Happy Birthday Cake!

“Twenty-nine” again and what to my wondering eyes should appear at my door but a gorgeous, “fat-free” floral birthday cake from daughter, Kim, son-in-law, Brian, and the grands – Sean, Beau, Connor and Nicholas.

More well-wishes, cards and flowers poured in from hubby, sons Chris and Scott, daughter-in-law, Ligia, and grandson, Aidyn – some of them even sang. Dear friend, Anne, treated Mr. KK and I to breakfast at Tucson’s fabulous Tohono Chul Park. Afternoon treats included yummy chocolate petit fours from Mom and Dad.

Thank you one and all. You truly take the cake!

LEGEND OF THE BLUE DOG

Friends, I have been away and do apologize for letting the blog so sorely lapse. Since October, I’ve been on travel, attended a spiritual retreat and, subsequently, my first Science Fiction/Fantasy conference, TusCon,  where I participated on various panels, including a reading and talk on “time-slips,” tossed in for good measure. (More in blogs to come.)

My trip east took me back to my roots in historic Port Tobacco, Maryland, which also happens to be the setting, in part, for my forthcoming novel, PIRATES’ MOON (2013). Port Tobacco was once the seat of government for Charles County (founded in 1658). It became a ghost town when the court house was burned under suspicious circumstances (1892), and the county seat was moved (1895).

When I grew up, only a few of the original 18^th century houses remained, the others having been long since dismantled and removed, and tobacco planted in the vacant fields. My own girlhood home was a replica of the original building that once stood on the town square proper, looking out on a remnant of the old courthouse (now rebuilt), Chimney House (c 1750) and Stagg Hall (c 1740), which has remained in the family since my great-grandparents’ day.

With the county’s long history you’ll understand when I say I was raised on more than a few ghost stories. None was more memorable than the “Legend of the Blue Dog” — a legend forever associated with the beautiful Rose Hill Mansion that sits on a hill, overlooking the Port Tobacco valley. (More on the legend to come.)

During my recent visit to Port Tobacco, my parents surprised me with an outing to the “Blue Dog Saloon” nearby. I was captivated from the moment I gazed on the Saloon’s warm stone exterior and signage, the theme clearly resonating through me. Inside, on entering the dining room, I was astonished to discover an enormous and quite wonderful painting, depicting the Legend of the Blue Dog. I fell instantly in love.

  [courtesy of artist, Don Zimmer]

Returning the following day to capture pictures of the Saloon’s exterior and interior — and most especially the painting — I met the owners, Gary and Heidi Fick, and learned that prints and a canvas version of the painting would soon be offered for purchase in order to raise money for a charitable cause — that of bringing running water to the poor of Nanjemoy in the county’s western district, who have none in their homes.

Gary and Heidi also placed me in contact with Don Zimmer, artist extraordinaire and Port Tobacco resident, who created this marvelous work of art. It has been a great privilege and pleasure to speak with him and to learn more of his projects and art.

 [courtesy of artist Don Zimmer ]

I’m delighted to report that the prints and a canvas version of Don’s painting are now available for purchase. To learn about the “Legend of the Blue Dog,” the artist (Don Zimmer), the Nanjemoy Neighbors Water Project, and how to order your own print, go to www.bluedoglegend.com.

If you are in the area and would like to stop by the Blue Dog Saloon for a delicious meal, entertainment, and to view the original art piece visit www.thebluedogsaloon.com.

A Slip In Time featured on Awesome Romance Novels!

