My New Favorite Book

I'm a shitty blogger. I never write blogs just like I never Tweet or Facebook, but every now and then something will catch my attention in which I feel I have to share something, even if nobody reads it. It's about a book, and no, not mine. I do read on occasion, and after chipping my library fee away enough to where I could actually rent books again, I've been reading even more.

I don't know if it's gone out of style yet, but I still do the thing of picking random books off the shelf in search of new authors. I did this with three books, all generic covers and names. I only liked one. In fact I loved it. When I read it I didn't want to read anything else. It's called Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson. I'd never heard of Catherine Anderson before, but if she ever reads this I want her to know she has a new fangirl.

First off, the book is copyrighted 1996, so it's not new. The book is set in 1890 Hooperville Oregon, so it's hardly contemporary either. Despite what I write I generally don't read any book set before the 1900's, so this was right up my alley. In short, the book is about a man who takes in a sweet "idiot" girl whom his younger brother raped, marries her, and forms a deep attachment to her.

This book had so much substance it made me question just what the hell I'd been reading over the past two years. It isn't very often I read something where the two leads genuinely connect. Writing sparks-flying-off-the-page chemistry is freaking hard, even harder to come across, and when I do it makes me cry. This book made me cry. There was nothing exploitative in the dialogue or the sex, and that was GREATLY appreciated. I am not an idiot reader and I demand more from my books than even I realize. This gave it to me, and then some.

If you want to read something in which two souls connect, try Annie's Song. Make sure you have a box of tissues next to you when you read it.

Roots of Danu

Done with Third Witherheart book! Yeees! Official name Roots of Danu. I had to do some intense research on Ireland in order to write the last half of it. As of 11/8/15 I set up a pre-order on smashwords, as the book itself will be released on November 14 2015, On Saturday by the end of the week. My intention is to get it out before Thanksgiving and most definitely before Christmas.

Now working on a new book. There are a lot of references to Greek gods in terms of beauty, so I thought "Why not just make a book featuring Greek god?" Putting him in a modern setting gives an opportunity for humor in a fish-out-of-water sort of way. I'm enjoying writing about something other than vampires and withcraft. Compared to all that other stuff Greek gods are tame in comparison.

While I'm doing that I intend to follow up with that "Bundle Love" package. I'll have to work on formatting all three books into one workable file. With that I should be able to release all three to Amazon. There are complications there since the first book is free, and Amazon doesn't allow for free books outside of KDP Select.

When Roots of Dauu publishes to smashwords I will have a new update for you.

Bundle Love

Third book in the Witherheart seies is almost done and I'm so happy! I've been working like a dog (if dogs could write) and am loving it. It needs some serious reworking, but the direction is solid. I should have it out by the end of December or a little bit after (I might miss Christmas, though I'm trying my damndest).

I haven't put any of my Witherheart books on Amazon yet, entirely because Witherheart #1 is free, and Amazon doesn't condone free books.Right now they're available through Smashwords and their distributors (ibooks, B&N, Kobo, etc). I'm thinking about putting all three books out together as a bundle (though I'd rather not do that) as soon as the third one has been cleaned up. I'm looking forward to this Christmas!

Halfway Through #3

It's been a while, I know, but I am still working. The third book in the Witherheart series is halfway done and I'm so happy to be working on it. The third book gives heavy focus to Kegan and the other boys since Anjette is captive and searching for a way out. Kegan is struggling with his change which I find to be one of the most important features in this installment, and something I want to see unfold for myself, as it will dramatically affect his relationship with Anjette.

The other books I've published are up on smashwords, but the Witherheart series is not on Amazon.

Second Witherheart Done

The second book in the Witherheart series is finally done, and I'm so happy. I just got through with my third or fourth editing. I need a cover and a title, and then I can post, though I've been busy doing technical research (bus schedules, formulas, etc), not to mention I went and re-edited the first Witherheart. I fixed some very minor grammatical errors and changed a few words, but other than that, I left it pretty much the same. I can't afford to change it too much--not without a proper editor.

Look forward to the new one.

Almost Done--again

I am so happy to earnestly be working on the second book in the Witherheart trilogy (or at least I'm aiming to make it into a trilogy). Work and so many other things have been getting in the way, and for a long time my motivation and inspiration was nowhere to be found. It's so hard to write effectively in that state of mind, but I thought about it every day. The second book (I've yet to come up with a working title) is a lot more brutal and plot oriented than the first one, the trails much harsher with severe consequences. Zachary comes back in this one. His attachment to his cousin grows and morphs, which has been fun and exciting for me as the author to develop. A new boy shows up who becomes very important. Writing his character gives me flashbacks of the Mortal Instruments series because his personality is snarky and egotistical, but he's also a fighter.

