When I'm NOT Writing...

(This is me in August 2018, revisiting the University of the Incarnate Word)

Well, this is a complicated subject, because I honestly don't know what I would be doing if I wasn't writing. To be perfectly fair though, I would be reading a book obviously. And if I'm not reading, then I'm drawing in a sketchbook. But what about something else?
I can't imagine NOT writing all the time, because... well, writing is my life. But am I somebody else outside the writing life?

First off, I play video games. Every once in a while, I can't help but look to my Nintendo Gamecube to play Mario Party 7. Also, I play a lot of mobile games like Marvel's Contest of Champions (I'm Level 50, by the way). Or, I would just chill and listen to music on Pandora.

Nevertheless, I prefer sitting at the desk writing either in a journal or on my laptop computer. And I like to sit there with a Cherry Coke by my side (or a Mike's Hard Lemonade, if the occasion warrants), and with maybe one or two snacks in reach, and get the creative juices flowing.

Now, you may be wondering: "Do you ever go out?"
My answer is: "If the opportunity arises, then yes."

(This was me in October 2018, when I saw the movie Venom during opening weekend.)

In other words, going out for a drink would be something I would do. Or a trip to the mall would be ideal.

But for now, my place is writing.

By the way, I can't wait for tomorrow (02/01/2019)

: )

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Coming this Friday (02/01/2019)

The question still remains...

What's in the box?

In the meantime though, TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Scrapbooking to Brainstorm Ideas

You may ask: "How do you brainstorm ideas for a story?"

Well, sometimes, when I'm writing a story, and it doesn't require a time limit (like my workshop pieces for my writing courses), I would generate ideas by gathering as many visual aids as possible. In other words, I would find myself scrapbooking in my writing journals, so that I have my ideas down, and I can actually see ON PAPER what I'm visualizing.

I used to have a monthly subscription for Vogue and Allure magazines, and I remember flipping through the pages, and seeing the many colors and visuals that they had. But then, I decided to cancel my subscriptions, because the magazines were taking up too much space in my room; so, I went through the magazines to see what pages I wanted to keep, and which ones to toss.

Though, when I started brainstorming for Dolphin Princess, I came up with the idea of scrapbooking in my journal. I would cut out an image or piece of a picture from the magazines, and I would either glue or tape them to the pages of my journal, so that my ideas could stay fresh in there. I found myself saving and attaching pictures of models and colors into my journal, because I wanted to capture the realness of my characters. For example, for my main character Silhouette, I imagined a shy youth who was oblivious to her true self, and how graceful she would be when she finds out the truth and embraces her destiny. And with these cut-outs, I had my concept sketches of my characters, and the notes I would make.
Color was also something that I would use in my brainstorming. If I saw a magazine page of a color that I liked, then I would add it to the journal by cutting out that color and taping/gluing it with my notes and sketches. And this was how I did my cover art, was use colors from magazines to create collages for my covers (which I will talk about in a future post).

This taught me that there was no right or wrong way to brainstorm ideas for a story. It can be sketching, scrapbooking, or even just jotting down your ideas. If you have an idea for a story, go for it.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Coping as a Starving Artist

I often pause to reflect on how I got this far in my writing career. I would reflect on the times that I've felt ashamed of working at a job that had nothing to do with writing. I would reflect on the sleepless nights where I would lay in bed and wonder what I was going to do with my life. While everyone else around me had plans of their own (i.e. relationships, internships, etc.), I was determined to jumpstart a writing career once I got out of high school.

So now, you may being asking, How did you learn the term "starving artist"? And here's my answer: I learned that term in college.
Every single writing teacher that I had in college would tell me and the rest of the class that it's hard to make it as a writer, unless you knew the right people and did a lot of research.
I was attending a seminar during my undergraduate years at the University of the Incarnate Word. They had us sit in groups of four or five. I was at a table with three other people, and we were going around the table and talking about what our short-term and long-term goals were. When it was my turn to speak, I told them that one of my long-term goals was to publish a book. And somewhere in my explanation, I said something like, "I want to go from starving artist to well-known."
That was when someone in the group said, "Oh, not a well-known starving artist?" (It was a joke, but at the time, I wasn't having it.)
But that brought up an interesting point: If it was going to take a while to "jumpstart" my writing career (to publish a book), what was I going to do in the meantime? At the time of that seminar at UIW, I was working as a student assistant at its library (the best job I've ever had in my life so far), and I had already made it a point to never EVER work at a job that was similar to my job as an usher at a movie theater. But the point is, while writing your book, you need to make money in the meantime. It may seem hard to expand your horizons, but you have to pay bills, buy groceries, etc.