A SLIP IN TIME is being featured on the Awesome Romance Novels website today. Please check it out! Click on the link below to view it. Thanks!

http://awesomeromancenovels.blogspot.com/

HIS FAIR LADY now exclusive to Amazon

Just a quick note to inform you that, on November 1st, we enrolled HIS FAIR LADY in Amazon's KDP Select program for a 90 day trial period. So, for that period, HFL will be available only through Amazon companies (Kindle and Createspace) in Kindle e-Book and Createspace Trade Paperback print formats. To enter HFL into the KDP Select program, we had to remove it from the Barnes and Noble, Kobobooks and Apple iTunes stores. As a result of this action, our HFL purchase links for the Nook, Kobo and Apple formats will no longer return a valid purchase opportunity. After the trial period ends, we'll evaluate whether or not to continue HFL in the KDP Select program or return it to the other stores.

Congratulations Winners!

Congratulations to Isabel, Dorothy and Miranda - winners of the latest Goodreads giveaway! Your trade paperback copies of A SLIP IN TIME shipped out today via Priority Mail.

His Fair Lady exclusive to Amazon

Hi, this is Mr. KK again. Anita is currently on travel and will return soon to take up the "blog reins" once more. Meanwhile, we wanted to give you a heads-up notice that, as of November 1st, we're going to put HIS FAIR LADY up exclusively on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program. This means that you will only be able to purchase Kindle and Print versions and only from Amazon and the Createspace store during this promotion (we'll have to remove it from Apple, Barnes and Noble and Kobobooks). If you would like to purchase an Apple, Nook or Kobo version, please do so before November 1st. As of that date, HIS FAIR LADY will become exclusive to Amazon for 90 days. Thanks, and enjoy!

Sampler now on B&N for free download

Hi, Mr KK here again.

This is jJust a quick note to let you know that the Kathleen Kirkwood Sampler Edition is now available for free download on Barnes and Noble in Nook format. We're still working on Amazon/Kindle to get them to match the free prices we have on all the other versions. Here's the link for the Nook version:

Free Nook version download

Enjoy!

Congratulations, Winners!

Congratulations to Dana, Ted and Jennifer - winners of the Goodreads giveaway! Your trade paperback copies of HIS FAIR LADY shipped out today via Priority Mail.

And, congratulations to Wendy, C. E., Alex and Margaret - winners of the Confessions From Romaholics giveaways. Your e-books will be on their way once we receive your delivery information from CFR and contact you to determine which format to send you (Kindle, Nook or Kobo).

Online Interview, Review and Giveaways

Hello, Mr. KK here again. Kathleen has just finished an on-line interview with Black Tulip, a Confessions From Romaholics premier reviewer, and has started an associated CFR giveaway of each of her four Kathleen Kirkwood e-books. Click on the link below to access the interview, Black Tulip's review of HIS FAIR LADY,  the giveaway information, and all posted comments. Hint - the giveaway information is after the interview and review, but before the comments (about two-thirds of the way down the page). These giveaways end on September 26th, so please join and enter soon!

Kathleen Kirkwood CFR interview and giveaways

And, to celebrate the recent release of HIS FAIR LADY, we're also giving away three trade paperback copies of it on the GoodReads site. Click on the following link for the info. These giveaways end on October 4th.

GoodReads HIS FAIR LADY giveaways

Enjoy!

Collection on Apple and Nook!

Mr. KK here with a quick update.

The Collection is now available on Apple, Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Kobobooks. It sells for $5.99 (a savings of $2.00 or 25% over purchasing both A SLIP IN TIME and SHADES OF THE PAST separately). The first copy sold today on Kobo in Canada - a big congratulations to our northern friends for being first!

Romancing The Unexplained

Just as I was (once again) tackling the promised Vintage Photography blog, Mr. KK and Mr. KK, Jr., kidnapped me away to finish formatting and uploading on our latest projects. The happy news is that the KK special collection, ROMANCING THE UNEXPLAINED has been submitted on four platforms. It is currently available on Kindle and Kobo, and in process with Nook and Apple. This volume contains complete editions of my Paranormal Historicals:  SHADES OF THE PAST (ghosts) and A SLIP IN TIME (time travel).