The book is fast on it's way to ending. I have it planned out already and am very much looking forward to writing it. If only I didn't have to sleep! I've been rereading Dracula in whatever spare time I have, and Steven King's On Writing, which I haven't touched in Lord knows how long. Reading is just as fun as writing, and when I'm doing one it always makes me want to to the other. A glutton is what I am.

Doing a Giveaway

I'll be doing my first giveaway near the end of the week. I'm so excited! I just finished doing my FINAL revision of Witherheart for this purpose. It kind of doesn't make sense because not only is Witherheart already free, but Dragons of Witchcraft is the series with multiple books. And it's finished. I should do a giveaway for that book, and I promise I will be, that is if Goodreads will allow it. If not, I could just do a giveaway on my blog. That'd be nice.

Witherheart 2 is fine in the making. It's being written in bits and pieces so it's hard to keep track of, but I wait anxiously for the day when I can start piecing them together to make a finished project. The story so far is quite different than that of the first Witherheart. Cane has actually trapped Anjette in his "manor." He holds her captive in a cage to keep her from the world, and himself. She doesn't know where Kegan is or if he's alive, where her friends are, her family, or her mother. She doesn't have a clue as to how she'll escape, or if she'll even be able to before Cane loses it and kills her.

?

Did I just unconsciously write a blurb?

YES! That's right. The new book is out, the last installment in the Dragons of Witchcraft series, Beads of Blood. I'm so so happy. This book took so long. Anyone following the series will tell you. I think it took about a year or something close, which is HORRIBLE. I've been working feverishly on the second book in the Witherheart series in between projects. I love it so far, but this post is about Beads of Blood.

Paige has gone through a lot in the series, and so has Andre. For a long while Bishop is out of the picture in this one, though he does come back. I'm not going to tell you when or how (you'll have to read to find out). Part of the reason I did this is because of how much screen time Bishop got in the last book. The crux of the story revolves around the relationship between Andre and Paige (being as how Andre was the one to forge the contract), and in the last couple of books I didn't feel as if they got enough time to develop. Now that it's mostly the two of them, they have a better opportunity to bond, which was next to impossible due to Bishop always being around. Anyone who has read the first couple of books knows how Andre feels toward Bishop, and how negatively it impacts his relationship with Paige.

Of course the romance factor his greater in this book. It was done entirely on purpose, and with purpose. I don't like it when love happens in a day. I hate it. That's why it took three books for Andre to finally come around. He's such a cold-hearted character, and for him to even like, let alone love somebody is bound to take time.

I do so love my characters and I'm sad to see them go. That's why it took so long to reach this point, as you know. Now that the chaos is over I feel as if I have more freedom to work on other books, and I'm excited to continue my journey. Who knows? One day I may bring Dragons of Witchcraft back! The ending did leave room for more . . .

BOOK NEWS:
 Third book in the DOW series, Beads of Blood, will be out within the next month or so. I'll give you an exact date soon, so stay posted.

I'm definitely going to do a second book in the Witherheart series. The ending of the first one left too many questions, and I already have a plot laid out with new characters. I'm really excited to write it. I have some words written already and am feverishly trying to wrap up the last book in the DOW series so I can dive headfirst into it.

OTHER NEWS:
Slap me in the goddamn face for being this late on the bandwagon, but I just finished the Hobbit last month. For three days I was addicted like crack and read it every night until I passed out. Every day I couldn't wait to finish writing so I could read it. I love it so much and never wanted it to end ever, but when it did, I have to admit that I did give a little sigh of relief. Then I immediately started rereading it all over again.

I was first introduced to that book in Middle School and didn't give a flyin flip about it when the teachers handed them out for us to read. It was too complex for me at the time. Lo and behold, I actually had to wait until I was in my damn 20's to understand it, and I have to say, I appreciate it so much more. Now I have to see the movie, which isn't even out in theaters anymore. (I shall buy the DVD!) I can't get enough of Dwarves. I'll admit I'm more likely to write about tall, lean and fair haired elves, but Gimli will always be my first love.

Yay! Witherheart is free!

On smashwords that is. And they do have a little distribution thing, but on the smashwords site it's free. Witherheart was intentionally written to be a free book. I put it out there with a price of $2.99 just to see what would happen, and then decided, what the hell. Why not make it free?

