Category Archives: Publishing & Writing Career

Who wants to get a Free Early Copy of my next Book? (Join my ARC Street Team!)

New Release Details, Publishing & Writing Career, updates, , , , , , , ,

So, I do have another blog post I’ve been waiting to write, as it explains at least part of the radio silence from me the last few months. CliffNotes version to tide y’all over until that topic-focused blog post, I had to be induced into labor at the beginning of April and welcome my baby into this world 6 weeks earlier than planned. We’re all okay (Me, Daddy, and Baby) and our little Bunny Bear is surprising us every single day!

But, that story is for another blog post.

This post is about my next release, as it’s been a minute since my last one.

This is the cover to “HEART OF A TRAITOR”, Book #1 in my new NA Urban Fantasy series, “The Oroni Zodiac”.

Summary/Blurb:

“The Rebellion’s just getting started…

Hiding in a non-magical country for over a decade has only continued to remind Phoenix how freakish she is. Her double whammy of having to deal with two voices constantly arguing or commentating from inside her skull branded her as a half-breed: a seemingly impossible combination of magic user.

In all existence.

When a friendly meal with her diplomat father leads to a kidnapping of her and her best friend, the two of them are suddenly yanked right in the midst of a war between the government of her magic-filled birthplace and its Rebellion. They meet Commander Roark, an old friend of Phoenix’s father, but a man presumed dead for years. Along the way to get back home, Phoenix starts to realize that the adults in her life had been hiding more things than they cared to tell. As she learns that half-breeds like her can master both magic type’s skill sets, she’ll have to keep reminding herself to tread carefully around Roark.

Because he’s just like her.

And Lord only knows how much he could do.“

As this book is a new series (though I finished Books #1 and #2 a LOOOOOONG time ago), I want to step up my Author game, as it were. So, I’m starting by building up an ARC Street Team! For those unfamiliar with that abbreviation, it means “Advanced Reader Copy”. ARC copies are free to the interested ARC Readers, and sent a few weeks to a few months prior to expected release of the book to the general public, with those readers leaving a review for the book after its actually released. If you sign up to receive an ARC book, this is the breakdown:

(1) Sign up to receive an ARC copy of a book or story (these are ALWAYS FREE!!)

(2) Read the book/story.

(3) Go onto the Amazon and/or GoodReads page for that book once book actually releases

(4) Leave a review on those pages to help the author get more visibility and to be a good person and follow through.

So, if you might be interested in receiving an ARC copy of HEART OF A TRAITOR, go to [this] form, fill it out, submit, and I will email a digital copy to you and all ARC readers once everything is prepared and polished for your perusal. There is also a question on that [form] where you can pick if you:

(a) … Just want to read and review this book in particular without wanting to be contacted for any future books from me (from any series I publish in the future of my career)

(b) … Want to read and review this book and potentially ANY future books from me (from any series I publish during my future career)

(c) … Know you want to read and review this one, but are unsure if you want to be committed to my Street Team at this time (meaning I can email you for future books to gauge if you are interested in a future book and/or interested in joining the Street team in the future as well)

This way, you can decide what path of ARC Reading you’d like to join with me while I progress on my author and publishing journey.

[Here’s the link one more time!!]

Hopefully, many of you might be interested in this venture! Once I send the ARC copies via email, it’d would be nice if you all could have read the book by release date (hasn’t been firmed up yet, but will mention when I email the digital ARC copies to all who fill out the form and are interested), but finishing before then is not necessary, as long as you still leave a review once you are done! I will also temporarily turn off this form to the public in a few weeks to prep distribution of this particular book’s ARC Team, but will reopen it for a general ARC Street Team for any and all of my future works / releases!

Welp, that’s about it! Hope to see a bunch of responses on that [form] soon!

Thanks everyone, in advance!

