Happy October, everyone!
To kick off the spookiest and most magical month of the year, we — myself and four other fantasy authors — are bringing you an awesome giveaway!
Just by entering the Rafflecopter below, you can be entered for a chance to win not one, not two, but FIVE SIGNED books. And who doesn’t need five new books??
Hurry hurry! The giveaway will end on October 7th. š
Good luck!
To celebrate the re-release of The Key of Amatahns by Elisabeth Wheatley, Inkspelled Faery is hosting ten days of visiting your favorite authors as they talk about their very first novels, topped off by an all-day Facebook party with fun, games, and giveaways. Check out the full line up of authors and donāt forget to join the Facebook party on the 25th!
Aurelia Barone, Jewel of Starry Stone, harbors no illusions about the purpose of her life as heir to the throne. But after two failed betrothals, she starts to feel like nothing more than a pawn being moved aimlessly about a game board.
Until the night she loses everything.
Kidnapped by a wise-cracking mercenary with more than one identity, Aurelia embarks on a mission across land and sea to avenge her fatherās death.
But an evil is rising from the ashes of memory. Insidious magic is stirring. The dregs of a once-powerful nation are thirsty for blood and revenge.
They seek to harness Aurelia. To tempt her. To manipulate her.
And if necessary, to destroy her.
To start us off, can you sum up your first novel in a tweet, 140 characters or less?
Magic! Mayhem! Kissing! Handsome rogues! Narcissistic sociopaths!
What are you most proud of in this title?
I’m going to have to go with my characters. I worked very very very hard to make sure that no one was wholly good or wholly evil…that everyone was capable of performing “evil” deeds. Making sacrifices. There is no black and white morality here!
Do you think your writing has changed since your debut? In what way?
Hmm…this is an interesting one, because I just made my debut a few months ago. I know my writing has changed and evolved since I first started writing the story. And now that I’ve been through the editing meat grinder, I know where my weak spots are and how to fix them so hopefully book 2 is stronger from the get-go.
If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you were writing your first book, what would it be?
Write a shitty first draft! I spent a lot of valuable time agonizing over whether the scenes were perfect or the words were right, when I could have been using that time to polish a written draft. You can’t edit a blank page!
Worst piece of writing advice anyoneās given you?
Write every day. Yes, I know this is very popular writing advice, but it was horrible for me. I also spent a lot of time during the writing of Stones thinking that I wasn’t a “real” writer because I didn’t write every day or meet daily word count goals. That’s just not how my creative brain works. Giving myself permission to write my way, and coming to the realization that every person’s writing process is different, was a huge relief! I don’t think I would have ever reached The End if I didn’t have this epiphany along the way.
If you thought this was fun, drop by the Facebook party going down on the 25th for more interviews with your favorite fantasy authors as well as games and goodies galore!
This past Wednesday, we (me and my madre) threw a little shindig to celebrate the release of Stones. We danced, we kissed, we schmoozed, we carried on, we went home happy!
Just kidding…unfortunately there was no dancing or kissing, but there was schmoozing and eating. And I went home pretty happy because my friends brought me gifts of wine and cupcakes. They know the way to a girl’s heart! š
Without further ado, here are some pictures!
the beautiful venue. such a pretty day for a party!
the room before guests arrived
me, being all author-y
signing pics of my face for a high school library
signing books!
being slightly less author-y
It’s aliiiiivvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Well, the digital version is anyway.
pretty paperback. y i no hav u
Long story short, I am having technical difficulties with CreateSpace, who keeps rejecting my interior file. I was able to order one proof copy, found a pretty big formatting issue, and haven’t been able to pass the updated file through the CS review system since. I’ve been trying for almost a week. Frustrated is understatement, let me tell ya!
Anywho, the formatters are working on it (they’re as baffled as I am) and we’re going to outsmart the technology! I just don’t know when. Eventually! ASAP! š„
Instead of pushing the release date back indefinitely, I decided to proceed with releasing the eBook! Huzzah!
