I'm getting excited as the days tick down to UtopYA!
It looks like my travel plans have changed and I may be flying. I'm trying to juggle costs (travel, books, and swag). A few people have already told me they're excited for an autograph, which in turn makes me excited.
But now, I'm stuck with that awful "How many books do I bring?" question. I don't want to end up brigning too many and struggle on the plane, drain my bank account, and then be left at the end packing up books again. But I also do not want to have to tell people that the book they've been waiting months to get signed has been sold out.
So, I've decided to make all of our lives easier and offer to Pre-Sign books. If you want a book signed by me at UtopYA and don't want to risk it selling out, here are two easy ways:
Option 1:
Step 1: Email me. Let me know who you are, that you WILL be at UtopYA, and that you want me to pre-sign a book for you. I will respond with my mailing address, please respect it and don't give it out <3 Send the emails to morethanmagicseries AT gmail DOT com
Step 2: Buy the books on Amazon or B&N and ship them TO ME
Step 3: Come find me and pick them up at UtopYA! =) I will sign the books as soon as I get them, make sure that YOUR name is on them, and bring them all with me to Nashville. Then all you have to do is swing by my table and grab your copy!
Don't worry, I'm going to keep VERY careful track. I will absolutely not give your book away to someone else!
Option 2: Feel free to just pre-buy the books before you go to UtopYA and bring them with you! I'm not going to refuse to sign it or something, just because you bought it somewhere else!
Can't wait to see you all at UtopYA!
Book 1 in Paperback
Book 2 in Paperback
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Interview with Author Brae Wyckoff
Thank you Brae, for taking the time to join me today! Let's start off the those pesky questions that everyone asks authors!
What inspired you to become a writer?
I remember watching the first Star Wars movie with my dad when I was six and I can still visualize the huge never-ending Star Destroyer attacking the smaller spaceship. That moment really caused my imagination to run wild. When I was in high school, a group invited me to play a game with them. It was called Dungeons and Dragons. Now this was “nerding out” times ten but I was hooked.
When I combined the visuals of movies and the visuals of D&D roleplaying, that is when it truly started to connect in my mind that I wanted to write stories and entertain people. I have been working on The Orb of Truth for over twenty years and some of the characters in my books are past heroes developed in my D&D days.
I also had some amazing encouragement along the way. It came from my 10th grade English teacher who pushed me to write and praised my short stories I turned in. She read them aloud to the class and told me that I had a gift.
Why did you choose to go indie?
To put it simply: CONTROL. I have complete control over my book, over the direction I want to take it, the marketing (which btw, you have to market everything yourself even if you are with a publisher), the pricing of my books, and the most important factor is that I get most of the profit for each sale. Indie authors cut out the middle man, the publisher. The publishing industry is broken and stuck in the old days of doing business. They need to review their systems and get on board before more people lose their jobs and they have to close their door.
My wife and I ended up making our own publishing company called LR Publishing and we plan on helping other authors achieve success through LRP.
It looks like you're doing great on Goodreads! What are some marketing tips you'd give to aspiring indie authors?
I have learned as I go and it takes time and commitment to understand all of the social media fronts. Goodreads was something that I wasn’t familiar with for quite awhile but I soon discovered the importance of this site (and guess what, so did Amazon). I would suggest authors get involved with the listopia feature and get your book in the ranks of those lists by having people vote for your book. It creates visibility. The other thing is to have your book on the giveaway. My first giveaway generated over 1400 people to place my book onto their “to read list”. This doesn’t bring initial sales but it does bring more visibility to your book, which in turn can be potential sales down the road.
Join in the discussion groups but be warned it is not a place to sell your book, but you can drop hints.
Make sure you create your author page…a must for all authors on Goodreads.
What was behind the idea of the Orb of Truth?
It is a message of HOPE. In this classic good vs evil tale, I take the heroes of the story on a grand adventure that they never planned on going and during their travels they face sacrifices, obstacles and many choices.