So fast-forwarding to this year (2019), here's what has happened with me since that seminar at UIW:
1. I graduate UIW with a Bachelor's degree (2015)
2. I work as a cashier at a zoo for 2.5 months (HATED it)
3. I went to OLLU (2015-2018), and graduated with a Master's degree
4. I work as a substitute teacher from August 2017 to April 2018 (HATED that, too)
5. I publish my first book in August 2018
6. I start this year with not a lot of money to my name
Everything that I thought was going to happen... well, it happened. I was forced to do jobs that I had promised myself that I wouldn't do; I was finding myself broke, because my side jobs/gigs (i.e. online tutoring) weren't paying a lot; and I was getting very frustrated that I wasn't doing enough to promote my book Dolphin Princess. After creating a Facebook page, and a blog, to promote my book, nothing has happened so far.

The best thing I can do now is work towards that long-term goal of getting out of "starving artist" status. But more importantly, I want to be that person that people could look up to. I see that my younger sister is working two jobs and going to school; and I see my twin sister working and being a mom to three (and soon four) kids. But me? I'm sitting here writing this blog post with nothing to show for. Nothing. I may have published a book, but deep down, I'm frustrated. Sure, I've made mistakes; I should've done things differently--I should've pursued other opportunities in my life, but I was so set on starting a career in writing books that I've lost sight of what I really wanted in life. If I was allowed in go back in time and do things differently, then I would.

Now, as much as I would reflect on all of this, I have to take full responsibility for my actions.
At this point, I just have to go with the flow. I can't be sad all the time, because it's not worth my time. And besides, I'm too busy in my life to be sad.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Journals for Each Book I Write

Every writer should have a journal--whether it's a Moleskine journal or a composition book. Journals are everything in a writer's world.

So, when I had conceived the Dolphin Princess series, I made it a point to have separate journals for each book that I was going to write, because having one journal for the many books that I wanted to have for the series JUST WOULDN'T DO. (In fact, there wasn't enough pages in my first journal for a Book 2.)

Now, the first journal that I've used for Book 1 of the Dolphin Princess series was unique, because I liked what the front cover said: "Fill your paper with the writings of your heart." And that saying really stayed with me, because of course I was writing from the heart. Of course I was. That journal was where I was weaving together a premise for the series--the foundation of it, to say the least. I had some concept sketches of my characters, I had diagrams and charts explaining their personalities, etc. As I took a lot of notes in that journal, I realized that one journal wouldn't be enough to fit an entire series. So, I decided to invest in another journal. (By the way, it was really cool to find this composition book, because of this sea-life design that it had.)

In my second journal, I was able to expand the thought process a little more. In Journal 2, I was mapping out what was going on, what the characters are doing about it, etc., because Journal 1 was the foundation, and I was building off of it with the second journal.

Having more than one journal helped me organize my thoughts. In fact, I even took to labeling my journals, so that I could keep my stuff organized.

When it comes to journals, my advice is this: If you prefer having just one journal for EVERYTHING, then that's your call. But, if you prefer organizing your thoughts for many of your stories, then get as many journals as you want.
Budget-wise: Composition journals are always the best bargain.
However, if you want something more bold and "professional," then I would say that a Moleskine journal would be great.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Submitting for Journals and Contests

A lot of people have came up to me and said, "You should submit your work to [this journal or that journal]." And every time I get a copy of The Writer's Chronicle (which was a magazine that I got acquainted with during my time at Our Lady of the Lake University), there would be listings of places to submit my work to for recognition and cash prizes.
Have I ever tried to submit to places? Of course, I have. In fact, that was one of the ways that us students could contribute to our writing classes (and also, submitting work was required in some of these classes, if not all of them). Though, whether the ad/announcement came from The Writer's Chronicle, or from the professor's mouth, or from the Internet, I always always always did my research beforehand, because like I've said before in a previous post or two, I was aware of there being scams.
You won't believe how many times I had to think twice before submitting a work to a journal, because of a $5 or $20 submission fee. Now, to be perfectly fair, you'll find ads like that in reputable magazines like The Writer's Chronicle; and most of the time, they're a turn-off for me, because who would want to pay $20 to submit a poem or prose? (By the way, $5 or $10 is pushing it, because if you're a starving artist like me, it's not worth it.)
And when you submit to journals, there's always that chance of your work getting rejected. (Believe me, I've had my share of rejection letters/emails.) No matter what genre you're writing in, you're going to get rejected at some point or another. The reason being is that you're competing with other writers who want to get their works recognized.