Here are the buy links I have so far:
Apple iBooks, Page Foundry, and ScribdĀ will be coming shortly, as soon as they approve the uploads!
I don’t know about you guys, but I am totally exhausted. This book baby birthing process is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes it still doesn’t feel real. Like, this has actually happened. I have released my creation out into the big wide world for public consumption. Ack. Eee.
I think I need a stiff drink. Or a really long nap.
I think the title of this post is pretty self-explanatory. I have nothing new for WIPpet Wednesday because I have written nothing new on any of my WIPs.
Haha.
Iām so productive.
Anywho, in keeping with the spirit of one of my 2015 goals (be more bloggy) I figured Iād use this space for some updating.
I spent the weekend in editing hell.
What do I mean by editing hell, you ask?
Editing hell is agonizing over sentences and word choices and comma placement and action beats. Editing hell is searching the document for repeated phrases. Editing hell is searching the document for dashes, so you can make sure your spacing is consistent for all dashes (that was fun). Editing hell is running a spell check and finding no less than 5 misspelled words! One of them was sovereignty, so I guess I can forgive that, since weāre only human, after all. š
Revision Tip: FOR THE LOVE OF FLUFFY UNICORNS RUN A FINAL SPELL CHECK.
You see, that was the last time I could touch it before I sent it away to be formatted. And then I freaked out. And then I saw the Kindle preview and got excited again. Shew. Itās been an emotional whirlwind of a week.
So thatās where things stand, presently. Tonight, I approved the final e-book versions, with all the fun graphics added, and so now we’re on to the print version! And there was much rejoicing! Huzzah.
I’m still freaking out, by the way…just doing a better job of hiding my emotions!
Oh, before I forget, you can now add Stones on Goodreads. Almost 30 people — and I don’t personally know all of them! — have already added it to their To Read shelf. I’m having mini-panic attacks over this as well, because that means these people might actually read it, and then what if it suuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkkkkkssssss.
I could probably ramble on and on about my nerves and over-excitable emotions and bore y’all to death…but instead I’m going to take deep breaths, eat chocolate, and remember this: “Trust your dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story.”
*fingers crossed*
Alright, enough about me; let’s get on to the good stuff! You should definitely check out the other contributors to WIPpet Wednesday because I hear there’s a sexy pillow fight involved. Get on it! š
As always, a big thanks to K.L.Schwengel for babysitting us!
Iām not ready for today to be the last day of 2014; honestly, I donāt know how the year disappeared so fast. But, since tomorrow will begin a new year, I figured a little introspection was in order.
I donāt normally like to make a big hubbub about New Yearās resolutions, mainly because I donāt make them. Iām more of a short-term and long-term goals kind of girl. Sometimes they get written down, sometimes they donāt. 
That being said, I canāt tell you what I was thinking about this time last year (two years ago, I was suffering through the aftereffects of mutant strep throat, so I wasnāt thinking about much). But I can tell you what I managed to accomplish.
In February, I founded a YA critique group. Weāre still going strong!
In April, I made the decision to indie publish my first novel. My goal was to get it out into the world in December, but I underestimated how long the process would take. So I guess I get to carry this goal over into 2015ā¦huzzah!
In August, I found a new job, which has its ups and downs.
In September, I dumped the guy I always (not literally always, but you get the idea) thought I wanted to be with. Best. Decision. Eva. (And yes, Iām counting this as an accomplishment, and if you knew all the details of this, you would as well).
In October, I closed on my condo. MY FIRST PLACE. YAY ADULTHOOD.
In December, I was able to unveil the cover of Stones, which was some very exciting stuff. I was also able to turn 26 with minimal fuss and no quarter-life crisis breakdowns.
Those are the highlights of 2014ā¦now we can proceed to goals for 2015!
Hereās the most obvious one: publish Stones and Finger Bones. This will be happening in February! I am thinking it will be ready to go by Valentineās Day weekend, but Iām not releasing a specific date until I get the bugger formatted.