It's not a part of the DOW series at all and wasn't meant to be. I'm a lover of paranormal, and so that's what I write. I'm very busy editing and loving it, as I've mentioned before, even though it is so much work. I'll be so happy when the third one is finally out, because it will give me a chance to concentrate on other books. Witherheart is such a book. I would love to make sequals, but I would also love a chance to get acquainted with different characters.

I know I spend a lot of time talking about books I write, but I would like to spend some time talking about books I read too. I love love love paranormal YA and always will, but I also get down with the classics as well. I think I told you guys I read Dracula by Bram Stoker for the first time. It was like, months ago that I finished it and I loved it. Very melodramatic, but beautifully written and I had a hard time coming across a character that I didn't like.

I've also read books like Paranormalcy, the Mortal Instrument Series, the Darkest Powers series, the Hunger games, Angel, and some indie books like Tales of the Vampire Bride, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Some indies write terrific books! I'm proud to be one.

1st Round Editing

I'm in my first round of editing for the 3rd book in the Dragons of Witchcraft Series. I'm so excited to do a cover page! It's so much work and I love it. I'm having a bitch of a time cutting things out, though. It turned out to be a lot longer than I thought. When I was at 90000 words I was all "Looks like things are gonna wrap up soo--" Wrong. So wrong.

But word count shouldn't really be a deciding facter when an end of a series is present, yes? It SHOULD be longer than the others. Things need to be wrapped up and characters need their revlations. Not everyone will get theirs, but stories I think work  best when some things are left to speculation.

I got rid of my e-list for the time being in order to concentracte on writing. Thank you to everyone who signed up for updates on upcoming books, and I will continue to post that information on this blog. It' a purdy blog, in'it? (all a matter of opinion, but . . .)

Beads of Blood

I’ve been a bad girl, haven’t I? With how long it took me to post again I should be strung up, but you know how life goes. I’m one chapter away from being done the third book in the DOW series. It does indeed look like the end, even though there’s always room for more. A kind of tragic, yet happy ending. Not everyone can get their fairytale, I suppose.

It turned out way way longer than I had imagined. I still have editing to do, a lot of cutting, a lot of grammar work, but I’m looking forward to it.

I finally lowered the price of my first book now that the third book in the series is well on its way to coming out. I have a few people who said they were looking forward to it, and I’m happy to deliver it, finally. I’ve also been anticipating working on another series. Never would I dream about working on two simultaneously. There was that long one month break I took from the DOW series to write Witherheart, and even though it only took me a month, now I’m looking back on it as being sort of irresponsible.
But I like Witherheart.

I do have a title for my third book. Beads of Blood. I’ve yet to work on the cover page, but I’m trying to get that out as soon as possible so that the public has an image to associate with the book. Plus, I just love doing cover art. I would have just been a freelance cover artist if I didn’t enjoy writing so much.

The third book should be out around Christmas, hopefully. I’ve been working very hard for that goal, but time is just flying by so quickly. But trust me, if this wasn’t something I enjoyed with all my heart, I wouldn’t be doing it.

My Inspiration, Witherheart, and the Third Book

I just did a four day free promo out of the flipping blue. That's because I had been waiting for two or three months to put Witherheart out and set up an email signup on my blog. It was so funny, because I never checked how many days I had left in the KDP Select. It turns out, I ONLY had four days left, and exactly FOUR days of free promo available. I did what I had to do.

I got over a thousand downloads for those four days, so I'm not complaining, but I simply wish it was more. I'm so very happy to finally have Witherheart out, by the way. I reread the whole thing two days ago and fixed a number of mistakes, and then re-uploaded it to Amazon, Smashwords, and Createspace. I was reading Dracula last night and got so inspired! I love that book. Beautifully written, intelligent, and engrossing. But I get lost sometimes reading it. That's why I like simple books. What I care most is that my writing is not pretty, but super easy to understand. So much, in fact, that the reader forgets they are reading words. That should ultimately be the goal of any writer, I believe.

In Witherheart, one vampire dominates the entire book. His name is Cane. Well, I wouldn't say he dominates the book in screen time. What I mean is that he's the main villain. He was inspired somewhat by Dracula and another character called Nicholas in Anya Seton's Dragonwyck. Now don't get me wrong. Cane comes close to neither character in terms of development or intelligence. I'm not good enough a writer to capture the feeling of those characters, however I do like Cane. I like him a lot. There's so much back story in Witherheart I didn't get to put in the book, not to cheat the reader out of background, but because I just didn't see a place for it without having to force it in there. I'm loosely thinking about making a second book, but right now the main thing I care about is Dragons of Witchcraft.

