping or DM me on Twitter. Whatever works for you. :)