Freebie

Yesterday was a Freebie day for Lochwood: The Journey Begins on Amazon.  It cracked the top 50 free books for its category so that was exciting!  I am hoping that it gets some reviews.  My kiddos are pestering me to get on with the series because even though they've read the outlines and synopsis for each of the books in the 6 book series, it isn't the same as reading the story. Plus they don't know the details that need to be filled in to get from point A to B or for the back story to why certain characters are going to end up where they do and why they would be motivated to choose the things that they do. And I'll admit, I am always excited to see where stories take me and how they end up and change from what I plot in the beginning, or even how they end up in the place I thought they would but via an entirely different path!

Covers

Covers are an interesting part of a book.  I had a cover that I loved, spent a bit of time on, felt resonated with the story well, and was getting ready to submit when I asked for outside opinions.  The thing about outside opinions is, you never know what the response will be, and none of the responses were glowing endorsements of my super cool cover.  So I had to figure out if I was going to listen to constructive criticism or hold on to what I felt like was genius.  

I switched covers and ended up with this:

Which is WAY better than the misty graveyard with a reddish headstone. 

Winter

Living in southeast Alaska definitely has its perks.  The beautiful mountains, pristine lakes, pods of whales, soaring eagles and abundant sea life all add to the appeal of life in the last frontier. 

But the rain.

Oh the rain.  Our newspaper reported 19 inches in February.  19 inches is more than a foot and a half.  That is about 2/3 of an inch per day...for a month.  That means grey, rainy, murky weather with sad low clouds that cover the few hours of sunlight so that the Vitamin D has to really work hard to trickle down to those of us waterlogged inhabitants on the land who need it.

So when the sun comes back out and the sky clears, it feels like a little slice of heaven and reminds me why I like this corner of the world.

Measure of Success

I write under two names.  It helps to differentiate between two different genres so that someone expecting a paranormal romance won't be finding themselves in the middle of a middle grade epic fantasy.

My first middle grade epic fantasy is for sale on Amazon and we got it for our Kindle.  My 9 year old read it non stop for hours...my measure of success since I wrote this story for my sons.  The best part is when I asked him if he liked it he said, "Yea!  I hope they make the Legos of it!" 

So, now I know that the measure of how successful my writing is to my son is by whether or not there are Lego kits of my books, which I will admit would be pretty cool.


Lochwood

     Aaron Weller has always lived a sheltered life with his brothers and strange parents until one day they decide it is time for Aaron to go to a school run by elves.
    Aaron has to figure out how to control the weather, play an instrument, and balance on tree limbs in addition to passing classes where not every professor likes him. In a place hidden from the world he is used to, and away from his brothers who have always been his best friends, Aaron must figure out how to survive on his own, how he fits into the secret legends involving his father, and how to avoid whoever is trying to keep him from accomplishing those things.

Writing

Publishing a novel has been a dream of mine for more years than I should probably admit to.  Year after year, I'd write something new.  Something I, of course, felt was brilliant and amazingly well written.  The first rather painful attempts remain in notebooks.  Then I started sending queries and receiving dozens upon dozens of form rejections...which do nothing good for your ego.  And then I had requests for partials and then full manuscripts and got good criticism or compliments but still no published books.

Then came Amazon, who is changing the scape of publishing.  I uploaded some of my work and love having my books on my Kindle.  I can now work on my writing and have the satisfaction of owning it in a format other than a doc file or scrawled out notebook, and while someday I would love to see my words in print and hold a book with my name on the cover, I am thrilled to have my books downloaded to my Kindle and to be able to have people read and give me feedback.  What a great outlet!  Plus it gives me a bit more encouragement to continue writing and to finish the story somewhere other than my mind.

So for my current novels with links:

Tangled: Book of Souls

Rachel is devastated when her summer boyfriend dumps her on their first day back to school. Her heart feels like it is ripped from her chest each time she sees him with a different girl. She will do anything to get rid of the heart wrenching pain. A substitute teacher offers her an easy option, just sign your name in a book. Willing to try anything, Rachel does.
Surprisingly, it works. Rachel goes completely numb to everything. And then her life upends. Her family moves across the country. At her new school, she meets Timothy, who makes her want to feel things again, but he is so guarded about who he really is.
Then the teacher is back, to collect the soul she unwittingly signed away. Only Rachel isn't done using it and does not intend to give it up easily now that she has something worth living for and Timothy doesn't plan on letting her go without a fight.


Love at First Bite

Sherea is more than just the hottest girl in school and captain of the cheer squad. Each month she turns into a werewolf and the time is running out for her to find someone to love and trust, so that she can ultimately bite and be bonded to them. If she can't find someone she loves and who loves her in return, she will be a monster forever.

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