Remember to always “Keep Faith” and “Assume Nothing”,

-Chrissy

Diving into Uncharted Territory – FREELANCING!

inspiration, KINETICS, New Release Details, Out in the World, Publishing & Writing Career, updates, Writing Process, , , , , , , , , , , ,

So, I’ve added a new tab to this website, if you didn’t already notice. It’s up there… Somewhere in the middle… Yeah, says “Layout Design” or sumthin’? Yeah, that one!

So, yep, I’ve been a closeted layout designer for a few years now, doing the interiors for a lot of my print and eBooks, along with a few others who put their trust in me with their babies.

If you might be interested in giving me a spin with your books, my (minimal) details on my rates are located on that above tab, ofr you can just click [[HERE]].

Oh, and as an FYI, my #Productivity2020 is off to a good start. Four out of Five days had writing in them so far! Yippee!

One more thing…

A New Release announcement this coming weekend! Stay tuned, because I am BEYOND thrilled and excited to FINALLY be publishing new content once again. I’m back in the game, baby!!

Anyway, that’s for my quick update for y’all.

Keep Faith!

And remember, “Assume Nothing”.

– C

CALLING ALL BOOKWORMS! Productivity Poll 2020

#ChaosAccounts, inspiration, Publishing & Writing Career, Writing, Writing Process, , , , , ,

Hiya, Vikans!! Nice to see you all again since the last time I was…

. . . . .

JUNE?!

Goodness, I’m really not the best at being active here, am I?

Well, hopefully, I can change that. With y’all’s help, of course!

Since I last checked in here, lots has happened. To keep it brief, I’ll just mention the biggest one:

I GOT MARRIED!!

Yep, never thought I’d get a happily ever after, and still not sure my husband knows what he’s gotten himself into. Guess he’ll find out eventually. 😉

Now, to get into serious writing-related business in this post. Ready? Cuz I’ll need y’all’s help!

So, here we are, in November of the Year 2019. Though only 1 month until the new decade of 2020, most people probably haven’t even thought about their goals for the New Year. Me, I refuse to make a New Years Resolution. I was inspired years ago by buddy and fellow author Tee Morris. Find his blog and website [here], to support him: one of my mentors and an amazing role model.

Anyway, as we are nearing the end of one year, it’s time to plan for another. So, that means… UPDATING MY SPREADSHEETS!!! YAY!!!

. . .

What? A Fantasy Author can’t get a thrill from Microsoft Excel? I work in IT, for crying out loud.

. . .

DON’T. JUDGE. ME.

Anyway, if y’all remember, I made a New Years goal to try and write every day for an entire year. Here’s what resulted::

Out of the 335 days  that have passed since beginning of 2019, I wrote for only approximately 46 days. OUT OF 335 DAYS!!!

Yeah, I know, shocked me too.

That’s when I realized what happened. My drive, my fuel, my inspiration had been shot down. My most recent release was back in 2018, with the first CHAOS ACCOUNTS collection book my only release in 2019. And that was back in February. My goal to write something – ANYTHING – every day of the year got balled up and thrown in a corner. My annual Smoky retreat gave me the closure I needed over JV’s death years ago. Once I got home, my desire to write faded. I even tried MANY times to crank out the words, but they either never came, or I never even loaded the laptop to write, because I felt small, and almost scared of writing. I didn’t think I could measure up. And, between no recent releases, wedding planning, little sister graduating college, and my family having health problems ALL over the board… Yep, I was preoccupied. But, even when I had the time to write, my mind convinced me to do other stuff instead.

NO. MORE.

I am going to take my writing productivity as a serious endeavor. I have updated that GIANT spreadsheet I’ve shown you all before, and found that a lot of my projects are 50%-90% complete, according to my Target Word Counts. I’ve also got a good number of short story/novella series on the docket as well.

Well, here’s where you all come in.

[[HERE]] is a Google Form.

On this Form, I have listed a bunch of unfinished projects, ones I’d like to pursue in 2020. I want you all to go to this form, and tell me if you think each of the projects deserves to get a higher priority on my productivity chain. Obviously, I’ll be checking results throughout December to prep all the projects that I’ve listed. But, the answers I get from all of your Vikans out there on the Interwebs will help me plan, and, more importantly, create personal deadlines and/or word count goals for me to get my writing mojo back, once and for all!

