Copyright Insights

**Check this Out: I've been interviewed by Ebyss on her blog. How cool!**


Aspiring Authors Want to Know...

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

Did you know...
*  That everything you write is copyrighted whether you take the time to register for a copyright or not?  No formal notice of copyright is required.  (However, you will need to register if you want to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit)
*  You do not have to be published to have a copyright.
*  You cannot copyright the name of your book.
*  Copyright protection extends to the WAY you write down words and not your ideas.  Someone else can write on the exact same topic, they just can't copy the way in which you've ordered your words to do so.
*  The information you create on your website (and blog) are protected by copyright.  Your domain name is not.
* If you register your book and then make minor editorial changes, you do not have to re-register.  If you add another chapter, you would.
* There are separate filings for published and unpublished books, so if you seek official copyright protection prior to publication, you'll be paying two registration fees
* Generally speaking, copyright protection lasts the length of the author's life PLUS 70 years.
* Fan fiction technically violates copyright because it uses someone else's characters.
* To indicate you intend your work to be protected, use the (c) symbol or "copyright" [year] , [your name].

DON'T FORGET TO SCROLL DOWN & ENTER MY SOUL SCREAMERS GIVE-AWAY. CONTEST ENDS THURSDAY NIGHT.

The Sound of Happiness

Happy Monday! Just thought I'd help everyone start their Mondays off right with some of the happiest screams I've ever heard. (Seven 4 & 5 year olds on one raft at our back to school pool party.) Enjoy.

Flashback Friday: Vacation

Hubby and I took a long-weekend type of vacation to Charleston, SC last weekend.  **DISCLAIMER: If you've ever considered visiting Charleston in August, DON'T.  It's really freakin' hot!  And I'm a Floridian, I know hot.**

 The last time I went to Charleston, I was about 15 and in high school.  My older step-sister, who was WAY too cool to vacation with her parents, stayed home with her dad so she could have an extra week of summer hangout time with her friends.  Like the summer's not long enough?

Despite staying in a low-budget hotel and eating at the Shoney's buffet for dinner every night, I actually had a pretty good time.  I remember touring the old houses and learning that wardrobes were made for holding clothes because residents were taxed based on the number of rooms in their home and a closet was considered a room.  I mean, that's a pretty cool fact, even for a 15 year old girl.

I remember going out to Ft. Sumter and thinking it kind of sucked.  Then we toured an old air craft carrier (the Yorktown, I now know) and that was pretty cool.  I vaguely remember cheese grits on a plantation and lunch in a really swanky restaurant called Magnolia's in downtown Charleston.  All-in-all, it was a good trip.  And I've always wondered why my step-sister thought she was too cool to go.

So what gives? Did your teenage self look forward to or loathe that summer vacation with the parental units?

Soul Screamers Review & Giveaway

If you haven't picked up Rachel Vincent's SOUL SCREAMERS series, then you're truly missing out.  And I'm going to give you the opportunity to catch up on the action by giving away three of her books -- the last one, My Soul to Keep, is even signed by the author.  But first, let me tell you why you should read them RIGHT NOW.

Reason #1: The Book Description. The description of book one, My Soul to Take, alone should sell you on the series.

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH KAYLEE CAVANAUGH

She doesn't see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

Reason #2: The Stakes are Incredibly High.  Just when you think things can't get any worse for Kaylee, something does.  Her situation always feels impossible, and yet is resolved with believability.  These books are absolute page-turners that you won't want to put down.  I just finished book three over the weekend, and it was great. In fact, I'm so invested in the characters, I really care about what happens next.  There will be a book 4, right???

Reason #3: Original Paranormal Characters.  You won't find any vampires or werewolves here, but there is plenty of original paranormal goodness, complete with alternate worlds, friendly grim reapers, and super cool powers.

Overall, I give the series 4 out of 4 Greek coins: a prized OMG! rating.

I could continue to gush about these books, because I enjoyed them all and even got the free, digital prequel (the one book I will not be giving away as part of the contest).  But you'd probably rather just enter to win them now.  So, leave a comment with your name, e-mail, and links for your chance to win.  You get +1 for commenting and +1 (up to 3) for every tweet, blog shout out or Facebook post.  **Sorry, open to U.S. residents only**  Contest will stay open until next Thursday, August 26th at 9 p.m. EST.  Good luck and happy reading!

Flashback Friday: Teeny-tiny Anniversaries

As you may have read on Wednesday, I celebrated my nine-year anniversary on Wednesday.  So naturally, when I went into flashback mode this week, I got to thinking about how in high school we would celebrate every teeny-tiny anniversary that came along. One month, two months, etc.

 I mean, in the grand scheme of high school, that was a pretty long time for a couple to make it.  And looking back, I don't have a freakin' clue what I did or didn't do for any of those anniversaries.  But I do remember they were important, gosh darn it.

And a quick internet search confirms times haven't changed much.  Today's young adults are still angsting about whether writing a poem for one month is too much. Or whether the boyfriend already having other plans on the two-month anniversary tolls the beginning of the end.

It's sort of amusing now that I'm "old," but when you're only 16 or 17, milestones are a big deal.  I mean, at 16, two months is a full 1/96th of your life. :)  So here's a reminder YA writers... if you MCs are coming up on a month or two (or more) of dating, your girl probably ought to care about it a lot and your boy probably ought to think it's just any other day.  That's MHO, anyway.

But more importantly, since I can't remember by own itsy-bitsy milestones, will you share yours with me?  I want to know the sweet, silly, amusing ways you celebrated.