I relate to the main hero, Bridazak, a Halfling, which I coin in my books as ordakians, because in my life I have asked the questions, “Why am I here? What is my purpose in life?” I have taken these questions and wrapped it all together into the story and delivered a message of hope. I’m a fantasy lover to the core so when you read The Orb of Truth you will not be disappointed.
“It’s a cross between Lord of the Rings and the Wizard of OZ where you will be swept away into a magical land of Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings.”
—Brae Wyckoff
Taken from Goodreads: In the hundreds of
years since the Holy City disappeared, darkness has fallen over the
land. Human kingdoms have seized control of the realm, scattering the
other races into hiding.
Bridazak, a skilled thief, and his friends, a Dwarf and a fellow Ordakian, have dared to remain within the human communities and live relatively quiet lives, until they discover a mysterious, magical artifact. The three friends are thrust into an adventure that will challenge their faith, their purpose, and their destiny as they chase a forgotten and lost prophecy across the realm of Ruauck-El, where they hope to discover the origins of the strange item and their place in its history.
An ancient, unknown enemy threatens the completion of their journey at every turn. Bridazak is about to face the biggest adventure of his life, one that may change the known realm, and answer the questions he has carried all his life. Will they unlock the truth?
Bridazak, a skilled thief, and his friends, a Dwarf and a fellow Ordakian, have dared to remain within the human communities and live relatively quiet lives, until they discover a mysterious, magical artifact. The three friends are thrust into an adventure that will challenge their faith, their purpose, and their destiny as they chase a forgotten and lost prophecy across the realm of Ruauck-El, where they hope to discover the origins of the strange item and their place in its history.
An ancient, unknown enemy threatens the completion of their journey at every turn. Bridazak is about to face the biggest adventure of his life, one that may change the known realm, and answer the questions he has carried all his life. Will they unlock the truth?
Did you end up making any changes to your plot that you didn’t initially expect to?
The plot never changed. It was always there, but many subtle changes happened all throughout the book writing process. There were name changes, additional story added, etc.
For example…my editor suggested we add in an entire new opening to the book, including the Prologue portion. So we tackled the Prologue and then added in a brand new chapter one where the heroes pull off a heist in the market. I love my editor! (Krisann Gentry)
Tell me about the average day in the life of Brae Wyckoff!
Without boring you with the mundane, I will tell you the things that I’m involved in.
Marketing The Orb of Truth, working with my PR Manager, Aileen Aroma, fielding comments with my Orb Street Team and my many facebook pages, running an international ministry called The Greater News, hosting a Blog Talk Radio show called Broadcast Muse, working with graphic designer for book covers, working with my editor for the 2nd book of the series (due out this year), writing the 3rd book of the series (The Vampire King), writing a short story, interviews, blogging, managing all my social networks, being a husband, a dad, a grandpa, and taking care of all the life things such as our home, dogs, dinners, cleaning, etc. (Now I’m tired just thinking about the above)
Let's have a little fun now. If you were stranded on an island with one of the characters in your book and you had to depend on each other to survive, who would you want to be with?
Interesting question, I would say the human fighter named Abawken. He is extremely loyal, is an excellent protector and provider and would do well on the island.
On the flip side of this one, I would NOT choose the dwarf named Dulgin. He would just be too grumpy to converse with and argue each step of the way. He is very stubborn dwarf and wouldn’t get along well with the natives.
What's the one question you wish people like me would always ask you, that we never freaking do?! Now go ahead and answer it too!
How difficult is it to truly be an author? This is the question that nobody asks. On the outside, people say, “How hard is it? You just write a book and then you are famous.” At least this is the impression I get from most people.
Well, it is extremely difficult first off to write a book and write something that will stand up to a potential of millions of readers. Any author will tell you that once your book is out there in the public then it better be good enough to stand on its own. It is not like you can take it back and then redo it (well, I guess you can these days, but it shows up as a negative).
I’m a storyteller. I want to be entertained and to bring my readers on an adventure. I want to give the reader an outlet to get away from reality but at the same time immerse a sense of hope that they can take from the book and apply into their own lives. Some will get that while others will just enjoy the ride, and both are okay.
I saw a T-Shirt slogan floating around on facebook the other day and it said, “Save a Writer. Buy a book.”
And now just a couple of fun ones:
While you're writing:
Night or Day? Both
Coffee or Tea? Iced Chai Tea Latte
Pen or Keyboard? Keyboard
Music? What kind? Definitely music and I usually listen to the top 40.
Straight Through or Edit As You Go? Never edit as I go. I write the story straight through then hire the editor after I get it critiqued and do some re-writes.
Okay! Thank you so much for your time, Brae!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Big Contest
Hello fans and readers! Since Facebook is being a bit of a jerk about contests, I'm going to post the details here. Hopefully it'll be easier and clearer for you!
Other Prizes: Everybody who is entered in the running for the grand prize will get a prize too!
The Contest Details:
Goal: 4 More Smashwords Reviews for Snow Bound (a total of 5) http://www.smashwords.com/
The Grand Prize: The grand prize winner will get to choose any chapter in Semester Aboard and I will rewrite it from the point of view of any character other than Jen!
You will also get a special surprise!
Other Prizes: Everybody who is entered in the running for the grand prize will get a prize too!
The Contest Details:
Goal: 4 More Smashwords Reviews for Snow Bound (a total of 5) http://www.smashwords.com/
Pictures are all due by April 30!
Anyone who submits all seven pictures before April 30th will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing AND will automatically earn a prize!
Let's get going on those goals! The sooner we meet them, the sooner more pictures will be unlocked!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Barnes and Noble Now is the Time
Dear Barnes and Noble,
NOW is the time to help indie authors.
It's no secret that Amazon and the Kindle is flourishing and other booksellers, including Barnes and Noble, are floundering. I recently saw an article that 100 B&N stores are closing this year. My own, hometown store is among them. There are no other bookstores in my town, but when my local B&N's lease ended last month, they made the choice to close instead of move.
Last year indie authors made Amazon.com millions of dollars by publishing on the Kindle. Some even enrolled in the KDP select program, taking countless dollars from competitors like B&N. Now, Amazon is going to every effort to destroy the indie authors who flocked to them. They are working to sabotage indie authors and small publishers at every turn. First they started deleting reviews at random. Then they started saying that authors can't review each other!
Last week a review on an Anchor Group book was deleted for being "too pushy." The review was called "An Epic Read" and just said that the book was a fantastic conclusion to a great series. That's it. That same week, Amazon left a one star review on another AG book that said "I didn't read this book, I only bought it to figure out how to delete books from my Kindle." The author was sent an email that said the review would remain because it "doesn't violate any Amazon policies." Explain that one to me. How can any person look at a review that says "I didn't read the book" and think it should be allowed to remain?
And let's not forget Amazon's new affiliate rules that are preventing groups who post cheap and free Kindle reads from getting royalties if too many people pick up free books through their link. What's next Amazon?
I could go on, but anyone in indie author circles knows what Amazon is doing to us.
And so, I say again, Barnes and Noble now is the time to help indie authors.
My fellow Anchor Group authors and I have been trying to get book signings at B&N. Sometimes we are successful, more often than not we get the runaround. We are told our books aren't returnable (when they are). We are told "We're busy, call back next month". Just today I was told that 'this' store doesn't do book signings, but you could sit by the door and talk to people. When I said, hey, I'll take that. She started giving me numbers to other stores and moved right on by the subject. They should be doing everything they can to accommodate indie authors.
Now is the time when Barnes and Noble should start coming up with ways to attract indie authors to the Nook. They need to make it appealing to us. They need to draw people who are frustrated with Amazon. More importantly, they need to not alienate us once we bite, the way Amazon has.
B&N has already taken a great step by being affiliated with Smashwords. I have sold more Nook books through there than any other platform (excluding Amazon). I want to see them take it a step further.
There are so many other things they can do.As far as I know, there is no easy way for an indie author to get on the Nook, aside from using Smashwords. Why hasn't B&N set up a way for indies to publish directly to them yet? Edit: I see that there is Pubit. But I have never heard of it and I searched their main site before posting this. That might need a little more publicity!
They could hold author events for indie authors who only have ebooks. Why not? I'd love to go talk to a bunch of local indie authors giving out bookmarks. It wouldn't cost B&N anything to have a table with an indie author sitting there once in a while.
I fully believe that indie authors have the power to bring B&N back to life. B&N just has to realize that we're here. We're looking for our chance to shine. We're looking for someone who won't turn on us like Amazon. We're here, Barnes and Noble. We're sick of Amazon and we want a better alternative. It can be you.
NOW is the time to help indie authors.
It's no secret that Amazon and the Kindle is flourishing and other booksellers, including Barnes and Noble, are floundering. I recently saw an article that 100 B&N stores are closing this year. My own, hometown store is among them. There are no other bookstores in my town, but when my local B&N's lease ended last month, they made the choice to close instead of move.
Last year indie authors made Amazon.com millions of dollars by publishing on the Kindle. Some even enrolled in the KDP select program, taking countless dollars from competitors like B&N. Now, Amazon is going to every effort to destroy the indie authors who flocked to them. They are working to sabotage indie authors and small publishers at every turn. First they started deleting reviews at random. Then they started saying that authors can't review each other!
Last week a review on an Anchor Group book was deleted for being "too pushy." The review was called "An Epic Read" and just said that the book was a fantastic conclusion to a great series. That's it. That same week, Amazon left a one star review on another AG book that said "I didn't read this book, I only bought it to figure out how to delete books from my Kindle." The author was sent an email that said the review would remain because it "doesn't violate any Amazon policies." Explain that one to me. How can any person look at a review that says "I didn't read the book" and think it should be allowed to remain?
And let's not forget Amazon's new affiliate rules that are preventing groups who post cheap and free Kindle reads from getting royalties if too many people pick up free books through their link. What's next Amazon?
I could go on, but anyone in indie author circles knows what Amazon is doing to us.
And so, I say again, Barnes and Noble now is the time to help indie authors.
My fellow Anchor Group authors and I have been trying to get book signings at B&N. Sometimes we are successful, more often than not we get the runaround. We are told our books aren't returnable (when they are). We are told "We're busy, call back next month". Just today I was told that 'this' store doesn't do book signings, but you could sit by the door and talk to people. When I said, hey, I'll take that. She started giving me numbers to other stores and moved right on by the subject. They should be doing everything they can to accommodate indie authors.
Now is the time when Barnes and Noble should start coming up with ways to attract indie authors to the Nook. They need to make it appealing to us. They need to draw people who are frustrated with Amazon. More importantly, they need to not alienate us once we bite, the way Amazon has.
B&N has already taken a great step by being affiliated with Smashwords. I have sold more Nook books through there than any other platform (excluding Amazon). I want to see them take it a step further.
There are so many other things they can do.
They could hold author events for indie authors who only have ebooks. Why not? I'd love to go talk to a bunch of local indie authors giving out bookmarks. It wouldn't cost B&N anything to have a table with an indie author sitting there once in a while.
I fully believe that indie authors have the power to bring B&N back to life. B&N just has to realize that we're here. We're looking for our chance to shine. We're looking for someone who won't turn on us like Amazon. We're here, Barnes and Noble. We're sick of Amazon and we want a better alternative. It can be you.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Looking for a Free Copy of More than Magic...
...on Google?
If you are reading this because you Googled for something along the lines of Semester Aboard epub pdf download torrent or anything like that, please take a moment to keep reading.
I'm flattered that you're interested in my work and want to read it. If you honestly can't afford $3.99 for my book, keep an eye on my blog and Facebook. I do contests for free books all the time. You can also become a Libboo buzzer and earn tons of free books, including Semester Aboard! Sometimes I even drop the official price to free!
If you can afford to buy it, please keep reading. Semester Aboard took me the better part of three years to write. Snow Bound took two. Not including the chapters and plots that lay half-started for even more years. I spend hours each day promoting and interacting with fans. Each book is over 300 pages and 130k words. Isn't that worth $3.99? I've seen ebooks half that length selling for twice as much. I once spent $8.99 on a book that turned out to be 40k words. I was finished in half an hour and felt horribly ripped off. If nothing else, you can't tell me that mine is overpriced.
I'm not J.K. Rowling. When my royalty check is missing a zero, I notice. And let's face it, I've never been lucky enough to have one with two zeros on it. I work a day job and write on my lunch breaks. I have bills and student loans and drive a busted Subaru with over 206000 miles on it. I get excited when I have $3.99 to treat myself to a Gingerbread Latte.
Here's some heartfelt honesty for you. I earn between 50 cents and a $1.50 per book that I sell. In a good month I get a check from my publisher for $25. Yes, you read that right, $25. One month I got a whopping $3. That's less than I even sell my book for. What if you leave this page and find a free, illegal copy? What will I earn this month? $20? $15? Maybe just $2.
Now, I'm not writing for the money. I'm writing because I love to. Sometimes friends ask me what site they should buy from so that I get a bigger cut. You know what I tell them? I say, it doesn't matter. I tell them that as long as they leave a review or reccomend my book to others, I'll be happy.
If you've gotten this far and are still determined to find an unauthorized free copy of my book, would you consider doing me a favor? Leave me a Goodreads review. If you illegally obtain my book and you enjoy it, please, at least review it so that people who are willing to buy it see that people are enjoying it. I think we can both agree you owe me that much.
Would you like to know what I do with the money I do earn? I buy swag. I turn around every month and buy bookmarks and stamps to mail them with. And I have contests and send them to readers. Everytime someone downloads an illegal copy and cuts into my profits, I order less swag and less people get fun stuff. You aren't cutting into how I pay the bills or how I buy groceries; I don't make enough from my book sales for that to matter.
I'll confess, I used to download things too. Once I even REALLY wanted to read the sequal of a book. And I downloaded it. But, I went out and bought it as soon as I had the money. And I deleted the file. But it wasn't until I started moving in the indie author circles that I started to see how much it hurt the little people. I laugh at the South Park Episode where the celebrity can't have a solid gold airplane and has to settle for gold plated because people pirated his album. But that isn't so for the smaller authors. (To be fair, it's not right regardless) but the smaller authors are the ones it really hurts. Stephan King might not notice when $500 is missing from his royalty check because of piracy. I have yet to even make $500 off my writing in the first place.
Are you still waiting for the rest of Midnight Sun? You do realize that she stopped writing it because it was pirated, right? If people hadn't been illegally downloading it, she would have finished and published it by now. And then you'd have Midnight Sun sitting happily on your bookshelf. How many more authors have to get fed up and stop writing before it stops?
Want to know why you're having trouble finding an illegal copy? Why this is what popped up first? Because I'm a nobody. I'm not big enough for people to bother pirating my book. So, help me out here. Skip the Gingerbread Latte this week and buy my book instead. Help me buy a couple of stamps to send bookmarks to fans like you.
If you truly enjoy reading, please help me to see that I have fans. Inspire me to keep writing, don't give me a reason to stop.
If you are reading this because you Googled for something along the lines of Semester Aboard epub pdf download torrent or anything like that, please take a moment to keep reading.
I'm flattered that you're interested in my work and want to read it. If you honestly can't afford $3.99 for my book, keep an eye on my blog and Facebook. I do contests for free books all the time. You can also become a Libboo buzzer and earn tons of free books, including Semester Aboard! Sometimes I even drop the official price to free!
If you can afford to buy it, please keep reading. Semester Aboard took me the better part of three years to write. Snow Bound took two. Not including the chapters and plots that lay half-started for even more years. I spend hours each day promoting and interacting with fans. Each book is over 300 pages and 130k words. Isn't that worth $3.99? I've seen ebooks half that length selling for twice as much. I once spent $8.99 on a book that turned out to be 40k words. I was finished in half an hour and felt horribly ripped off. If nothing else, you can't tell me that mine is overpriced.
I'm not J.K. Rowling. When my royalty check is missing a zero, I notice. And let's face it, I've never been lucky enough to have one with two zeros on it. I work a day job and write on my lunch breaks. I have bills and student loans and drive a busted Subaru with over 206000 miles on it. I get excited when I have $3.99 to treat myself to a Gingerbread Latte.
Here's some heartfelt honesty for you. I earn between 50 cents and a $1.50 per book that I sell. In a good month I get a check from my publisher for $25. Yes, you read that right, $25. One month I got a whopping $3. That's less than I even sell my book for. What if you leave this page and find a free, illegal copy? What will I earn this month? $20? $15? Maybe just $2.
Now, I'm not writing for the money. I'm writing because I love to. Sometimes friends ask me what site they should buy from so that I get a bigger cut. You know what I tell them? I say, it doesn't matter. I tell them that as long as they leave a review or reccomend my book to others, I'll be happy.
If you've gotten this far and are still determined to find an unauthorized free copy of my book, would you consider doing me a favor? Leave me a Goodreads review. If you illegally obtain my book and you enjoy it, please, at least review it so that people who are willing to buy it see that people are enjoying it. I think we can both agree you owe me that much.
Would you like to know what I do with the money I do earn? I buy swag. I turn around every month and buy bookmarks and stamps to mail them with. And I have contests and send them to readers. Everytime someone downloads an illegal copy and cuts into my profits, I order less swag and less people get fun stuff. You aren't cutting into how I pay the bills or how I buy groceries; I don't make enough from my book sales for that to matter.
I'll confess, I used to download things too. Once I even REALLY wanted to read the sequal of a book. And I downloaded it. But, I went out and bought it as soon as I had the money. And I deleted the file. But it wasn't until I started moving in the indie author circles that I started to see how much it hurt the little people. I laugh at the South Park Episode where the celebrity can't have a solid gold airplane and has to settle for gold plated because people pirated his album. But that isn't so for the smaller authors. (To be fair, it's not right regardless) but the smaller authors are the ones it really hurts. Stephan King might not notice when $500 is missing from his royalty check because of piracy. I have yet to even make $500 off my writing in the first place.
Are you still waiting for the rest of Midnight Sun? You do realize that she stopped writing it because it was pirated, right? If people hadn't been illegally downloading it, she would have finished and published it by now. And then you'd have Midnight Sun sitting happily on your bookshelf. How many more authors have to get fed up and stop writing before it stops?
Want to know why you're having trouble finding an illegal copy? Why this is what popped up first? Because I'm a nobody. I'm not big enough for people to bother pirating my book. So, help me out here. Skip the Gingerbread Latte this week and buy my book instead. Help me buy a couple of stamps to send bookmarks to fans like you.
If you truly enjoy reading, please help me to see that I have fans. Inspire me to keep writing, don't give me a reason to stop.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Snow Bound Release and Rafflecopter
I'm thrilled to say that Snow Bound went live on the Kindle on January 19, 2013! It will be available soon in paperback, and on Smashwords, and from their distributors as well!
Now, how about a party and some prizes?!
The official Facebook Snow Bound Relase Party will be on Sunday, January 27! Please drop on by and get a chance for some prizes! In addition to prizes from me, I've got some ebooks from the fabulous Stacey Rourke, an ebook and Character Collectors cards from Peggy Sue Lea Martinez, ebooks from Cindy Springsteen, ebooks and bookmarks from Wendy Nystrom, AND two copies of the Anchor Group anthology, which contains a short story by me!