So, the takeaway here, when it comes to writing and submitting to journals, consider these pointers:
1. Do your research before submitting
2. Keep in mind that you're competing against other writers
3. Be ready for any rejection letter/email

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

What's in the Box?

What's in the Box?

Can't wait to show you guys on February 1, 2019!

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

How I Created Jarvis the Sand dollar

In Dolphin Princess, Silhouette has a steward (or someone responsible for looking after someone or something important) named Jarvis. For Jarvis, I had to really think outside of the box on this one.

I remember watching The Little Mermaid, as soon as I called it a day on brainstorming ideas for my book; and I noticed that the character Sebastian the crab was responsible for looking after Princess Ariel. You would see him tagging along after her, making sure she wasn't getting into trouble. Seeing this movie gave me an idea on what my princess needed: Silhouette needed a chaperone, or in this case, a steward.
Though, I didn't want my steward to be all worry-wart like Sebastian, and I wanted the steward to be different--not another sea creature. Perhaps something that Silhouette can easily hold and/or have riding on her back. And out of nowhere, I thought sand dollar. "What? A sand dollar?" I remember thinking. But then again, that was thinking outside of the box. I thought maybe this sand dollar would have magic of his own, and he would be able to communicate with Silhouette, and be a voice of reason for her. In hindsight, his character could be both a hybrid of Sebastian and Jiminy Cricket.

So, that's why you'll see Silhouette holding a sand dollar on the front cover of Dolphin Princess, because that's Jarvis being her steward, and looking out for her, despite the danger that lies ahead, of course.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Dolphin Necklace

During the time that I was beginning to conceive Dolphin Princess (back in summer 2013), I wanted to leave Corpus Christi, Texas with a souvenir that was dolphin-related. At first, I was hoping for a book on dolphins, but I wouldn't get a book until months later. Until then, I had to stick with something small.

So, back then, I was at one of the gift shops in Padre Island, TX (or maybe it was Port Aransas, maybe), and I found this pretty necklace that had a dolphin charm on it.

As soon as I saw this at the store, I just had to get it. And ever since I bought it, that necklace was part of my go-to jewelry. So, in hindsight, Princess Silhouette was becoming a part of me.

Now, I haven't worn it in a while. But today, when I was in my room, looking for a journal to write in, I had found it tucked away in my purse. I was so happy when I found it again, because as I said, Princess Silhouette was a part of me, and I couldn't keep her tucked away in a purse... especially when I want Dolphin Princess to be a series.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Mapping Out a Story

Growing up, I learned how to write a story. Now, a story can have a good ending, but sometimes you can get away with a bad ending (Believe me, I've read a few books that ended badly.) Regardless if your story ends well or awful, the story has to have a beginning, middle, and end, right?

Learning about "plot" was one of the best things I've learned in my writing courses. The beginning of a story is known as exposition. The middle part of a story is considered rising action. And then the turning-point of a story (or a main character's "Aha!" moment, or what makes them change) is the climax. Then, the thing(s) that happen after the climax is falling action. And finally, the ending is usually known as resolution...

…unless you're bold enough to include a cliffhanger. : )

When writing Dolphin Princess, it was obvious that I needed to have a plan. I wasn't going to go on this epic journey without a map. So what I did was find a journal and went from there.
Once I had established my characters, then there was the task of putting them into a story. And here's what I call "mapping out a story," because you're telling the characters where to go, what to do, and when they should care about the situation. You're acting as director of the story.

What I did was put bullet points on ideas that I have for the story, and then do one of two things:
1. use an idea for the story, OR
2. strike it out
Now, if I was to use any bullet point, then I would either modify the idea, or keep it as is.
The idea was to get the protagonist (main character) to start their journey, to get them from Point A to Point B. In the case of Dolphin Princess, Silhouette has to go into the ocean to find out the truth about herself-- self-discovery, and confronting the villain responsible for throwing her into that limbo of not knowing her true self. So, the goal was to get Silhouette from Point A to Point B--How does she get to know who she is, and how does she plan to resolve her situation?

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Microsoft Word- A Writer's Workplace

I've used Microsoft Word for more than 11 years now. There's no other word processor that I would use for writing stories, doing homework assignments, composing reports, etc. I would use Word for both school and home.
But I don't think people seem to realize how spacious and flexible Microsoft Word can be. As a writer, Word becomes more than just an app on the computer; it becomes part of you to where you can't live without it.

So, as you can imagine, Microsoft Word was a necessity for writing my book Dolphin Princess. Though, as much as I was familiar with Word, there were a couple of things that I've never thought of using, until it came to me reformatting my book to be 6x9 in and creating a PDF of my cover art:
-Changing the paper size, when you click the Layout tab and press the "Size" button on the Page Setup section
-Using zero margins by clicking the "Margin" button on the Page Setup section, AND of course
-Saving the file as PDF by scrolling down on the "Save As" menu until you see "PDF," instead of "Word doc."