[[HERE]] is the Google Form again!

Thanks in advance for y’all’s input! It’ll help greatly!

Until later, farewell, Vikans.

Keep Faith. 🙂

 

Promos, Updates, and releases, OH MY!!

#ChaosAccounts, Career, KINETICS, New Release Details, Publishing & Writing Career, , , , , , , , ,

**Read whole thing for news, as this post is a straight running faucet of the mouth, if you know what I mean**

Howdy, Vikans!

So, I’ve been dark on my blog for a while, and I apologize for that. There are multiple reasons for this. One, I’ve been querying agents for an old series of mine. The first 2 books I’ve polished up a ton of times over the last four years, with the 3rd partially written and a chapter here or there for the final 2 books. If you know math, that adds up to a five-book series. I started it in college, and that first book’s writing consumption comes close to how fast I cranked out KINETIC REBIRTH, both only took about a month to write from start to finish.

Speaking of KINETIC REBIRTH…

Unfortunately, this blog post is happening halfway through one of the two Amazon Kindle promotions, but there’s still time for y’all to act. KINETIC REBIRTH, Book One in my KINETICS series, is currently FREE in Kindle form on Amazon! However, this is only through to July 5th at 11:59 PM. Snag a download while you can.

Also, there’s a second promo pertaining to KINETICS. Through the month of July, the second book, KINETIC MEMORY, is only 99c for Kindle. Links for those 2 two books are within the titles in this paragraph.

Since we’re on the topic of new deals, time to talk future publishing endeavors.

Remember my CHAOS ACCOUNTS short stories? If you need the annoying-frustrating timeline….

-(Account #1) ACCOUNT OF ANXIETY – Released 01/17/2017

-(Account #2) ACCOUNT OF UNREST – Released 02/16/2017

-(Account #3) ACCOUNT OF FRIENDSHIP – Released 04/15/2017

-(Account #4) ACCOUNT OF SECRETS – Released 01/01/2018

As you can see, the gaps get bigger and bigger when it comes to Division 3’s dangerous missions against ChaosBlaze, but the stories will be created and published soon.

HOWEVER!

My 5th CHAOS ACCOUNTS story, “ACCOUNT OF RISKS”, is scheduled for release on all eBook platforms on July 7th, 2018 (This Saturday). Preorders are up on the following sites as of typing this blog post…

[Amazon (Kindle)]   

[Barnes & Noble (Nook)]

[Smashwords (All digital formats)]

[iTunes (iBooks]]

Those are the main preorder links for Accounts #5. This one finishes the first Story Arc, with an ending that will keep you tense until the next installments, desperately wanting to know what happens when Division 3 plans to-

….

Oh, almost just spoiled the ending. Glad I caught myself.

Anyway, another announcement on the CHAOS ACCOUNTS front. As I mentioned above, Account #5 is the end for Story Arc #1, collectively labelled as the “Priming” set. The PRIMING set includes Accounts #1 through #5. I’m aiming for a late summer/early fall release of this collection set.

The best part?

IT’LL ALSO BE IN PAPERBACK!

Yes, you read that right. PAY-PER-BACK.

So, stay tuned for more news on that collections preparation progress over the next few months.

Moving to the writing front, or at least the craft part of it, I’ve finished me and JV’s first book in our 4-book series, but I’m putting it on the back burner for… well, reasons. I have also edited the first two in another series I’m in the process of pitching to agents, and hope to pick the third in that series back up. That series’ #3 currently sits at about just under 38,000, with a minimum goal of 65,000 or more.

I have also started CHAOS ACCOUNTS #6, the first in the next collection set. Both the story and the set are currently untitled, and my word count is very, VERY tiny, but hoping to continue the journey with Division 3, and I hope you all will too.