In more news, the SAMPLER is available on all platforms except Apple, which does not allow incomplete works. They did accept the full editions of HIS FAIR LADY, A SLIP IN TIME and SHADES OF THE PAST however, so that’s a plus. All of the complete works are now available in the iTunes bookstore.

And now my friends, truly, truly, my blog is on its way for vintage for photography.

Until next time, here’s wishing you days filled with happiness and sunshine.

 

 KK   

Celebrating the release of His Fair Lady

Celebrating the release of HIS FAIR LADY, I’m happy to offer this recipe for Medieval wastel bread.

Years past, Mr. KK and I hosted a Medieval-themed dinner and served this recipe, adapted from The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black (highly recommended). The bread proved not only delicious fresh, but spectacular when toasted. In truth, it transported me back to my girlhood days, when my mother and I would visit the Amish market. We always returned with prized loaves of their homemade bread. It made superior toast (which my brother and I quickly devoured). I highly doubt the Amish used ale to make their bread, but this recipe makes a lovely loaf that, when toasted, is a taste match to theirs – at least to my memory and tastebuds, such as they are today.

In honor of Juliana and Royce’s love story, enjoy!

Medieval Wastel Bread

When Juliana first tastes the soft rolls of white bread (manchets) at King John’s court, she exclaims to Sir Royce, "Ah, 'tis Heaven itself, Sir Knight."  Raised as a brewer’s daughter, she has known only coarse barley and rye breads. Juliana would no doubt approve of this tasty modern-day version of white-wheat “wastel” bread that uses brown ale in place of the “ale-barm” of her day (used for raising the dough).  Papa Georges the brewer would approve as well!

Makes 4 round loaves; or 16 – 20 rolls; or 2 round loaves and 8-10 rolls

2 lb 14 oz unbleached white flour
2 oz rice flour or cornflour
1 tablespoon salt
1 oz fresh yeast
2 ½ - 3 ¾ cups warm water
3/4 cup brown ale
4 teaspoons warmed clear honey
Oil for greasing

·       Mix the flours and salt in a warmed bowl.

·       Blend yeast with a little water until a cream consistency.

·       Mix in the ale, honey and approximately 2 ½ cups of the remaining water.

·       Stir the liquids into the flour mixture and mix to a firm dough, adding more water if needed.

·       Turn out on surface and knead dough for about 8 minutes or until it feels elastic.

·       Shape it into a ball and place in bowl that has been oiled inside.

·       Cover loosely with oiled parchment or wax paper, or oil top and cover with towel. Leave in a warm place to double in bulk.

·       Punch down the dough.

·       For four round loaves: divide into quarters.

·       For rolls: divided into 16 – 20 equal sized pieces

·       For two round loaves and 8 – 10 rolls: divide into two halves.

o   Shape one half into two equal-sized round loaves and the other half into rolls.

·       For loaves: make a cross­cut in the top of each loaf. Place on oiled baking sheets, leaving a good space apart; cover loosely with oiled parchment or waxed paper (or oil and cover). Let rise a warm place.

·       Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.

·       Bake:

o   Rolls: 15—17 minutes. Testing: tap bottom of roll; it should sound hollow if cooked.

o   Loaves: 25 minutes; Test as for rolls by tapping. If needed, lower heat to 3oo°F and bake a little longer.

§   Cool, covered with a cloth, on a wire rack.

Adapted from The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black

Status

Hi, Mr. KK here again. The KATHLEEN KIRKWOOD SAMPLER EDITION is now available!

The SAMPLER contains the first 4 chapters (about 20%) of HIS FAIR LADY, A SLIP IN TIME and SHADES OF THE PAST, and is now up and available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for 99 cents and Kobobooks for free. I've already put in a request for Amazon to match the Kobo free price. I haven't figured out how to do that with B&N yet (I think they do it automatically by checking what others are selling it for). Our son Scott will create the Apple version (it requires a MAC to do it, which we don't have) and it will also be free. But, he's backlogged pretty heavily right now, so it'll probably be a couple of weeks before he gets it up on iTunes.