You may be wondering: Did writing this book change how you write on Microsoft Word? My answer is: Of course it did!

During that time that I was writing Dolphin Princess, I was thinking that when a book gets published through Barnes and Noble Press, then it would automatic fit to paper. However, that wasn't the case, when I had tried to publish a book, not knowing that the size 8x11 in. was too big a size for a novel. Therefore, I had to reformat the manuscript, as well as the cover art, to 6x9 in. After learning these new things from Word, I made it a point to keep them in mind when I'm writing more books for this series.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

My Facebook Page!!!

UPDATE ON THIS BLOG: We now have a Facebook page!

As a way to promoting my book Dolphin Princess, I started a Facebook page. On the Facebook, I'll leave links to my blog posts, post news and updates.
I'm also thinking about starting a Twitter page for this book series, but I'm still trying to figure that part out. (Just bear with me, on trying to start a Twitter page.)

So, be sure to check out the Facebook page!

Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dolphinprincess93/?modal=admin_todo_tour

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Conceiving a Villain- Ivor

So, now that I've talked about my main character... now it's time to talk about my villain.

The first thing you'll see on the front cover to Dolphin Princess (or what seems to stand out the most on the cover) is the villain Ivor. He is this sorcerer eel who wants to destroy our princess. Will he succeed? Time will tell...

Now, Ivor wasn't my first choice for a villain in my original concept writing portion of the time it took to write this book (the few years I was talking about in my previous blog posts). At first, I was imagining a mermaid/sea creature woman with a stingray sidekick named Ivor. But then, I was like "Hang on. What if the villain's name was Ivor?" The name "Ivor" had such a nice ring to it, because "Ivor" had this strong presence to it; it was a name that meant either "Archer's bow" or "bowman" (when I had looked up names and meanings online). And that would make sense, because Ivor has been searching and hunting for our heroine for years.

So, I had my name, and then it was drawing a concept sketch of my villain character. Right away, I had ditched the idea of the villain being a mermaid or a stingray, and I decided to spring for something big (both literally and metaphorically). The idea for the villain to be an eel was a good start; but then, I thought, "What if... this eel looked some magic, and he decided to make himself bigger, and into a more terrifying creature?"
I was sketching Ivor; and every once in a while, I would show some of my concept sketches to my colleagues, and they would marvel at them. And every time someone saw Ivor, their eyes would light up with fascination. Fun fact: When my book had first came out, people thought that Ivor was a snake, to which I would explain that he was an eel. But when you think about it, as you read the story, he acts snake-like, because of his wicked agenda.

So, the idea of the sorcerer eel stayed, and that's why you see Ivor curling his body right next to a large crystal ball that lets him spy on our princess.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Reimagining the Princess

(Yep. We're talking more about Silhouette.) : )

When I was creating the character Silhouette, I wanted to stay as far away from the usual princess clichés as possible. And that was another thing that I've learned in the writing world: clichés. Clichés are things (like phrases, sentences, ideas, etc.) that have been used over and over, to where they're far from original anymore.

Growing up, I've read a lot of fairytales, as well as a lot of renditions and parodies of fairytales. And I've also seen those things done in movies and TV.
So, much of this was incorporated into my writing. And every time my professor would come across what they thought was a cliché in my writing, they never hesitated to point it out in their written feedback. Seeing that kind of feedback was questionable the first time I got it, but as I kept learning and improving, it all started to make sense. Clichés can be hard to avoid, but maybe... just maybe, you might be able to get away with using a couple--but the main goal is to strive for originality.

So, going back to my character Silhouette:
I wanted to avoid the following clichés:
1. Being locked away in a tower
2. Having some kind of prince/male character rescue them from evil, AND
3. PRETTY MUCH TRY NOT TO COPY DISNEY'S FORMULA

Speaking of Disney, I grew up watching Disney movies. I remember having a shelf full of VHS tapes of Disney movies. (And yeah, that means I grew up watching The Little Mermaid, which is one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, aside from Beauty and the Beast.) I was always fascinated by how much effort it took to bring a princess story to life--I was always interested in how curious Princess Ariel was when she would swim to places like a sunken ship and collect treasures to bring back to her grotto. I was always interested in how smart Belle was, and her love of reading. So, when creating Silhouette, I wanted to make her interesting; I wanted to see what was special about her.
This leads me back to when I had that experience at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, Texas. I saw something special in a dolphin's eyes, and I knew... I just knew that my story was looking right at me: a story about a dolphin princess.

