Oh for the ...

HA! I wrote this post. Thought it saved. Turned out only a sentence saved. Everything else was lost. UGH.

Okay restarting: I apologize for being away for so long. Here is the latest updates.

Rival Dreams is in Editorial YAY!

Runaways is Finished and with my Agent! (Double Yay!)

Current writing projects: Scandal Life, My Summer of Boys, and Things We Shouldn't Do.

Scandal Life- On pace to be finished in June

My Summer of Boys- On pace to be finished in September

Things We Shouldn't Do- On pace to be finished in December


This is my crazy writing schedule. Outline. It's wonderful. I never use to before but now it comes easier when I do.

That's all my writing updates. Now, let me talk about on the personal front. I'm excited about my trip to NYC this year. BEA and BookCon is going to be great! I hope to have Scandal Life finished before my trip, but it probably won't be so ... that's why I say June for that one. :)

Happy reading and writing!

Review/rate/star away

As an author, there are things we must and mustn't do. 

Do tell readers how much you like them.

Don't tell people who gave you a bad review how much they may suck.

While I am talking about reviews, what do you consider a bad review? Here is what I think a bad review is: 0-1 star, yeah, that's bad. 2-3 is average but not BAD. 4-5 is great!

So when I see on Goodreads lots of 3-4-5 star ratings and a few 1-2 that tells me the book is good or decent. Now, if it has a lot of 1-2 star ratings and very little 3-5 star ratings that tells me the book is not so hot.

This seems logic right? 

The problem with this though, is sometimes Authors tend to look at only the bad reviews and focus on this. Only this. And they really shouldn't. What? Yes, I mean what I said. Don't focus on the three or five bad reviews out of 200. Seriously, what does that matter? 

The only thing this tells you is that 195 or more people think your book is Amazing! 3 to 5 people don't. Wow. 

How about these odds, there are over a billion people in the world. There is one person out of a billion that doesn't care for your book. Wow, again, wow. 

So, let me ask you this, why are you focused on the negative review? 1 out of a billion. Odds don't seem so terrible now do they? That review isn't that scary now is it? 

Wanna See Me?

Hey Peeps ...

Wanna See Me?

I'm going to be at BookCon in NYC May 30th and 31st.

I'll be Signing at: 4:00pm to 4:45pm  May 30th Booth# 2579

If you miss my signing and still wanna see me I'll be there all day both days.

Then and now

I'd like to share a tale about a girl who struggled, fought, and see how jealous people can truly become when one achieves her dreams.

There was once a girl who loved books. Loved them so much she decided to write a few herself. She finished a few 3 to be exact. The girl researched and researched day and night, night and day, working on the next steps.

Perfecting a query letter. It seem so hard. How can someone summarize so much awesomeness into three paragraphs or less? She did it though. She managed it after a lot of tries and a lot of failures. She also did a synopsis. Same try and fail procedures but eventually landed one that was sure to be just what she needed.

Next she revised, sending her babies off to Beta Readers and Critique Partners she met on writing sites she joined. And once she was fully satisfied with her work, she was ready for the next step. Researching agents seemed easy enough. They all seemed great and amazing and wonderful, but this person had to be everything she couldn't be.

Rejections poured in by the dozens. The girl didn't know what went wrong. She did it all right. But she wasn't given in and kept working. Kept fixing, writing and eventually got some requests. She could do this. She could really do this.

When she got her first yes, she didn't know what to do. She felt confident in her choice and it seemed like a good pick so she said yes. But the girl learned very quickly that some things that come in pretty little packages are not the gifts you want in the end. After a long year the girl was bitter and felt deceived. She looked back on it and realized things were broken, and it was too late to fix. And the hollowness grew until there was just a huge black hole. She felt like her whole world was crashing in on her and her dreams were slowly disappearing. She vowed to never feel this way again. She wrote through her pain. Wrote through her jealously of people she knew landing things that she wished had happened for her.

The girl wrote and worked harder than ever. She read books to help her improve. She sought out new ways to make her book unique, wonderful, and have a flare like no other. And she also decided when the time submit was right, she'd do it on her own. So she worked on a few different things and decided to submit, only this time it was to a publisher and not an agent.

After first her idea was good, but they wanted the girl to revise and resubmit. So she worked on the revision. She was going to get this right. She was determined to never fail again. And eventually the girl resubmitted and got a yes.

Now her book is doing well. She figured people would rejoice with her as she had with them. She hid her jealous green monster from them and wished them the best. And even when she was jealous she never made a remark to let it show. But apparently others are not like her. They tear her down and say things that are not true.

For those who are green with envy please note this. The girl knows what kind of road she traveled and how long it took. She will never forget who to thank for all her good fortune, which are all the readers who love her book and continue to buy it. She will never miss an opportunity to say Thank You. It was hard and she's grateful for the longer journey. It makes her appreciate the good with the bad. And for those of you still finding your own path, just know no matter what there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep working on it and you'll get there.


Happy Reading

Interview with Sky and Caleb from RIVAL LOVE

Book Info:

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Release Date: 8/26/14

Series: Rivals

Book #1

Question for Skylar

Tell me what is RIVAL LOVE?

Well, it’s about me, Skylar Fletcher. I’m a proud Harris Academy Bulldog! I have everything a girl could want: a perfect boyfriend, great friends, and my dream college is waiting for me in the fall. Well … that’s until my mom decides it’s time to move and drags me off into Bobcat territory.

