Hello blogosphere! I have an announcement to make...
This evening I will finally be finished rewriting Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life. This was my entry for NaNoWriMo last year, and since I sacrificed coherency for word count, it was an absolute mess when the rough draft was done. Editing it was a bear, but I persevered, and now it's ready for beta readers!
Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life is a Supernatural Young Adult novel about a seventeen-year-old high school student in St. Louis, MO, who happens to be the latest in a long line of necromancers. She has been raised knowing that the dead are nothing to fear, so ghosts and zombies aren't anything remarkable to her. Unfortunately, it has left her with exactly one friend, a lot of people at school looking at her like she's Drusilla, Queen of the Zombies, and no apparent hope of finding a boyfriend.
This changes when, two weeks before Halloween, she is asked out on her first date ever by the single cutest guy in her school. Unfortunately, spectral activity is increasing around St. Louis, and it seems to be centered around Tiffany herself. How, Tiffany must get to the bottom of some increasingly hostile haunts before a) everything goes to Hell on Halloween or b) she scares off her impending boyfriend.
This is my first YA novel, and in addition to the Urban Fantasy stuff it will also deal with potentially triggery topics like bullying, suicide, and depression. I will need some help to make sure I capture the high school experience accurately, because it's been a while since I've been seventeen years old, and I'm sure the social dynamics and the language have evolved quite a bit since then.
If this sounds like something you would like to read, please feel free to contact me and let me know what format you prefer.
Showing posts with label beta reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beta reading. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Website Updated! plus, Countdown to Heart of Steel and other Progress Reports
In honor of my upcoming SFR novel Heart of Steel's release this month, I've revamped several sections of my website, mainly the works page. Mainly I'm taking a page out of Ksenia Anske's book and have made a separate page for all my works, whether they are completed, in editing, in beta, or even unfinished works-in-progress. This will make things easier in the long run. I'm also going to start adding links to reviews to works that have been published, so that you will be able to find everything about a given book on one page. Cool, huh? Check it out here!
Of course, the event of this month that has me in a big ball of excitement is, of course, the Heart of Steel release on the 17th. I feel like I got more things right with the run-up for this, but of course this is likely to be a learning process for a long time. Hopefully I will continue to get more things right with each successive book release, until I'm an ace at this self-publishing thing. (This will probably never happen.) For this book release, I signed up for a blog tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, the people who did my cover reveal late last year, to do a big book blast on release day! Check out the details here!
In other news, I've been getting feedback from my beta readers on Hungry as a Wolf, the sequel to Sheep's Clothing, and I have a fair idea of where I'm going to go with the next round of rewrites. I'm also making good progress with rewriting Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life and hope to be done with Draft 2 by the end of this month, at which time I will open it to beta readers. Also this month I will be vetting crowdfunding websites for getting Hungry as a Wolf polished, edited and launched (I have it down to Kickstarter and Indiegogo) and getting my budget calculated for all that.
Short version: I've been busy already this year, and I don't see the pace letting up anytime soon. This is good for me and me readers, because it means I'll be hammering away at getting my work out as quickly as I can. Now I just need to find time to work on my WIPs and I'll be golden.
Of course, the event of this month that has me in a big ball of excitement is, of course, the Heart of Steel release on the 17th. I feel like I got more things right with the run-up for this, but of course this is likely to be a learning process for a long time. Hopefully I will continue to get more things right with each successive book release, until I'm an ace at this self-publishing thing. (This will probably never happen.) For this book release, I signed up for a blog tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, the people who did my cover reveal late last year, to do a big book blast on release day! Check out the details here!
In other news, I've been getting feedback from my beta readers on Hungry as a Wolf, the sequel to Sheep's Clothing, and I have a fair idea of where I'm going to go with the next round of rewrites. I'm also making good progress with rewriting Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life and hope to be done with Draft 2 by the end of this month, at which time I will open it to beta readers. Also this month I will be vetting crowdfunding websites for getting Hungry as a Wolf polished, edited and launched (I have it down to Kickstarter and Indiegogo) and getting my budget calculated for all that.
Short version: I've been busy already this year, and I don't see the pace letting up anytime soon. This is good for me and me readers, because it means I'll be hammering away at getting my work out as quickly as I can. Now I just need to find time to work on my WIPs and I'll be golden.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Writing Progress Report: Jan 12, 2015
This week's blog post is going to be a Situation Report regarding all the writing projects I have in various stages of pending, both to give myself a chance to get all the information organized and to give you guys a free peek at what's coming up for me.
Title: Heart of Steel
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Length: Novel
Status: To be released February 17, 2015
Summary: When reclusive cyborg Alistair Mechanus meets ER doctor Julia Parker, it is love at first sight--for him. While he eagerly drops his plans for World Conquest to woo her, ten years of solitude have left his social skills badly rusted. When his misguided act of kindness spirals out of control, however, Julia is forced to trust the mad genius with her life, and discovers a more vulnerable side under his armored plating. She has the skills he needs to unlock his forgotten past, but will learning who he used to be come at the cost of his remaining sanity?