It was then that I began thinking about the story. I was envisioning a dolphin princess, who was forced to flee from a terrible evil, living as a human and not knowing of her past, until unfortunate circumstances send her back home, and then she's forced to confront the evil. As you may probably already tell by what I've just explained in my blog so far, I've put a lot of thought into this book, because again, we're trying to avoid as many clichés as possible.

So, of course, reimagining the princess can seem hard, seeing that there are many princesses from movies, TV, and books. And one may argue "Yeah, well, Silhouette is kind of like Ariel the mermaid" or "Doesn't she remind you of (so-and-so)?" And to be perfectly fair, they're probably right. But is it a crime to say that I let things inspire me to write? Whatever the case may be, clichés can be hard to avoid, but in the end, you have to write from the heart.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

What Made You Create the character Silhouette?

Silhouette was unique character to work with. She's often the curious type who would takes risks, and see the outcomes of those risks. I learned that she won't mix well with people that are one-sided; and believe me, she'll meet a lot of one-sided characters in this story.
The synopsis (the description on the back cover) mentions "suitors." Well, yes, she gets a lot of suitors; and a lot of these suitors, of course, are duds, because many of them don't stop to ask Silhouette "How would you feel about (so-and-so)?" or "What are your thoughts on [this or that]?" If these men fail to ask her any of those questions, then there goes getting to know her (just like we, the audience/readers, are), there goes having an emotional investment in her. But then again, Silhouette's adopted parents, the Lofts, are trying to mold her into a spoiled individual who values nothing more than the spoils of their time (in this story's case: the 1920s, or the Roaring Twenties--you know, the time set of The Great Gatsby).
And then there's the villain: Ivor. Though, I wouldn't quite call him "one-sided," because there's a reason to his madness--in other words, he has a backstory (No villain should exist without some kind of backstory, or a legit reason why they are what they are). Nonetheless, Silhouette won't see eye-to-eye with him either, because he's the big threat in her story.

Now, when I had first came up with the character of Silhouette, I had originally thought of her to be this shy, timid young woman with long brown hair; and I had originally had her living in the modern times where her supposed father was head of a bottled water company--and it would lead to a racket about saving the environment, and all that. (Trust me, I even had concept sketches and notes to go along with these original ideas.) However, as I thought about it more, I decided not to use any of that, because one: It was too cliché--the saving-the-environment plot. And two: I didn't want to make Silhouette into a Veronica Gonzalez 2.0; she had resembled too much of me. So, I had to go back and change the character.

Eventually, Silhouette would start off with short hair (to meet the 1920s-era style that women had back in the day), and she would be adopted by a rich couple that was selfish in their own right (because back in the 1920s--the Roaring Twenties, or the Jazz Age, or whatever you want to call that era, a lot of people were living lavish lifestyles).
And then, as the story progresses, and she finds out her true dolphin identity, Silhouette will become a much stronger character, and be able to do things that she would normally be held back from doing--things that she wouldn't normally think to do.

I remember learning over and over in countless writing workshops that a main character (or protagonist) has to come full-circle. He/She must come full-circle in the following ways:
a. Learn something from his/her situation/adventure,
b. Experience some kind of change, OR
c. both A and B
If you didn't do any of these, then your character is incomplete--they won't come full-circle. And I kept this in mind, when creating Silhouette. I had to ask myself: Who is she? Why should the readers care about her? What would she do to stop her enemy? What risks will she take to get to a goal? I had to find the answers to a lot of these questions when creating my character.

So now, I would describe the character Silhouette as a free-spirited individual who had to break the bonds of her selfish adopted parents, and face her underwater enemy despite his powers. Now, she wouldn't be free-spirited, if she had stayed with the Lofts and lived her life the way they wanted it. If she didn't defy her adopted parents, then she wouldn't have learned the truth about herself, she wouldn't have faced her fears, and more importantly... she wouldn't have came full-circle (she wouldn't have been a well-rounded character).

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Conceiving Book #1 (Feedback & Advice)

From 2013 to 2018, I was trying to put together Dolphin Princess. It took a lot of developing, more than one draft (obviously), and a lot of thought and care.

(Me from November, 29, 2017)

I remember during my graduate years at Our Lady of the Lake University, I would share parts of a draft with my colleagues, and they would give me their feedback. Now, when it comes to writing, feedback is always welcome, because people tell you what's working and what's not. You can't rely on Draft 1... unless you were some kind of writing god who had perfect writing skills. I see Draft 1 as only a foundation for what you want for the story.