The third book is long overdue, and for the first time in months I find myself getting super excited about the outcome of the story. I'm compelled by my characters again. So many seeds were planted in the first and second book, hints of things that were given no explanation. All those things come to fruition in the third book, including bits of things that appeared in the first book that the reader probably thought had no meaning at all.

Witherheart Available on Amazon and Paperback

My original intent was to upload Witherheart for free, granted you sign up for an e-list first. I would still like to have an e-list for you to sign up for, however I think I will be uploading Witherheart on Amazon anyway. New information and updates on releases will still be the main focus of the e-list, which I hope a lot of people will take advantage of.

With Witherheart done I can now begin concentrating on the third book in the DOW series, though I admit that should have been my main intent from the beginning. But damn, I needed a break from that series. With two books finished, I'm  more than ready to finish it. Like I said, I've missed my characters. When I'm more confident about the material I already have, I'll be more than happy to upload a few free chapters either through my e-list or directly onto the blog.

Witherheart, just like DOW will be available in book form through createspace, so look out for that as well.

Witherheart--DONE

64000 words and Witherheart is done. It took me a month. I will give myself a week to edit it, and then I'll fuse it into my Aweber confirmation page. I'm so happy. Nonstop writing everyday for a month. It was pretty fun and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I do wish I could sell it, but I already promised that I would put it our free, and I will. I would love to have an e-list--definitely. After I'm satisfied that Witherheart can no longer be improved, I'll get off my ass and finish the third book in the Dragons of Witchcraft series. Perhaps I'll make the cover beforehand. Seeing the cover of a book always gives me motivation to finish it. The plot turned out quite different than I expected, but that's okay. Witherheart is a strange name for a boarding house, isn't it? Anjette (main character) thinks so too, as she describes sarcastically "as it had been so poetically dubbed." Lol. Making fun of myself there. I had the image of a gothic tower when I named it, not that there was ever a gothic tower with that name. But if there was, I wouldn't mind living in it.

I read a lot of romantic fiction. Adult romantic fiction. But it feels like I've practically just graduated high school and should be reading something more juvenile. Now I do appreciate juvenile fiction. How can I not when I write about it? I grew up on young adult romantic thriller fiction and fell in love with books like Hunger Games, City of Bones, and the Darkest Powers series. At one point, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, I was a part of the Twilight craze until my senior year.

My favorite book from the adult world so far has been Secret Fire by Johanna Lindsey. She's amazing. Some of her books I hate, but a lot of her books I love too. I've read other harlequin authors as well and I have to say that there's a reason these books are generalized and scorned by male readers. They all have a LOT of similarities.

But hell, the similarities work. They got my attention and had me chomping through Lindsey's entire conquest. Readers will buy books from authors they like. It's that simple. That's why I ache to have more books out. I have two in the process and one already completed, yet not all the way edited. If I play my cards right I hope to have Witherheart out within the next 2 months, the third book in the Dragons of Witchcraft series sometime within the next 3-4 months, and Girl in the globe out sometime after that, even though it's the only one out of the three that actually has a completed rough draft.

I've been watching and rewatching Social Network and Dark Knight lately. They're amazing movies and I love them so much. Dark Knight because, you know, Christopher Nolan is God, and because Social Network I just love. Mark Zuckerberg really did put in an extraordinary amount of work to get facebook going, and that if nothing else is something to be admired. I just love it when people put their hearts into projects that they really believe in.

I myself wish I could work harder. I think I'm stupid for putting so many projects on my list at once, but I have a goal I'm trying to achieve. I'll get there one day!

Witherheart

I'm currently in the process of setting up an e-list. I would like readers to be able to subscribe to a newsletter for information on future books, release dates, and so forth. This is the cover for a new book I'm writing that will soon be offered for free for those who sign up for the newsletter. That vampire novel I mention before? This is the one. It's called Witherheart. It won't be as long as my other books, I'm hoping, nor do I know yet whether the end will leave room for sequels, but I'm anxious to find out. Here is a brief summary of the book for those of you that are interested.

Anjette is the only one who believes her mother has died by the hands of a vampire, one who was also her lover. When three years pass and she is sent to live at boarding house by an aunt who claims she can no longer support four children, things start to happen which lead her to believe that the vampire has not only come back, but he's not done. Witherheart, deemed a retreat for troubled teens, shelters a variety of people who all either seem afraid of her or defer to her, one being a boy named Kegan who she believes will keep her from knowing the truth. Unless she can get around him.

The story is set in Chicago near Lincoln Park during the fall. Anjette will be different from Paige in that she is more reserved and more tactical. Paige I've come to like, so it'll be interesting to see how this new character deals with a chain of events just as mysterious and threatening. Also, it will be from third person perspective.

