Violet War | Urban Fantasy | Monica Valentinelli

It’s March and I’m declaring WAR…on my Manuscript!

Did you know that March was named after Mars, the Roman god of war? Well, this month I’m declaring war…on my manuscript! After going through a few drafts, there are a couple of things I need to revise: 1) The overall story needs to be consistent and a lot more simplified so that it can stand [...]

25% Off SALE on THE QUEEN OF CROWS Thru Sunday!

From now through Sunday, March 7th, enjoy a 25% off savings on THE QUEEN OF CROWS. This product is the first digital release set in the world of the Violet War. The short story entitled “The Queen of Crows” takes place during the 1860s, and focuses on the tough decisions that a Navajo elder named [...]

Download THE QUEEN OF CROWS – a Violet War story!

Centered around a short story entitled “The Queen Of Crows,” I designed this unique product to help you get an inside look at the Violet War setting and the story that inspired me to create this world. At a retail price of $4.99, you will receive a magazine-style layout of THE QUEEN OF CROWS, a [...]

New Website Theme Has Officially Launched!

I am pleased to announce that a new website theme for VioletWar.com has officially launched! This site redesign launched in preparation for THE QUEEN OF CROWS, a product that will be available for digital download on March 1st. Set in the Violet War, you can read a short story and its first draft, an in-depth look [...]

Revisions Update and a Look at 2010

Hi folks, In December, I focused on the revisions for ARGENTUM through a December Writing Marathon that I had come up with. December was an extraordinarily busy month for several reasons, including a few additional projects that I did not expect to come up. Even though I didn’t get as much done as I wanted to, [...]

New Outline and December Writing Marathon

Hi Folks, The first three chapters are typically part of the query letter package for an agent. Concerned that I was getting off-target with the revisions, I threw together the revisions and got some feedback. When I did, I discovered two things: 1) I have created a big. damn. world. 2) My story lost its focus. I spent some [...]

The Inspiration Behind Huginn

Dear Readers, I thought you might get a kick out of this particular webcomic, since it’s about Huginn. If you remember, Huginn is Serafina’s escort back to the Realm so she can have a “chat” with Mitra. As a shape-shifting raven, Huginn can travel freely between the worlds without fear of a mortal noticing him. [...]

The Mechanics of Revising: Font, Copy and Paste

After I got all excited about my spectacular “Chapter One,” I ended up revising a short story that needed some work and stumbled across different submission guidelines for various markets. I took one look at the formatting guidelines and went… “Uh-oh…ARGENTUM does not look like that…” So, I went ahead and formatted it differently using a [...]

Dear Monica: Why Are The Revisions Taking So Long?

When I started working on revisions for the novel back in the Spring, I knew I was going to have to make some adjustments in my schedule. Before I started ARGENTUM, I often worked on a contract basis, which meant that someone handed me a contract and I said, “Okay, I’ll write for you.” Then, [...]

Chapter One (Otherwise Known As the Zombie Chapter)

If you’ve been following along as I wade through revisions, you might have heard me talking about how I keep going back to Chapter One. Well, I went back to it again. And again. And again. Why? When I re-read the chapter, I felt like I was puking information on the page instead of telling you [...]