I remember going to a colleague's house (during my years at OLLU) for a writing circle. It was there that I had shown some of my colleagues a rough draft of the first two chapters of Dolphin Princess (Prologue and Chapter 1). I wasn't afraid to gather as much feedback as I needed. (I call this the Feedback Harvest.) And people were more than happy to give me as much advice as possible, because this was part of my rough draft, and I wanted all the help I could get.

Sometime later when I was at OLLU, I had asked a professor to look over the manuscript. She emailed me days later (maybe a week later) that the manuscript needed more work. She didn't explain why that was, or what exactly needed work. And the only constructive feedback she gave was: KEEP READING. At first, I was baffled, because I was trying to get somebody to endorse me and my book; I just wanted someone to notice my work and what I was trying to do. I didn't know how to take this, and I looked through my draft over and over (I think it was the second draft of the book), but then it made sense: Read more stories in this genre, this subject matter. So, I followed the advice--I kept reading.

I then went to another OLLU professor to see what I still needed for this book. I was in a Directed Study course with this other professor, where I had to meet once a week in her office to have discussions. I talked to her about my book, and what my progress was. She then told me that I needed to keep working on the book, because she felt that I was still working on my craft. And she had a point: Writing is a learning process, no matter how long you've been studying about it, reading about it, and acting on it. And I was able to prove some of that to her with my short stories and annotations on selected readings.

And then, in my last semester at OLLU, I was talking to a classmate about my endeavors as a writer, and I told him that I was still trying to work on my craft, and I was still reading stories to gain more inspiration. Then my classmate was like, "Why? You've had this story for a while now. It's your baby." And to be perfectly fair to him, he was right.

(Me on OLLU Graduation Day, May 9, 2018)

Though, as soon as I graduated from OLLU, I only had more questions about my book. What was I supposed to do, exactly?

Regardless, graduating from OLLU gave me more time to spend on the final draft of my book. Eventually, I was able to complete the story, come up with the cover art, and find my place with Barnes and Noble Press.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

My 1st Time in Self-Publishing (PART 2)

Today, I'm continuing my story of how self-publishing had changed my life.

So, yeah, finding out that Barnes and Noble had their own self-publishing program was a surprise. I remember fireworks going off in my head, when I saw this tab on their website. I decided to give this program a try, because I was very familiar with Barnes and Noble, so this HAD to be totally legit (in other words, it wasn't a scam, or a website that asked you for money to publish a book).

So, I enter the credentials for my book, uploaded my manuscript and cover art. However, uploading those things were a chore to do.
The manuscript had to be a specific size. On the first attempt, I left my manuscript at 8x11 in., and when they sent me a copy, the book was too big--it looked like a children's book, not a novel. So, I had to go back to my manuscript and resize it to a smaller size (I changed it to 6x9 in.).
And then uploading a PDF of both front and back covers were also hard, because I was following a free template that they had provided. All that time, I was struggling to format it to where it didn't exceed 2 pages, so that it could be uploaded onto the thing. Finally, I learned the simpler solution of setting all margins of a Word doc. to zero, then copy and paste my cover art, and then save it as a PDF. And that worked, instead of inserting it on a template.

And pretty soon, I was holding my own copy of Dolphin Princess--a 6x9 in. book, 438 pgs. long, and a hardcover. That was when I became very proud of all the work I've done. After a few years of trying to get this story out, after having to reformat the manuscript and everything, I was finally able to sell my book online through Barnes and Noble. The only downside to all this was that since I had to redo the book at that one point where the book was too big, and the ISBN number having to be the same because I didn't know how to get another one (so that my book can be sold through other outlets like Amazon), the book is only available at BarnesandNoble.com. However, I have hope that the book's sequel could reach those other outlets besides Barnes and Noble, because of everything I've learned from this past experience of self-publishing. Here's what I've learned:

1. Size matters. If your book is a children's book, then use 8x11 in. But if your book is a novel, then use something reasonable like 6x9 in. Keep this in mind, when writing your story on Microsoft Word.
2. Don't be afraid to ask for help. The site had a Help Center that you could call or email, if you had any problems.
3. Have a lot of patience. When you're working on putting together the story, or waiting for your book to sell, you need to have a lot of patience.

I felt like self-publishing had changed my life, because all that time of me trying to find a publisher for my book, I should've found Barnes and Noble Press sooner. Though, at the time, I was too concerned about my book's safety--I didn't want my book to end up in the wrong hands. But I could trust Barnes and Noble.
Plus, it didn't take long for my book to be approved and go on sale. With traditional publishing, I would've had to wait months after mailing it to a publisher, only to get a letter of acceptance or rejection. With self-publishing, you cut out the middle-man: You send in your work, and you get published right away. So, what was holding me back all this time--all those years--was this fear of looking for alternatives to traditional publishing.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

My 1st Time in Self-Publishing (PART 1)

The big question that people would ask me all the time is: "When are you going to publish your book?" A lot of these times, I wouldn't know how to answer this question. It's not that I didn't want to publish, the problem was how I was going to publish.