The release of HIS FAIR LADY and KATHLEEN KIRKWOOD COLLECTION #1 (containing both editions of A SLIP IN TIME and SHADES OF THE PAST) are just around the corner.  Please check back in the coming days.

Kathleen Kirkwood Sampler

HI, Mr. KK here again. Anita has been kidnapped away by an unexpected formatting issue with HIS FAIR LADY. While she's chained to her desk, working out the kinks, let me give you an update on the sampler. Unfortunately, the Vintage Photography blog will have to wait a few more days.

We finished putting together the 3-book sampler. It contains the first 4 chapters (about a fifth) of each of the released Kathleen Kirkwood e-books. We created a new cover for it and we hope you like it.

We'd like to offer it for free. But, most vendors will not allow us to select a price less than 99 cents. So, we're planning to list it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for 99 cents, and on Apple and Kobo for free, which is allowed. Hopefully, Amazon and B&N s will match the free price. If they don't, at least readers will be able to sample each of the books for a value of roughly 33 cents each.

The sampler will be released in the coming days in coordination with the release of HIS FAIR LADY.

The two-book collection edition of SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME is also nearly finished and will be available in the coming weeks.

His Fair Lady Cover Flat

Hi, Mr. KK here with a quick post on HIS FAIR LADY. Anita finished her changes to the manuscript and it is now in our editor's hands. We expect to get any changes she recommends by the end of the weekend. So, if we don't encounter any unforseen surprises, we'll be on-time with the September 1st e-book releases.

We finished the cover flat for the print version (the e-book covers were done some time ago). Here it is:



Cover Artist: Delle Jacobs, Cover Flat: ByDand Publishing


We'll need an extra few days to get back a physical proof for the print version, so it will probably be available late in the Labor Day week.

We also have a sampler coming out soon. We're putting it together now. We envision putting the first 20% of each of the three Kathleen Kirkwood books in a single e-book release to sell for 99 cents. We'd prefer to give out individual samples for free. But, the vendors won't let us price an e-book below 99 cents. So, we decided that, if you're stuck paying 99 cents for a sampler, we'll put all three samples in a single 99 cent e-book. That way, each sample costs you 33 cents. We'll put up a post here when it's ready.

Contact us through Anita's email if you have questions - kathleenkirkwood@aol.com.

Have a good day!

Getting There . . .

Oops! Time moved faster than I did this week and here we are at Monday. Please check back in a couple of days for the promised blog on “Vintage Photography.”

Meanwhile, final edits on HIS FAIR LADY are claiming my attention today but those are nearly complete. Mr. KK will take over the technical aspects, bless his heart, so LADY will be ready for a September 1^st release.

Speaking of Mr. KK, he’s been working on a few projects as he waits for me to finish my revisions. He’s created a "Kathleen Kirkwood Cover Collection" desktop background. It can be viewed at www.bydandpublishing.blogspot.com. He is also considering a photo collection of all of the ByDand Publishing covers to use as a Windows screen saver collection. We welcome your comments.

Mr. KK & son, Scott, have also convinced me to combine both SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME into a Special Collection #1, which will be titled “Romancing the Unexplained”. Below is a preliminary cover that we’re working on. Looking to the future, we envision a second Kathleen Kirkwood Collection, with two new Historical Paranormals, PIRATES’ MOON and WHEN SPIRITS TOUCH.

Congratulations to the winners of my Goodreads giveaway for copies of A SLIP IN TIME. The “Pony Express” is heading out with those today. Thanks to all who joined in the fun. A new giveaway will be offered soon at www.goodreads.com.

See you later in this week with a look behind the scenes at “Sherringham” and the challenges of early photography.