Notes: I'm really really excited about this one. Whereas with Sheep's Clothing I was sort of acting on impulse, this time I planned everything out (...sort of) and actually got some pre-marketing stuff done in the last half of 2014. Now I just need to finish formatting it for publication, which shouldn't take too long. I also plan on having a Goodreads giveaway to further build the buzz starting next week and leading up to the actual release date.
Title: "The Fetch"
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Length: Short Story
Status: Under Consideration
Summary: A young man finds himself pursued by a terrifying monster who believed he has taken something form it. He might not be so happy to give it back once he discovers what it was...
Notes: I'm really hoping to get this one published in a magazine or something. Call me weird, but even as a self-pubbed author I feel like getting something I wrote chosen by a publisher will validate me.
Title: "Siren Song"
Genre: Diesel Punk
Length: Novelette
Status: Under Consideration.
Summary: Raymond Crowe, a Mage living in Manhattan in 1937, investigates reports that a Mundane nightclub owner might be using a dangerous potion to beef up his singing talent, at the risk of driving the singers insane. Crowe must not only get the potion out of the hands of a Mundane who doesn't understand the risks, but also rescue the sister of one of his Mage contacts and find out who was distributing the stuff in the first place.
Notes: This was my first diesel punk story, and I'm sending it off to magazines for the same reason I'm sending off "The Fetch". This one's quite a bit longer and more involved though, and I can easily see using its setting for further works. We'll see how it goes.
Title: Hungry as a Wolf
Genre: Weird Western
Length: Novel
Status: Beta Reading
Summary: In this sequel to last year's Sheep's Clothing, Wolf Cowrie is back, with a dangerous mission that will test him to the limits: the mayor of a mining town in the Dakota Territory has hired him to investigate the disappearance of the gold mine that the town relies upon for its income. First problem: The gold mine in question is in the Black Hills, right in the middle of Sioux country. Second problem: A lone survivor managed to escape whatever befell the mine, only to transform into something undead and craving human flesh. Third problem: The mayor's daughter seems to have taken a shine to Wolf, and Wolf is still recovering from the tragic end of his previous adventure. What's a gunslinger to do in a situation like this?
Notes: Once I finish getting beta reading feedback on this one and subsequently polish it a bit more, I'll be kicking it over to my editor for a thorough second eyeball check. I plan to start a crowdfunding campaign to finance the nuts and bolts, but I'm still vetting the different platforms.
Title: "One Spooky Case"
Genre: Fantasy Mystery
Length: Novella (for now)
Status: Rewriting
Summary: A by-the-books Watchman gets paired up with a Watch necromancer to investigate a girl's murder in the city of Port Vandalar.
Notes: I have a lot of rewriting to do with this, which might very well double its previous length in order to give the story the tension it deserves and a more satisfying climax. After that, it may well be novel-length. Who knows?
Title: Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life
Genre: Supernatural YA
Length: Novel
Status: Rewriting
Summary: Tiffany Blackheart is a perky, outgoing high school student who wants what every seventeen-year-old girl wants: good grades, friends, and a boyfriend. Especially a boyfriend. There's just one problem--she's a necromancer. Being able to talk to the dead hasn't done kind things for her social life, and neither will the buildup of spectral activity that's due to peak on Halloween. Finding herself on the eve of finally landing a boyfriend, Tiffany has only a week and a half to figure out what's going on before everything blows up in her face.
Notes: This was my NaNoWriMo novel, and I'm taking a heavy editorial chainsaw to the thing before I let anyone else see it, even my usual beta readers. This is my first YA novel, so I'll need to find some actual teenagers to help me get the details right. High school was a really long time ago...
Title: Heart of Ice
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: Novel
Status: Active WIP
Summary: Irina Zimaburya has spent the last six years as the Winter Princess, with her powers over ice and snow making her the ideal living weapon in a war that started when she was twelve. Now, on the eve of peace, Irina must try to remember what it is not to be a weapon, but a woman, and relearn what it is to not be feared during the course of peace negotiations. Prince Heinrich is determined to thaw the newly-crowned Winter Queen's frozen heart, but his true mission is not all that it seems...
Notes: I will freely admit that this was loosely inspired by Frozen, though my heroine has a more messed-up backstory and little to no emotional support. I'm making good progress with the rough draft, though, so I'm overall happy.
So this is the rundown of my current projects. It looks like a lot, but jotting them down like this helps me keep all this stuff straight in my head and make it look like I'm a lot better organized than I usually am. I hope to get them done this year, and I'm confident that I will.
How many projects do you typically have going on at a time? Which one mine are you most looking forward to seeing published? Let me know in the comments!