All my life, I grew up knowing that in order for a manuscript to turn into a book (and perhaps be on the bestseller's list someday), you would have to go through the traditional route of finding a publisher. So, down that road, I had bought a copy of the Writer's Market (the 2016 edition), and I would go through the list of publishers that were printed in there. I was also told by a few professors along the way to check out my favorite books and see what company published them. Eventually, I had a pretty good idea of what publishers I was interested in: Scholastic (a brand that I grew up with and love) and Disney Hyperion (one of my all-time favorite publishers).

But then there was a road block: Some of these publishers like Scholastic or Disney Hyperion required that you have a literary agent, so that was yet another thing that I had to do research on. And that was the problem: You had to know which publisher requires a literary agent, and which of them don't. And even if you find a publisher and send out your manuscript, you would be forced to wait for months to get a response from them (whether they send you a rejection letter or a letter of acceptance--most of the time, you'll get a rejection. Like, you won't believe the number of times that my short stories would get rejected).

I remember expressing this problem to some of my colleagues, and someone asked, "Have you tried self-publishing?" And that was something new to me--self-publishing. But there was that pesky excuse: "Well, I don't know where to start..." And plus, I was fully aware of scams on the Internet. The last thing that I wanted was sending out a manuscript, and being asked to throw in some money to "make my dream a reality." Rule of thumb: do NOT trust a "publisher" that'll ask you to pay up-front (and keep paying) in order for them to publish your book.

But then, this past summer (2018), I was browsing through the Barnes and Noble website, and I scroll down to see a tab that said "Barnes and Noble Press. Publish your book with B&N." And this came as a surprise to me, because I was very familiar with Barnes and Noble, but I never knew that they had their own self-publishing press. And plus, it has always been a dream of mine to see my book featured at Barnes and Noble. So, I checked it out, and...

More to come on my story about self-publishing for the first time!

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183?ean=9781538091609

Veronica Gonzalez

"Dolphin Princess" was 3rd-times the Charm

Now, Dolphin Princess wasn't my first stab at writing a novel. In fact, I had tried my hardest to come up with a really good story to tell. However, there were many setbacks in my life, and a lot more learning to do.

Besides writing parodies and fan fiction (fiction about favorite characters from movies, TV shows, etc.), which I'll never use because they weren't original, and they were for personal use only, I was working on some kind of novel back in high school. The book was going to be called "Dark Monster," and I had spent countless hours before and after school working on it. Unfortunately, that book never saw the light of day, because the story wasn't coming together--there was no thought process, no planning, or anything that went into that story.

Another book that I had worked on during high school was a story about a girl that got bullied for much of her life, and she tells this to a vampire in a graveyard. (By the way, that story had no working title.) That story didn't work either, because again, like the first failed book, the story wasn't making any sense.

Both stories didn't work, because they reminded me of myself. The main character in "Dark Monster" was perfect--friends, popularity at school, and a love interest--she was everything that I wasn't. She was everything that I wanted to be--she was too perfect to be a good character. And in the other story, the main girl gets bullied--I've been a victim of bullying, so this character was like a mirror to me, and that wouldn't work either.

During college, in my writing workshops, I learned that some writers would write characters that were similar to themselves. Professors would always say that we needed to write characters that were well-rounded and relatable. With my character Silhouette, I was able to make that happen--I was able to explore my character, give her feelings, give her a sense of existing...

So, after gaining more knowledge, and following the advice given to me by various teachers: "KEEP READING," I was able to bring to life Dolphin Princess, my third attempt in writing a book. Now, as for the other two books, I might inspiration from them every once in a while, but they won't ever see the light of day, because if I was to go back to them now--more knowledgeable than I was before--then they would just go straight into the trash bin.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Researching for "Dolphin Princess"

Since that trip to Corpus Christ, Texas, I began my research on dolphins. I wanted to learn more about their nature and behaviors, so that I could get a good idea on what some of my characters were going to be like.

For example, when that one dolphin approached me in the exhibit, I wanted to know what that meant.

One of the books that I had found was Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Kathleen M. Dudzinski, Ph.D. and Toni Frohoff, Ph.D. Both Dudzinski and Frohoff talk about their studies alongside these creatures, and they go into specific detail on the animal behaviors and habitats. So that means I've used some of the terminology in describing the parts of the dolphin body such as "flippers," the "dorsal fin" (the fin on top of the dolphin's back), the "melon" (a.k.a. the dolphin's head), and "calf" (a.k.a. a baby dolphin). Yeah, you'll see that kind of terminology in my book series.