Finally, the other project I’ll be working on will be KINETICS #4. I don’t think I’ve publicly announced this yet, but the draft for KINETICS #3, tentatively titled “KINETIC HISTORY”. It’s been through my preliminary edits multiple times, and is now a polished draft.

BUT….

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that KINETICS is a series in homage and dedication of my best friend JV, who died a year and a half ago in a deadly car accident. I finished the first draft of KINETIC HISTORY months ago, and I’ve been itching to get that one published, for both my peace of mind, and for you all – my readers- to enjoy as the adventure continues and the plot thickens. There’s just one factor that stands in my way of getting the third KINETICS adventure to publication.

MONEY.

Now, I know what y’all are thinking: “Save up!” It’s not that simple. For starters over the last two years, I have racked up quite a bit of debt. Secondly, sending to my editor and my cover designer ends up spending money as well. Luckily, I cut costs, as I do decent interior layouts myself, but between editing, covers, copies, and marketing/promotion costs… Yeah, it gets pricey.

Add onto that the fact that I’ll be getting married a little over a year from now (yeah, I know I never announced that here, but YAY, I’M ENGAGED!!!!), and money is scarce.

If any of you all like my blog, my writing, or just want to help an author out, here’s ways you can help me:

 

Pledge to my Patreon

–> Patreon is a platform that allows you to support content creators such as Youtubers, musicians, and authors like me, etc, etc. For my pledges, it’s only a once a month pledge, and the prices and rewards vary. Rewards include anything from getting into a selective group on Facebook that will hopefully help me out with ideas or feedback as I find it needed, to free books, etc. You can change or cancel your pledges at any time, but even a pledge for a handful of months would help. If I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s that every little bit helps, because little bits add up FAST. [Patreon link]

Buy my works

–> If you go to [this] link, you’ll be directed to the “My Works” part of this blog. You can also navigate there by the tabs at the top of this website. Each story or novel I’ve published is listed there, with short summaries and hyperlinks to various eBook platforms, or Amazon for print versions. Though I don’t get much from KDP or Createspace when it comes to royalties, it’ll add up.

Donate to my Tip Jar

–> Digital Tip Jar allows you to donate a ‘Tip’ of your choosing, to help fund my projects. Any amount helps. This is also a one-off payment, meaning not recurring/repeating every month like Patreon. This is a one-time donation, unless you want to do more tips for me down the road. The link to my Tip Jar is [here].

Leave reviews

–> This is just a general piece of advice, and applies to any authors in the world that you love reading. Go on Amazon or other platforms where my stories and books are sold, and leave a quick review. Only one or two sentences needed. Reviews are an author’s best friend, and a quite decent motivator to keep chugging along and doing what we do best: writing adventures for you to enjoy. Reviews also improve visibility for the little guys like myself. So, if you like my stories and want to help without breaking the bank, leave a brief review for me. Please. 🙂

Spread the word

–> If you like my stuff, TELL PEOPLE! You could send them a purchase link, give them a borrow from Amazon for the stories that have the capability to lend, or even just loan them your copy. The more people that know about me, the better my visibility will get. Hopefully, I’ll get

a few more fans.

Here’s a treat for you all to close out this (Exhaustingly long) blog post:

For those of you who have read the first two books, below is a small snippet of KINETICS, Book Three. For those of you who haven’t, there aren’t spoilers. Well, at least not too many.

Signing off before the snippet, so keep scrolling if you want to get a sneak peek.

Keep Faith, guys.

-C

////

Snippet from KINETIC HISTORY, “Kinetics, Book Three”::

Jaden heaved a heavy sigh. She fiddled with photos in her hands. Somehow it had ended up in her backpack when they were leaving Hyndon over a month ago. She’d unloaded the large pocket, mainly because that’s where her bag of dirty clothes was. The smaller pockets probably just had gum, or pencils, or feminine hygiene products or other junk stuff. When she decided to clean it out that day, she came across a small stack of photos. Some had crinkles of bad storage for years, others with bent corners.