Title: Heart of Steel
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Length: Novel
Status: To be released February 17, 2015
Summary: When reclusive cyborg Alistair Mechanus meets ER doctor Julia Parker, it is love at first sight--for him. While he eagerly drops his plans for World Conquest to woo her, ten years of solitude have left his social skills badly rusted. When his misguided act of kindness spirals out of control, however, Julia is forced to trust the mad genius with her life, and discovers a more vulnerable side under his armored plating. She has the skills he needs to unlock his forgotten past, but will learning who he used to be come at the cost of his remaining sanity?
Notes: I'm really really excited about this one. Whereas with Sheep's Clothing I was sort of acting on impulse, this time I planned everything out (...sort of) and actually got some pre-marketing stuff done in the last half of 2014. Now I just need to finish formatting it for publication, which shouldn't take too long. I also plan on having a Goodreads giveaway to further build the buzz starting next week and leading up to the actual release date.
Title: "The Fetch"
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Length: Short Story
Status: Under Consideration
Summary: A young man finds himself pursued by a terrifying monster who believed he has taken something form it. He might not be so happy to give it back once he discovers what it was...
Notes: I'm really hoping to get this one published in a magazine or something. Call me weird, but even as a self-pubbed author I feel like getting something I wrote chosen by a publisher will validate me.
Title: "Siren Song"
Genre: Diesel Punk
Length: Novelette
Status: Under Consideration.
Summary: Raymond Crowe, a Mage living in Manhattan in 1937, investigates reports that a Mundane nightclub owner might be using a dangerous potion to beef up his singing talent, at the risk of driving the singers insane. Crowe must not only get the potion out of the hands of a Mundane who doesn't understand the risks, but also rescue the sister of one of his Mage contacts and find out who was distributing the stuff in the first place.
Notes: This was my first diesel punk story, and I'm sending it off to magazines for the same reason I'm sending off "The Fetch". This one's quite a bit longer and more involved though, and I can easily see using its setting for further works. We'll see how it goes.
Title: Hungry as a Wolf
Genre: Weird Western
Length: Novel
Status: Beta Reading
Summary: In this sequel to last year's Sheep's Clothing, Wolf Cowrie is back, with a dangerous mission that will test him to the limits: the mayor of a mining town in the Dakota Territory has hired him to investigate the disappearance of the gold mine that the town relies upon for its income. First problem: The gold mine in question is in the Black Hills, right in the middle of Sioux country. Second problem: A lone survivor managed to escape whatever befell the mine, only to transform into something undead and craving human flesh. Third problem: The mayor's daughter seems to have taken a shine to Wolf, and Wolf is still recovering from the tragic end of his previous adventure. What's a gunslinger to do in a situation like this?
Notes: Once I finish getting beta reading feedback on this one and subsequently polish it a bit more, I'll be kicking it over to my editor for a thorough second eyeball check. I plan to start a crowdfunding campaign to finance the nuts and bolts, but I'm still vetting the different platforms.
Title: "One Spooky Case"
Genre: Fantasy Mystery
Length: Novella (for now)
Status: Rewriting
Summary: A by-the-books Watchman gets paired up with a Watch necromancer to investigate a girl's murder in the city of Port Vandalar.
Notes: I have a lot of rewriting to do with this, which might very well double its previous length in order to give the story the tension it deserves and a more satisfying climax. After that, it may well be novel-length. Who knows?
Title: Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life
Genre: Supernatural YA
Length: Novel
Status: Rewriting
Summary: Tiffany Blackheart is a perky, outgoing high school student who wants what every seventeen-year-old girl wants: good grades, friends, and a boyfriend. Especially a boyfriend. There's just one problem--she's a necromancer. Being able to talk to the dead hasn't done kind things for her social life, and neither will the buildup of spectral activity that's due to peak on Halloween. Finding herself on the eve of finally landing a boyfriend, Tiffany has only a week and a half to figure out what's going on before everything blows up in her face.
Notes: This was my NaNoWriMo novel, and I'm taking a heavy editorial chainsaw to the thing before I let anyone else see it, even my usual beta readers. This is my first YA novel, so I'll need to find some actual teenagers to help me get the details right. High school was a really long time ago...
Title: Heart of Ice
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: Novel
Status: Active WIP
Summary: Irina Zimaburya has spent the last six years as the Winter Princess, with her powers over ice and snow making her the ideal living weapon in a war that started when she was twelve. Now, on the eve of peace, Irina must try to remember what it is not to be a weapon, but a woman, and relearn what it is to not be feared during the course of peace negotiations. Prince Heinrich is determined to thaw the newly-crowned Winter Queen's frozen heart, but his true mission is not all that it seems...
Notes: I will freely admit that this was loosely inspired by Frozen, though my heroine has a more messed-up backstory and little to no emotional support. I'm making good progress with the rough draft, though, so I'm overall happy.
So this is the rundown of my current projects. It looks like a lot, but jotting them down like this helps me keep all this stuff straight in my head and make it look like I'm a lot better organized than I usually am. I hope to get them done this year, and I'm confident that I will.
How many projects do you typically have going on at a time? Which one mine are you most looking forward to seeing published? Let me know in the comments!
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