Apple edition of A Slip In Time

Mr. KK here again. This is just a quick post to let you know that the Apple version of A Slip In Time (for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch) is now available from the iTunes store. Here's the link to the iTunes book:

Apple Version of A Slip In Time

We've started getting Shades of the Past ready for the iTunes store, but it will be a couple more weeks before it's available. We'll also do an Apple release of His Fair Lady, which should be available by mid-September. Check Anita's Web Site for availability of these new versions. Her web site is at:

Kathleen Kirkwood Historicals Web Site

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that we've copied all of the publishing posts that I put up on this Blog Site over the last few months to the ByDand Publishing Blog Site. Anita will determine if she wants to keep them available here too. Here's the link to the ByDand site:

ByDand Publishing Blog Site

Have a good day!

RIDING SIDE SADDLE

While revising SHADES OF THE PAST, set in the English countryside in 1882, a startling thought occurred to me. My heroine, Vanessa, undoubtedly rides sidesaddle and I had not accounted for that. At various times, Vanessa is tossed from her horse, required to mount hastily, and, in one scene, purposely casts herself off her horse’s back, lest the villain trap her.

How secure is she atop her sidesaddle? I wondered. Surely, with both legs on one side of the horse, it’s a simple matter to dismount. (Wrong.) Just what is going on beneath Vanessa’s skirts and how does the design of a sidesaddle differ from one ridden astride?

The answers proved challenging to pin down at first. Understanding what a “leaping horn” is and how a lady was to arrange her legs and position her feet was another matter entirely. The Internet came to my rescue with such wonderful resources as the “Side Saddle Lady Museum” with its historical overview of sidesaddles and riding habits; and the “American Side Saddle Association” offering specific instructions on how to mount, ride and cue a horse with both legs on one side, plus how to safely dismount—not a straightforward task with two fixed pommels and leaping horn in the way (not to mention the lady’s gown that could get snagged in the process!).

Photo by Thyl Engelhardt (Deutsche Wikipedia)
GFDL http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

Once upon a time, sidesaddles possessed only a single pommel, aiding m’lady little should she start slipping from her perch. In the 16^th century a second pommel was added, giving the rider more security and control over her horse. Now, while sitting squarely on the horses back, she could place her right thigh in front of her, through the two pommels, and wrap her leg around the near-vertical left horn. The greatest advancement, however, occurred in the 1830’s thanks to the Frenchman, Jules Pellier. His design added a third lower pommel, the “leaping head” which was slightly movable and curved over the rider’s left leg (while her foot rested in the stirrup).  With this added security she could join in the hunt at a full gallop and leap fences as well.

As the American Sidesaddle Association explains, “Side saddle riding can and should be more secure than astride ... If you press your right calf against the saddle, and the left thigh up into the leaping head, you are locked tight into the saddle, much like a scissors grip. You would be surprised how stable this position can be in an emergency.”



 Ester Stace, 1915, Sydney Royal Easter Show, clearing 6’6” and setting a world record

Source: Walcha Historical Society via Wikipedia Commons

So how does one mount a sidesaddle? The stirrups (which hang on the same side) are shorter and there is the problem of pulling the saddle off center while mounting. A groom is of great help, as is a mounting block. In my heroine’s case, she had neither at her disposal. While I chose not to specifically show her mount by a stand of trees, I envisioned an old tree stump served her purposes.

Dismounting was the greater challenge as, beneath Vanessa's skirt, she needed to free both feet from the stirrups. lift her right leg over the larger pommel and then free her left leg from the leaping head, all without notice of the villain before she cast herself off her horse and onto the ground. It was a tricky piece of business but, heroine that she is, she managed it.

Enjoy the following links giving full explanations and information on the ins and outs of riding sidesaddle, plus sources and patterns for period riding habits. Particularly enjoy, Belle Beach's Riding and Driving for Women, published in 1912 and free for download as a pdf from Google. Belle Beach was an accomplished horsewoman in her day and gives a thorough and excellent treatment of the subject of riding sidesaddle in her volume, plus also of how to drive a carriage.