The photo at the top of the stack of ten-ish pictures had been her focus for the last five minutes. She just stared at it. Her mind flashed between reality of looking at a frozen snapshot of time and the actual scene behind the photo. And no, not just remembering the memories. The memories flashed into her sight, gifting her with re-living those precious moments while not even leaving her bed.

This photo was her at around age eight in third-grade, with her new friends, Lukas and Pip. She just lost Kohei a few weeks earlier, and her eyes still looked a bit puffy. This was their first Fall picnic at their school. The three kids hung off the jungle gym, making nostalgically wild and crazy smiles at the camera. The scene came to life finally, the shrieks of elementary school children making real Jaden wince. She had now been inserted into the scene, with the memory blessing her with a three-sixty-degree view. However, she wondered how much of a blessing this magic really was.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and let it out. When she opened her eyes, her surroundings had returned to her guest bedroom in the Second Kingdom’s palace. Glancing at that photo, she sighed and slipped it to the bottom of the stack. The next photo showed twelve-year-old Jaden, pouting as her sister took pictures as blackmail. The photo yet again came to life.

“C’mon, geek-a-zoid, give us a big smile!”

The glare and hatred in Jaden’s preteenage brown eyes said plenty. Muttering under her breath, she snapped, “Leave. Me. Alone.”

Dove’s musically-grating voice replied from behind the bulky red Poloroid, “One smile, Sneaks. Just one smile!”

When young Jaden’s mouth opened to form a pissed, teeth-grinding frown, she revealed the colorful braces that had been drilled into her mouth. She then grabbed the nearest couch pillow and threw it at her annoying older sister. “Buzz off, prick!”

Her sister simply laughed louder and said, “Ooh, I’m so scared of the female Inspector Gadget. C’mon, throw out your extendable arm and punch me.”

“Oh, is that an invitation?” Young Jaden roared, leaping at her sister.

Real Jaden closed her eyes, breathed, and returned to present day. She knew what happened next. Jaden had gotten sent to her room, went to Dove’s room once everyone was asleep, and cut off a lock of Dove’s long, blonde hair. Needless to say, the truth came out quick, and furious didn’t even scratch the surface on describing how angry the older sibling had been. Furious was actually a very generous term.

New Release and FREE short story links

KINETICS, New Release Details, publishing, Publishing & Writing Career, ToTV saga, Writing, , , , , , ,

Good day, Vikans!

And a good day indeed! I have decided to do my official announcement earlier than planned.

25353950_774331536087850_8225048927092445593_n

KINETIC MEMORY, Book Two in my KINETICS series, released over the weekend. I alerted my Patrons and e-Newsletter subscribers to start with. If you want to get this kind of news first, support my writing endeavors on my Patreon [here], with updates and sneak peeks at Works in Progress for as little as a $1/month. Hoping I can branch out into extra cool stuff once I have more Patrons. You can also subscribe to my [e-Newsletter] list as well, and receive email updates about 1-2x a month at most, for updates on current writing projects, upcoming releases, and giveaways I’m going to be having. I will also occasionally be emailing for ARC readers for future WIPs.

Speaking of giveaways, I’ve got one coming up on my Author page on Facebook in about two weeks. Like my [Facebook Author Page] so you can participate. This one will be free signed, physical copies of KINETIC REBIRTH, Book One of KINETICS. So, like my Facebook page [here], or, rather, follow my [Twitter], where I will direct people to my Facebook page when the giveaway contest starts.

Also, I want to share these photos with you all. These were screenshotted this AM Eastern Standard Time, and I can only comment with *SQUEEEEE!!!” These are my rankings for my “Tales of Terrara Vikos” short stories. The first one, “Cross of Faith”, I first published in June 2012 while still in college. That was the start of my author journey, a journey that as of right now includes 3 full-length novels, eight short stories in two short story sagas, and who knows how many WIPs that either need to be finished writing or deeply edited.