The rest of my goals are going to be broken down in categories for easy reference and so I can make lists. I love lists.
Overall Heath & Wellness:
Home Improvements:
Reading, Writing, & Publishing:
And there be my goals! Mostly manageable, I think. I probably wonāt be officially publishing anything else in 2015ā¦but never say never! This, of course, depends on how fast I get things drafted, polished, edited, and all that jazz. If anything, I can aim for publishing the novella at the end of the year, but Iām not going to make than an official goalā¦yet. š
Happy New Year, minions!
As the release date for Stones creeps ever closer, I find myself growing ever more anxious. The cover is out in the world, with my name on it and guysā¦Iām kind of freaking out.
I think Iāve officially entered the āWhat in the name of fluffy unicorns have I done?ā phase of publishing. Has anyone else been there?
If you were reading my other blog, you might know that I started writing this book at seventeen. Do you know how long that is? Nine years. Nine! Thatās almost a decade, and now Iām just going to throw my baby out into the world and let her be judged and dissected and poked and prodded??
(Maybe no one will notice. But, my mother has been telling every living person she knows, so maybe not.)
Insanity. Madness, I tell you.
I know thereās very little left of the story 17-year-old Jessica envisioned; I donāt think thereās an original sentence left, but these characters have been with me since the beginning (most of them, anyway. The telepathic cat got cut).
Needless to say, I feel very affectionately towards Aurelia & Co. and it distresses me that someone out in the world ā or the internet ā might not feel the same way.
Which brings me to the other point of this post: reviews.
Iām supposed to be working on writing a scene that fleshes out some character development, but in the name of procrastination, Iāve been reading negative reviews of popular books on Goodreads.
Is this productive and/or healthy? I donāt know.
But Iām rationalizing this frenzied research by saying Iām preparing myself for the worst. How bad can it get?
Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Now, I like to think that Iām pretty thick-skinned. My writing has been taking punches since my first Intro to Creative Writing class in college, which I handled very gracefully, with only minimal griping behind the professorās back. But these were very supportive environments, and mediated so things could never get too nasty.
Ever sorted the reviews of a book you liked by the users who gave 1 star? Yeah.
Most of the time these reviews are well-structured, eloquent, constructive, and sometimes amusing. And sometimes I agree with them. Iāll admit it; I donāt like every book I read, even though I know the author invested a lot of time and energy into the writing of it. I know they probably feel the same way I do about their ābabiesā.
Iām sure a āWhat the hell is this shit?ā still stings, even for the most established authors.
But, hereās the kicker: established authors with popular, traditionally published books have 15,000 positive reviews, glowing with praise, to balance out the 800-1000 negative reviews.
As a soon-to-be indie author, like all the awesome indie authors before me, my work is going to live or die by reviews and recommendations. And one āWhat the hell is this shit?ā review could dissuade many a potential buyer or new fan.
By no means do I have a perfect book (does anyone?) and Iām sure there will a typo or two (hopefully just two) that evaded the many eyes that looked over Stones.
Writers and editors are still human, people! š
But, I think Iāve crafted an entertaining read, at the very least, and no one will feel the urge to āhurl this book across the room with disgustā.
What about you, fellow indies? How do you feel about reviews and how do you handle them?
Huzzah!
I’ve been sitting on this baby since May…so I’m not going to beleaguer this post with a bunch of extra words. I just want to say that Ravven is a fantastically talented artist, and an absoluteĀ pleasure to work with! I first discovered her a couple years ago, and my immediate reaction was “Wow, if I ever decide to indie publish, she’s who I’d want to design the cover!”. And voilĆ , here we are! š
So, without anyĀ further ado and pomp, here it is:
Cover Design by Ravven
Release Date: February 2015
Synopsis:
Also, check out these awesome bloggersĀ (Elaine Jeremiah and Allie Potts)Ā who were kind enough to feature Stones on their sites!