American Sidesaddle Association:
http://www.americansidesaddleassociation.org

Side Saddle Lady Museum:

http://users.tinyworld.co.uk/sidesaddlelady/Side%20Saddle%20Lady%20museum.html

Wikipedia: Sidesaddle (comprehensive and good graphics)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidesaddle

International Side Saddle Organization

http://www.sidesaddle.com

The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3292329/A-bit-of-glamour-on-the-side.html

Riding and Driving for Women by Belle Beach, free PDF from Google Books

http://books.google.com/books?id=NhNDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

The above link will open the full book. Hover cursor over red box “EBOOK Free” – this drops down a window showing PDF is available plus download is good for “Web, Tablet/Pad, eReader, Smartphone”

Kobo and iBookBuzz

For those who have asked, we have created Kobo versions of A Slip In Time and Shades of the Past (His Fair Lady will join them in September). And, we've added links to our website that take you directly to the Kobo ordering page for each book. Here is the website URL:

www.kathleenkirkwoodhistoricals.com

Also, if you have a chance, check out the August iBookBuzz Monthly Contest featuring four selected Historical Romance novels, including A Slip In Time. It's an honor to be in such wonderful company!

www.ibookbuzz.com

Have a great day!

KK

Green Chile Cheeseburgers: Food for the Writer’s Soul

Good morning! I was due to take back the reins from Mr. KK today and resume “Notes from Sherringham” plus new ones from “Dunraven Castle.” These are an “author confidential” of sorts, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses into the creation of SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME. Following up on July 19 post for the Scottish dessert, Cranachan, oats seemed a good topic. Lord Muir has a staunch opinion on how to properly eat one’s oatmeal, and then there is Cook’s penchant for sending the hunting parties out with cold porridge bars in their pockets for lunch. Instead, I find myself fixated on Green Chile Cheeseburgers today ― a much spicier alternative and not at all Scottish.  Allow me to explain.

Recently, as I was working on the revisions for A SLIP IN TIME, significant health issues arose in our family. Mr. KK gallantly stepped in and took over the blog posts to free my time. “Notes from Sherringham” gave way to “Cover art Mondays” and other technical articles for Indie publishing. I hope you enjoyed them. With TIME now released and the worst of the storm passed (hopefully) on the health issues, Mr. KK and I set off on a road trip to see family up north. While traveling through New Mexico we discovered a new culinary delight at McDonalds no less ― Green Chile Double Cheeseburgers! We became instantly enamored and on our return home last night set out to learn how to duplicate them. To our surprise we learned that Green Chile Cheeseburgers have been a New Mexican specialty dating back to 1945, and that the state’s Department of Tourism even offers a map and restaurant locations to find them.  Many are along old Rt. 66.



www.newmexico.org

Next trip through New Mexico, Mr. KK and I will set forth with map in hand and sample variations of this famous burger from border to border. This is soul satisfying food, my friends, fit for the Muse. Now, as I nudge hubby off to the side of the blog with thanks in my heart and the reward of a Green Chile Cheeseburger in hand, I’ll take back the reins here.  So what is ahead?

Currently, I’m revising and re-editing HIS FAIR LADY, originally published in 2001 and winner of the 2002 Golden Quill Award. This is a 12^th century medieval  Pygmalion, of sorts, set in the time of Richard the Lionheart and King John. If all progresses smoothly, this will be a September 1^st release. Meanwhile, “Notes” from Sherringham and Dunraven will continue with such articles as how to ride side saddle, vintage photography, Highland life and the theory of “time slips.”

Looking ahead to the holidays, I’m considering offering “Special Editions” of SHADES and TIME, each with the extended “Notes” material included at the back. Book club questions are another possibility to include, or to add to the website.

What do you think? I would love to have your input as these efforts are for your enjoyment. Meanwhile, if you enjoy green chilies or are adventuresome, here are some videos and sources on New Mexico’s famous state burger and Mr. KK’s tips for making your own.