Another book that I came across was The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives by Diana Reiss. This book was mainly about the "saving dolphins" ideology, but I was still able to get some good ideas from it for my book.

And just I was do my research, I had allowed myself to spend over a year brainstorming my story, because with a story like this (one that just comes to you without notice), I had to do something about it--It was my calling. I felt like I was meant to write this book.
Now, trust me when I say that this wasn't the first book idea that I had had during my lifetime (and I'll probably talk about that in the next blog post). In fact, I grew up with a lot of ideas; but as I grew up, I began to be smarter about the writing--what a story needed, what characters should have, etc. And getting smarter at writing was one of the reasons why the book that sits before you, Dolphin Princess, is here today.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Inspiration for Book #1 (The Corpus Christi Trip)

As promised, I'm going to tell you guys how I came up with the idea for this book, and eventually the series.

This is the story of what gave me the idea for this book.

I think it was back in the summer of 2013 when I went with my family to Corpus Christi, Texas. Once in a year or two, we could go to Corpus and visit the beaches and gift shops. Growing up, that had always been our one vacation spot.
One of the places that we stopped at was the Texas State Aquarium. (I believe this was my first time in a long time that I've ever been in to this place.)

At the aquarium, we saw the dolphins exhibit. The exhibit also had a basement-level room where you can view the dolphins underwater. There's a section of that room where there's a circular glass wall, where it feels like you can make contact with the dolphins. I stood in that section for a while to get pictures of the dolphins.

The funny thing was that there was one dolphin that kept coming near me... as if he was curious to know what I was doing with a tablet. (I guess he was photogenic, because I got a good picture of him smiling at me.)

At one point, I had locked eyes with a dolphin (I don't know if it was the same dolphin as before, or one of the other ones), and I felt this deep connection, like it was trying to tell me something. And when we left the aquarium that day, I left there with a seed--a seed that would grow into a story.

When I got home from the trip, I started researching about dolphins. I even got a couple of books about dolphins, so that I could get a better understanding of what these creatures are like (I'll talk about this more in a later post).

That trip was the start of a journey that lasted for at least 5 years. Yep. I'm talking about the journey of writing my book.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

What Books I would Compare This Series with...

I thought about this for a while.

There would be times when I would be asked, "Veronica, what inspired you to write [Dolphin Princess]? What books would you compare this with?" In other words, people want to know some of the books I've read over the years.

First of all, I grew up reading many books. A lot of these said books were, of course, fiction. Though, fantasy was always a guilty pleasure of mine, because you get to visit strange worlds that differ from the real world. You also get to meet characters that aren't average, but extraordinary (I emphasize the word "extra" in extraordinary); they're either magical or superhuman (or both).
Though, back then, there were lines that I wouldn't cross with books. My family didn't want me reading about killings, nothing with curses, and I stayed away from anything controversial. In fact, I wasn't allowed to read something like Goosebumps back in elementary school, because my mom didn't like the cover that it had (I think it had something like a kid trying to tear off a scary mask); and she made me go back to the school library to get another book. After that, I was careful not to bring home anything that would offend anyone in the household... that was until high school, where I snuck in some bold reads like
Cirque du Freak

(the manga adaptation about meeting a vampire at a freak show),

the House of Night series by Kristin Cast

(a series about a vampire school with swear words).
Apparently, I had a thing for vampires, back in my high school years... I'm glad I broke free from that genre when I was writing my book. (Not that there's a problem with vampires, but I wanted to strive for something different, because at that time, vampire stories were trendy.)

Now, for the Dolphin Princess series, I took inspiration from the following books:

the Waterfire Saga by Jennifer Donnelly

(I've already read the first two books, and they're awesome!)

the Ingo series by Helen Dunmore

(To be honest, I read the third book first, because at the time, I didn't know that it was part of a series. But it was still a good read.)

And yes, that means that I'm very familiar with The Little Mermaid (both the movie and the original story by Hans Christian Andersen). Fun fact: When I was showing my book to a couple of people, one of them said, "This reminds me of The Little Mermaid." It makes me smile whenever the book sparks interest. It's always nice to hear someone say "Wow!" or "Amazing!" when you show them what you've made.

So, of course, books were what sparked my imagination for creating this series. But also (and I'll talk about it in the next blog post), an aquarium visit in Corpus Christi was where I ultimately got the idea for this series.

TO BUY MY BOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez