Sometimes You Need to...

...put your feet up.

Ah the kitty's life, where decisions come down to where to sleep--on the comfy chair or the comfy bed or the comfy couch...

Meanwhile, in the human world...

I've been working on a couple of stories at once this month. Sometimes that happens when I finish a big project. My creativity goes in six different directions. Gleanings is in the middle of line editing, so I'm right on schedule for the October 19 release. Outlining the next book in the Transmutation series went faster than I expected. So I switched gears into a little fantasy story that I've been trying to write for years.

I've dabbled in this world a lot and racked up a bunch of half-finished/half-started stories. I plan to add it to my yearly round-robin of series once I get the other two a bit more established. I started writing this for myself when it was just something fun to fill my time. (Mostly the years I didn't own a TV and pre-internet.) The writing is badly done, but I created an intricate world while I was messing around. That provides me with excellent groundwork to get started.

Sometimes it's really hard to rewrite a story because you are so entrenched in the previous mindset. For Transmutation, I changed the main characters names. That was all I needed to re-envision them, and the story took off from there. The names weren't as crucial in the other work. I wasn't as tied to them. But I needed a jolt to change things up. So I made the main character a woman. In my mind, it had always been a man. And that was what the story needed.

I've started with a prequel novella that may or may not see the light of day. Partly this sets up the character and how she got to where the real story needs to start. And partly it gets me back into this world so I can remember the people and places and magic system and gods and...whew. I really meant it when I said intricate.

Just a reminder that Facade is still 99cents thru Saturday. Grab a copy here.

Cover Reveal!

Please check out the cover reveal and interview at SFFWorld.com!

October is a Busy Month

I feel like I am finally getting a handle on this marketing thing. And I think October is going to tell me whether or not I've got it right. I've planned a lot of promotion. Fingers crossed that it all works out.

October 3 - cover reveal for Gleanings. You will get to see the fabulous cover that Alex created at SFFWorld and then here on the blog.

October 2 - 8 Facade ebook will be discounted to 99cents.

A map reveal for A Changed World is still in the works.

October 14 - 18 Lethal Seasons will be free in the run up to Gleanings ebook release.

October 19 Gleanings, A Changed World #3 ebook release date.

October 19 - 25 Gleanings ebook available at a discounted price of 99cents.

The paperback for Gleanings will be out late in the month.

Whew.

And now I need to get back to outlining book 2 for the Transmutation series and a flash that I promised to a Christmas anthology.

A Lot Going On!

I am not quite in panic mode because of all the great stuff going on right now, but it's close!

Alex Storer is working on a cover for Gleanings. I've seen the drafts and it is amazing! I can't wait to do the reveal for it. I'm working on setting up the reveal with SFFWorld. More exciting news. I don't have a date yet. But as soon as they get back to me I will post it here.

James at Curious Cartography is working on a map. It's just in the preliminary stages, but I am super excited about that, too. I have wanted a good map for this world since the first book. And I have had plenty of requests for one. Really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Lethal Seasons will be included in the Apocalyptic Fears III boxed set, slated to be out October 1. David Van Dyke/Reaper Press has been very easy to work with. This is a new adventure for me. Fingers crossed that it brings in new readers.

In addition to the usual box set of novels, David is putting together an anthology of short stories for Apocalyptic Fears 6. It's in the works now. I submitted a short story that hints at the beginning of the disaster that turned into A Changed World.

I hadn't looked at that story in a long time. When I wrote it, I was very proud of it and shopped it around. It racked up one rejection after another. I couldn't understand their comments and just took it to mean that it wasn't right for those editors. Looking at it, with a few novels under my belt, I saw lots of problems. Most of which stemmed from not getting all the information out of my head and onto the paper. It only took a few tweaks to make it a much better story...I hope.

In October I will be dropping the price on Facade and doing a limited run of free for Lethal Seasons. Sign up to my newsletter and I'll let you know when it happens.

Lots of News

First off - I have set a release date for Gleanings: October 19.

Alex is now working on the cover and James is working on the map. Very exciting! I can't wait to see what these two talented guys come up with.

In the lead up to Gleanings release, the Lethal Season ebook will be free from October 14 - 18. Tell all your friends to grab their free copy.

In other news, Lethal Seasons has been select for an ebook boxed set promotion. I'm very excited about this. It will bring my book to the attention of a lot of new readers. I'll share more information on this as soon as I get it.

Facade will also get a promotion in October. It will drop to $0.99 for the week of October 2 - 8.

There's a lot coming up. Sign up for my newsletter if you want to hear about new books, free books and discounts.

A Changed World Update

Good news - I just got Gleanings back from the 2nd round beta reader. She gave me some great feedback.

Bad news - it's going to need more rewriting.

Not sure what's up with this one, I'm just having a hard time with it. But I think I can see where the fixes need to go.

More good news - Curious Cartography will be doing a map of the world. I am really excited to see what he does with it. I'll post pictures as soon as I've got them.

As usual, I will have a cover by Alex Storer. We have just started talking about it. I'll be doing a reveal as soon as it's done.

That's it for today. I need to go spend time on writing!

First Appearance!

Drumroll please!

I am attending my first convention as an author!

I will be a panelist for Atomacon. November 18-20th at the Airport Hotel (used to be a Radisson) in North Charleston, SC.

They haven't finalized the schedule yet, so I'm not sure what panels I'll be on. They had some great ones to pick from. I will post it here as soon as I know.

I'm still working on getting my books at a dealer. This time around, I will be using their bookseller. I'm not set up to sell. I don't have a smartphone and I don't have a tablet, so selling by credit card wouldn't be easy. This will make my first time a little less stressful. I am sure I will learn at lot. And it's more about meeting people than selling books.

I haven't been to a convention since Dragoncon gave me overload a couple years ago. The crowds overwhelmed me. And it made me sad that I had to miss some great panels because I needed to sit in a line to see a different great panel. Everything was mobbed, at all times. Being a small person (5' tall) crowds get scary. I get shoved around easily and then I get a sort of crowd-rage and need to get out of it or I'll flip out.

So I am starting small. I like small conventions. They are more relaxed. This is also the first time I have been to Atomacon. I'm looking forward to checking them out. The organizer I've been communicating with couldn't have been nicer. That seems like a good omen.

So if you are in that neck of the woods, I'll see you in Charleston in November!