Video: Introduction to Green Chile Cheeseburgers | A Hamburger Today

Culinary - New Mexico Tourism

The Amazing Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail

Mr. KK’S TIPS: Roasted green chilies are available at the grocers in cans, chopped or whole. It appears the chopped version is the popular choice for this burger but whole works too. These chilies are mildly spicy, so fear not. (These are NOT jalpeños, which would be a different story entirely!) Warm your green chilies or at very least have them at room temperature. Use an ample amount, placing them either directly on the burger (at the end of cooking is fine) and adding the cheese on top, or placing them on top of the finished cheeseburger (cheese under the chilies). The cheese and chilies will melt to a delicious, gooey mess. Enjoy.

Building Your Kindle E-Book

Hi, Mr. KK here again. This will be my last post on the Kathleen Kirkwood blog site (for now). In the near future, I will copy all of the technical blogs over to a new blog site, that of ByDand Publishing. Any future posts of a technical nature will be published there. We will also create a place on Anita’s website that will archive these blogs for easy reference. Her website URL is: http://www.kathleenkirkwoodhistoricals.com/. Next week, Anita will return with her “Author Confidential” peek behind the scenes of creating SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME.

This post is about creating your Kindle e-book. I’m embedding Kindle Direct Publishing’s (KDP) Simplified Formatting Guide, which goes through the process you need to follow to create and publish your Kindle e-book. I would have preferred to embed a link to the document, located on their website, since it was created by KDP. But, because it’s a little tricky to find it, download it and get it into a print-compatible version, I’m embedding it instead.

Please note that, in the “Uploading” section, we use the MobiPocket Creator to create a PRC file locally and then upload it to KDP, instead of uploading a Microsoft Word document. We like the fact that we have total control over the formatting and conversion to Kindle format right on our own computers rather than relying on KDP’s conversion programs. Here is KDP’S Simplified Formatting Guide:

--------------------

Simplified Formatting Guide

**Check out our new Featured Tutorial: Building Your Book for Kindle.**

This is a guide for building Kindle Format 8 Books using Microsoft Word. Kindle Format 8 books can also be designed in HTML. For tips and tricks for designing your book in HTML please click here.

·         Building Your Book

·         Creating Front Matter

·         Formatting Text

·         Paragraphs

·         Creating an Active Table of Contents

·         Guide Items

·         Creating Back Matter

·         Saving as Filtered HTML

·         Uploading Your Book For Sale on Amazon

Building Your book

Word is a great tool to use because it's extremely easy to format. We suggest writing your book in Word or converting an existing source file into Word (.doc or .docx) format before continuing. Remember these important tips below to ensure an excellent eBook presentation.

File Format: Save your content in DOC (.doc or .docx) format, and save your work periodically as you make changes to ensure all changes are recorded.

Tables: A new feature in KF8 are tables. If your book requires tables you can insert tables in word by selecting "Insert Table."

Layout: Use indentations, bold characters, italics and headings, as they will translate into your Kindle book. However, bullet points, special fonts, headers, and footers will not be transferred, so be sure to avoid those.

Page Breaks: Enter a page break at the end of every chapter to prevent the text from running together. To insert a page break in MS Word, click "Insert" at the top menu bar and select "Page Break."

Image Placement: Images should be inserted in JPEG (or .jpeg) format with center alignment (don't copy and paste from another source). Select "Insert" > "Picture" > then locate and select the file. If your book has a lot of images, it can be viewed in color by readers using our free Kindle apps for PC, MAC, iPad, iPhone, and Android. Otherwise, remember that images on Kindle are displayed in 16 shades of gray for great contrast and clarity.

Spellcheck and Grammar: This tool is always your friend to ensure a professional presentation free of typos. Use this tool, but also manually proofread your file to ensure no errors are missed by the automated checker.

Creating Front Matter

Front matter is the beginning pages of a book, which may include a Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication, Preface, and Prologue. For a stylish and professional presentation, you should add a Title Page at a minimum.

Title Page: The title page should be centered with the title on top and Author Name underneath, like in the example below. Insert a page break.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

By Mark Twain

-Insert Page Break Here-

To insert a page break in Word, click "Insert" at the top menu bar and select "Page Break."

Copyright Page: This page normally follows the Title Page. Insert a page break after the Copyright details.

Dedication: If you have a customized Dedication, it should follow the Copyright page. Be sure to Insert a page break.

Preface: If you have a Preface, it should follow the Dedication. Be sure to Insert a page break.

Prologue: If your book includes a Prologue, it should follow the Preface. Be sure to Insert a page break.

Formatting Text

Once your front matter is complete, you're ready to format the remainder of your text. The indentations, text spacing, and separate paragraphs should have been included when you built your book in Word.

The remaining step is to insert a page break after the last sentence of each chapter in the book to prevent chapters from running together. Depending on the number of chapters you have, this may be a time-consuming process but the effort is worth the improved reading experience.

Paragraphs

Paragraph text displays with justified alignment by default. The first line of each paragraph is automatically indented.

To manually indent paragraphs in your content, don’t use tab-spacing. This will not convert for the Kindle. Instead, use the Word-default Paragraph Formatting to indent paragraphs. There are two ways in which you can indent paragraphs:

1. Click on “Page Layout”, and specify the amount of indentation in the “Indent” option.
2. Use the ruler at the top of the page to change the indentation. If you don’t see a ruler in your Word document, click on “View” and check the Ruler option.

You can also follow the guide here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4477948_set-first-line-indent-microsoft.html

Creating an Active Table of Contents

For digital books, page numbers don’t really apply. This is due to the fact that Kindle content is resizable, and the number of pages within the book changes as the text scales. It is highly recommended that your book has an active Table of Contents for easy navigation.

On a PC, you can use Microsoft Word’s in-built Table of Contents creator to create an active TOC for your book. More information can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/285059

On a Mac, you'll need to create a Table of Contents manually using the Hyperlink and Bookmark functions.

Guide Items

Kindle has the option to "Go To” the cover image, beginning and the Table of Contents of your book, anywhere from the content. These are defined by what is known as "Guide Items." If you upload a cover image, the first Guide Item will be set automatically. To define the other Guide Items, follow the below steps:

For the Beginning:
Place the cursor where you want the book to start, click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the "Bookmark name:" field, type “Start” (without the quotes) and click "Add."

For the Table of Contents:
Place the cursor at the beginning of the first entry in the Table of Contents. Click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the "Bookmark name:" field, type “TOC” (without the quotes) and click "Add."

Creating Back Matter

Back matter consists of the last pages in your book which provides additional information the reader should know about, such as Bibliographies, Appendices, Notes or Glossaries.

There isn't a specific order which back matter should be presented in, so use your judgment and be sure to insert page breaks after each section. Indexes are not recommended at this time.

Saving as Filtered HTML

Once you have inserted your page breaks and are confident with the layout of your book, save your Word file to your Documents folder or Desktop in Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) (for PC) or Web Page (.htm) (for Mac) format. This format is required to build a successful eBook.

When saving the Word file as HTML, all the images (if any) in the Word file will be extracted, and will be stored in a separate folder. This folder will be saved in the same location where the HTML file is saved.

Uploading Your eBook For Sale on Amazon

Once you're satisfied with the quality and presentation of your book, upload the Word file to KDP. Within KDP you can add your cover by uploading a product image, which will be added automatically to your book file during publishing.

Once you complete the remaining metadata in KDP and click Save and Publish your book will appear for sale on the Kindle Store approximately 12 hours after clicking "Save and Publish." Within 48 to 72 hours, all other book features should be available on the detail page, such as the product description and links to related physical editions.

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Happy writing and publishing!