At Delmont High, home of the Bobcats, I have no friends and often bullied. To make matters worse my home life blows thanks to all-star quarterback Caleb Morgan, nephew of my mom’s live-in boyfriend.

Caleb and I can’t stand each other from the start. But he’s hot. Like really hot, and he has his moments where he can be super sweet. But can a Bulldog and a Bobcat be anything other than enemies? And is Caleb and I willing to risk everything to find out?

I don’t know, you’ll have to go read it and see.

Question for Caleb

When Skylar moves in how do you feel?

At first? I hate it. I can’t have parties anymore. Can’t have my friends over on the weekends to just chill because enemy #1is living in my uncle’s house with us. But now … it’s great. She makes me laugh, pushes me to be better, and she knows how to hold her ground.

This question is for both of you

Are you two glad about the move?

Now, yes, I mean … I found out a lot about myself.- Sky

Me too. I can honestly say my skills have improved due to someone telling me where my quarterback skills were lacking. (winks at Skylar) But most of all, I can say we both grew from this.- Caleb

Yes, especially me. My ideas and plans or the things I had set as ideas and plans did change but only a little. And I guess I needed to see that the surface or things I thought defined me doesn’t.- Sky

Is there any songs you two love?

Yes!- they both answer.

I love Lost in the Echo by Linkin Park. That’s my Jam. –Skylar

If you run by You Me at Six-Caleb

This isn’t goodbye by Train- Skylar

Sorrow by The National- Caleb

Bubble Games by Magic Bronson – They say together.

What do you two think about your author?

Natalie is amazing.-Skylar

Eh, she’s alright. Kind of crazy.-Caleb

What? No, she isn’t. She’s really funny and nice.- Skylar

Kidding. She’s cool. Girl likes football. Used to swim and play softball like Sky here. And she bakes a hella batch of cookies.-Caleb

Gotta crush you need to confess, Caleb?-Skylar

No.- Caleb

Uh huh. He just likes her cookies.-Skylar

Well, who doesn’t like cookies? And don’t try to act all cute and innocent over there. You ate more than I did.-Caleb

Where can I get a copy of RIVAL LOVE ?

Barnes and Noble or Amazon

For a chance to win a copy of RIVAL LOVE Check out THIS.

Cover reveal

TITLE: GEARS OF BRASS

AUTHORS: Christine Baker, Lorna MacDonald Czarnota,Natalia Darcy, Grant Eager, Jordan Elizabeth, S.A. Larsen, J. Million, W.K. Pomeroy,Heather Talty, Eliza Tilton, and Clare Weze  

GENRE: Anthology Steampunk 

RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 10, 2014

PUBLISHER: Curiosity Quills

Summary:

A world like ours, but filled with gears of brass, where the beating heart is fueled by steam and the simplest creation is a complex clockwork device.  

Within this tome, you’ll find steampunk fairy tale re-tellings, as well as original stories that will send your gears turning.  

Welcome to the steampunk realm, with eleven authors guiding your path. 

MEET THE AUTHORS:

Jordan Elizabeth writes young adult fantasy for Curiosity Quills, including ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW which was published in October and the upcoming TREASURE DARKLY; she’s represented by the Belcastro Agency.

J. Million is the author of Last of the Giants and can always be found reading or writing.

Lorna MacDonald Czarnota is a professional storyteller and author of several books including, Medieval Tales That Kids Can Read and Tell, Breadline Blue, Legends Lore and Secrets of Western New York, Wicked Niagara, Native American and Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York, and Dancing at the Crossroads: Stories and Activities for At-Risk Youth Programming.

SA Larsen is represented by Paula Munier of Talcott Notch Literary and is the author of published short stories, community-interest stories, and magazine articles focused on children. 

Grant Eagar is an Engineer who would take the tales he told his children at bed time, and transform them into fantasy stories. 

Clare Weze is the author of The House of Ash (forthcoming) and the co-author and editor of Cloudscapes over the Lune.

Eliza Tilton: gamer, writer and lover of dark chocolate; author of the YA Fantasy, BROKEN FOREST, published by Curiosity Quills Press.

Heather Talty's stories have been featured in Enchanted Conversation, as well as her own fractured fairy tale site, Mythopoetical (www.Beatrixcottonpants.com).

W.K. Pomeroy is a third generation writer who has published more than 70 short stories/articles/poems across many genres and styles, which now includes Steampunk.

Christine Baker is the author of Lana's End, The Guild of Dagda, and many more. 

Natalia Darcy: a bookilicious reader, tea drinker and Zumba aficionado who enjoys playing cards against humanity and washing her hair with ice cold water. 

You can get your steampunk fix before GEARS OF BRASS is released in November. To enter for your chance to win a copy of GEARS OF BRASS, you will need to share the cover. This can be on your blog, Facebook, Twitter... Each time you share the cover image, log it into Rafflecoper (#insert link) to record it. It will give you more chances to win. The drawing for the winner will be held on October 27th



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Cover Reveal Coming soon ...

Hello Bloggers,


Coming soon ...

Cover reveal for GEARS OF BRASS

Blog Post for RIVAL LOVE Oct 12th ... Interview, giveaway and more ...

AND ....

BIG NEWS EEEEK!!!!



Happy Blogging.