In the meantime, I've started a Rafflecopter with a bunch of ways to enter and some other great prizes! Some entries are straightforward - like a Facebook page, tweet, etc. And among the prizes are some signed bookmarks and a couple of free digital copies of Snow Bound (or Semester Aboard if you don't have it yet).
But there are more ways to enter and more prizes to win! This isn't your usual Rafflecopter, so pay attention!
You may notice that there are two BIG entries that are each worth 10 points.
One, is fairly simple - buy a copy of either Semester Aboard or Snow Bound and then forward the confirmation email to morethanmagicseries@gmail.com Don't forget to add the order number in the Rafflecopter!
The next one is fanart! I love looking at fanart! The other day I realized that I have yet to see any fanart related to More than Magic. =( I'd love to see how other people envision the world! If you're artistically inclined or handy with photoshop, try your hand at some fanart! I will also (with your permission of course) feature it on Pinterest, right here on my blog, and on my Facebook page!
Now, here's the good news - I am actually giving away three different signed copies of either Semester Aboard or Snow Bound. One will go to a winner of the Rafflecopter. But I will have a separate drawing for people who have purchased it (so you get two shots!) and a separate drawing just for the people who make fanart! (so you get two chances as well!)
And last, you may have noticed Magical ID Cards as one of the prizes. (a special THANK YOU, YOU ARE BRILLIANT to Delphina for suggesting this one!) If you have already read Snow Bound, you know what these are! If not, allow me to explain. Every magic is issued their own ID card, much like a social security card or driver's licence. I'm going to make 5 custom ID cards for 5 lucky people! If you win, I'll need a picture of you for the ID and what type of magic you want to be!
And last, you may have noticed Magical ID Cards as one of the prizes. (a special THANK YOU, YOU ARE BRILLIANT to Delphina for suggesting this one!) If you have already read Snow Bound, you know what these are! If not, allow me to explain. Every magic is issued their own ID card, much like a social security card or driver's licence. I'm going to make 5 custom ID cards for 5 lucky people! If you win, I'll need a picture of you for the ID and what type of magic you want to be!
So, spread the word and get some contest entries! The Rafflecopter closes on January 28th, the day after the party. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveawaySunday, December 30, 2012
2012 in Review
2012. Wow. I can honestly say this may have been the biggest year of my life. Not sure how 2013 will top it. Let's have a review, shall we?
In January of 2012 I was busily promoting my self-published book Semester Aboard. I had, according to a blog post, less than 400 likes on Facebook. I was plodding along, getting reviews here and there. Right around this time is when I crossed cyber-paths with Melissa Ringsted, blogger/editor. She read and enjoyed my book. Yay for me.
The rest of January until April 21 was a blur of wedding planning, with book promotion when I could fit it in. Somewhere, probably in March or so, Melissa told me she had become the editor of a new publishing company, Anchor Group Publishing. They were putting together a paranormal Anthology (which is 99 cents until New Year's Day!) and Melissa wanted me to submit a story! Needless to say, I was stoked!
And then, on April 21, 2012, I got married. That event alone would have made 2012 a wonderful year. But I had no idea what was still in store. A week later, two other good friends were married!
I was working a crappy job, literally fighting for every penny of my pay and getting ripped off whenever the boss thought she could get away with it. I got to write termination letters for employees and the boss was always conveniently absent when the time came to fire people. Lucky me. So, I was pretty unhappy. Just two weeks after returning from my honeymoon, I was called in for an interview for a job I had forgotten applying for. A week later, they offered me a job. I am still happily working for them. Less than half over, and 2012 was already better than I could have imagined.
Around the same time I signed up for UtopYA. A new convention specifically for female authors and fans of YA paranormal. And, also at the same time, I passed my finished short story off to Melissa. Owner/President of Anchor Grouip, Stacey Rourke (a fantastic author by the way) loved it! She loved it so much, she wanted my book. I wasted no time signing the contract. Then, just when I didn't think things would get better, Stacey rushed the print version so that I could have it in time for UtopYA!
UtopYA itself was amazing! I'm thrilled to say I was invited back again this year! If you're on the fence about going, DO IT! You won't regret it!