Finished but Not Really

It’s a glorious thing when one finishes a book. Be it the first time, the third time, or the tenth. Now don’t give me that look—I’m only at #3—and it’s not even the third book in the series. But I’m pleased that it didn’t take me that long to finish this time. Girl in the Globe is 68,000 words, unedited. I expect that number to change by five or so thousand words, up or down. Maybe more. It’s impossible to tell.

I can’t wait to start editing. I’m so excited to start working on the third book in the 3^rd Dragons of Witchcraft series. If you asked me, I couldn’t rightly tell you if it’s going to be the last book. I’ve tried to make it only three books, but we’ll see. For a trilogy they’re not very long books, roughly 70,000 words each. The second one is way longer than the first, but that’s only because more happens and there’s more back story.

In the third book I’m going to try to develop Andre a bit more. I don’t think we see enough of him. Paige even made a comment in the second book about how much more time she spent with Bishop despite being more like Andre. That could either be true or not true. I leave it up to the reader to decide.

I wonder what I’ll do after the next book in the series? I’m really trying to shoot for five books. I’d love to have five books out. Don’t give me the stink eye when I say this, but I’d loooove to write a vampire novel. I don’t think they’re a ruined species yet. Vampires are still the most romantic supernatural creatures to ever exist besides angels. I don’t know if I want to do an angel book. I have reservations about using them (that are in no way religious, mind you, but more literary).

What's Happenin'

As an indie writer sometimes I just have those days where I'm typing something and think "What the f*ck am I doing this for?" I won't say today was one of those days, but trust me when I say I've had plenty of em. But then I think back to everything I've written and done and think, "Wow. It's only been 4 months."

 4 months and three books. Not bad. Like I said before in one of my previous posts, it feels like it's been years. I think that's really great. The second I graduated it just seemed as if time was flying by, that one day I would wake up and be 30. Then 40, then 50, then writing a will. Writing makes time go by slower. Whether or not my writing becomes popular or recognized, it leaves evidence of all those months left behind. Wait, what am I saying? I'm too young to be talking like that. I'm only in my 20's.

Anyway, KDP Select sales are finally dwindling. I put my second book out for free for a couple of days last week and got more returns from the first book then when I made it free. I'm not disappointed. Hell, it's only been two books. Why am I so impatient? Probably because I'm young and I feel like I've put so much time and energy into those two books. Which I have. Writing is hard work. But! It's hard work I enjoy.

I finally got my first 5 star review on Amazon some time ago for my first book. That made me incredibly happy and inspired me to write faster. I'm sooo looking forward to finally working on the third book again. Several people have said they look forward to reading it, and I'd love to have them read it! I've missed the trio quite dearly.

One thing I aspire to do with the third book is include more characters. I don't think I have enough characters in my series. Ben became a new addition in the second book--kind of an asshole--but at least he was there for the party. I try to keep count with my fingers sometimes. Paige, Andre, Bishop, Phillip, Ben, and Ellis, which are mostly all my plot characters, and then my other characters which serve as support beams for Paige's life, like her parents, Arthur, and even her brother Daniel.

Third Book, New Book, More of KDP Select

Alright, I’m 27,000 words into this new book (Girl in the Globe), and still about 30,000 words into the third book in the Dragon’s of Witchcraft series. I’m not working on both books simultaneously, because that would just cause too much confusion, not to mention that both books are in different tenses. 

I’m having fun, albeit some trouble finding out where I want to go with this new book, but I’m writing more and more every day. The book is about Sunny, a fairy in a snow globe with a conscious mind who wishes to become human. Drew, the mean and spoiled girl who owns Sunny’s snow globe, unconsciously makes a wish that they could switch places after having a fight with her boyfriend.

It happens, and Sunny finds herself living Drew’s life, except a few people in school realize that’s he’s not really Drew. One of them being Drew’s boyfriend, Julian. Sunny’s character is meant to be bubbly, fanciful, and caring, but with a tendency to worry and over think things. I don’t have a cover page for the book yet, but I’m eager to get working on it.

The last free promo for Dragons of Witchcraft is going on now and tomorrow, for Easter weekend. I’m still thinking about entering the second book in the KDP Select, which I haven’t even done yet, even though I should since I’m not and can’t sell it anywhere else, according to KDP Select guidelines. In fact, I’m going to do it right now, this very second.

…

There we go. It’s done. Only took two seconds. I’m going to work harder so that the next couple of books come out sometime within the following few months. With editing and everything it might take longer than expected, but it’ll get done by the time Summer is over, I promise you that.