Fast forward to August. I went to a book signing at a small bookstore and actually had people waiting to meet me! We made an offer on a house and got it! In September, the day before the wedding of two great friends, we moved in! Two more sets of friends had their weddings in October. And another pair of friends found out that they're having a baby. The anthology was released and seems to be quite popular!
And, at last, just a week ago, I not only survived an apocalypse, I finished the sequel to Semester Aboard and sent it off to my editor!
And now, wow. What a year. I now have over 1000 Likes on Facebook. As of right now Semester Aboard has 99 ratings on Goodreads, 61 reviews on Amazon, and people are chomping at the bit for the next one!
What will 2013 hold? A dog, for one thing. Now that I have a house, I've got to have a dog! I'm also working on a short story collection featuring one of the characters from Semester Aboard. The second book, Snow Bound, should be published, with luck, within the next month. I'll be at UtopYA 2013. I've got a few more writing plans up my sleeve. I also plan on making myself a writing nook and posting pictures, assuming it turns out nicely!
Happy New Year everyone! Here's to 2013 being even better!
In January of 2012 I was busily promoting my self-published book Semester Aboard. I had, according to a blog post, less than 400 likes on Facebook. I was plodding along, getting reviews here and there. Right around this time is when I crossed cyber-paths with Melissa Ringsted, blogger/editor. She read and enjoyed my book. Yay for me.
The rest of January until April 21 was a blur of wedding planning, with book promotion when I could fit it in. Somewhere, probably in March or so, Melissa told me she had become the editor of a new publishing company, Anchor Group Publishing. They were putting together a paranormal Anthology (which is 99 cents until New Year's Day!) and Melissa wanted me to submit a story! Needless to say, I was stoked!
And then, on April 21, 2012, I got married. That event alone would have made 2012 a wonderful year. But I had no idea what was still in store. A week later, two other good friends were married!
I was working a crappy job, literally fighting for every penny of my pay and getting ripped off whenever the boss thought she could get away with it. I got to write termination letters for employees and the boss was always conveniently absent when the time came to fire people. Lucky me. So, I was pretty unhappy. Just two weeks after returning from my honeymoon, I was called in for an interview for a job I had forgotten applying for. A week later, they offered me a job. I am still happily working for them. Less than half over, and 2012 was already better than I could have imagined.
Around the same time I signed up for UtopYA. A new convention specifically for female authors and fans of YA paranormal. And, also at the same time, I passed my finished short story off to Melissa. Owner/President of Anchor Grouip, Stacey Rourke (a fantastic author by the way) loved it! She loved it so much, she wanted my book. I wasted no time signing the contract. Then, just when I didn't think things would get better, Stacey rushed the print version so that I could have it in time for UtopYA!
UtopYA itself was amazing! I'm thrilled to say I was invited back again this year! If you're on the fence about going, DO IT! You won't regret it!
Fast forward to August. I went to a book signing at a small bookstore and actually had people waiting to meet me! We made an offer on a house and got it! In September, the day before the wedding of two great friends, we moved in! Two more sets of friends had their weddings in October. And another pair of friends found out that they're having a baby. The anthology was released and seems to be quite popular!
And, at last, just a week ago, I not only survived an apocalypse, I finished the sequel to Semester Aboard and sent it off to my editor!
And now, wow. What a year. I now have over 1000 Likes on Facebook. As of right now Semester Aboard has 99 ratings on Goodreads, 61 reviews on Amazon, and people are chomping at the bit for the next one!
What will 2013 hold? A dog, for one thing. Now that I have a house, I've got to have a dog! I'm also working on a short story collection featuring one of the characters from Semester Aboard. The second book, Snow Bound, should be published, with luck, within the next month. I'll be at UtopYA 2013. I've got a few more writing plans up my sleeve. I also plan on making myself a writing nook and posting pictures, assuming it turns out nicely!
Happy New Year everyone! Here's to 2013 being even better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)