I will put links for the “Tales of Terrara Vikos” shorts with the below pictures. Each section below will have the cover, the ranking, and links to where you can purchase them. My shorts are eBook only right now, but hoping to finish both series collections for print soon.

ALSO! Did I mention that the below 4 stories are ALL PERMAFREE EVERYWHERE!! Yes, including Kindle. Maybe, if enough of you download these 4 shorts, I can get bumped to wider categories! That would make my day! Especially as it was my birthday last week. 🙂

 

Tales of Terrara Vikos short stories::

Summary of series::

Join Lucian, Halden, Michael, and Kimberly as they take on challenges in the magical, hidden Realm of Terrara Vikos that even most adults 3 times their age. As Future Realm Leader, Lucian has a nice little target on his back at all time. With his friends in tow, they go through struggles of secrets, love, torture, and grief as they grow through thei childhood. No normal child could handle all the things that happen, but Lucian is no ordinary kid. Whether he knows it or not, he’s the Protektor and has pretty big shoes to fill. The world is depending on him in the near future, but can he last that long in his twisted experiences of his magical, prophetic life?

 

Cross of Faith (#1)

Cross_of_faith

[Kindle]

[Barnes&Noble/Nook]

[Smashwords]

 

 

As of 2018-01-23::

CoF-2017-01-23-AMRankings_7-20

 

 

Trees In The Storm (#2)

Trees_In_The_Storm

[Kindle]

[Barnes&Noble/Nook]

[Smashwords]

 

As of 2018-01-23::

Trees-2017-01-23-AMRankings_7-20

 

 

Blood On a Broken Hand (#3)

Blood_on_a_Broken_Hand_copy

[Kindle]

[Barnes&Noble/Nook]

[Smashwords]

 

As of 2018-01-23::

Blood-2017-01-23-AMRankings_7-20

 

 

Warped Destinies (#4)

 

Warped_Destinies

 

[Kindle]

[Barnes&Noble/Nook]

[Smashwords]

 

As of 2018-01-23::

Warped2017-01-23-AMRankings_7-20

 

 

 

Did I mention they are FREE ON ALL PLATFORMS?! Please download these, and maybe cheer me up as January 31st grows closer.

TheProtektorsReality_400x640_115dpi

Oh, and my first full length novel, THE PROTEKTOR’S REALITY, takes place soon after the events of “Warped Destines” short above, the 4th and final one in my “Tales” saga for my Terrara Vikos universe. Maybe will be able to introduce you to more of that world soon. 😉

Here’s the links to this novel:

[Kindle]

[Amazon Print]

[Barnes&Noble]

[Smashwords]

 

I also have another short story series called “The Chaos Accounts”, which I can find a link to that page [here].

Also, here’s links to my first 2 KINETICS books as well, just on the off-chance you’d like to support them too. They are dedicated to my best friend, who died January 31st last year (hence why I said I need cheering up as the 31st grows closer). I’ve actually inserted her into the series as accurately as I can, and almost all the characters were ones we’d come up with for fun writing and forum-based roleplaying. Both are also in KINDLE UNLIMITED subscription service, if you happen to be enrolled in it and want to take a look-see at these two books. I also have a promotion at the end of the month where the first (Kindle version) will be free for EVERYONE for 5 days. Again, [Newsletter], [Facebook], [Twitter], and becoming a Patron on my [Patreon] are the best ways to keep up to date and as an occasional reminder should you want to wait. Also, Book Two (KINETIC MEMORY) (aka- the one I just released) will be at 99c for only another couple of weeks, so grab your copy while you can!

KINETIC REBIRTH (#1)

KineticRebirth_promo

[Kindle/KU] / [Print]

The mystery of life and Limbo might ultimately be the death of her…

Jaden Walker has her future figured out. Seeing people who aren’t actually there is troubling, but she can handle that. That is, until she meets Kiran and Jessica Theron. The twins reveal three very important details: they have supernatural abilities, Jaden’s hallucinations are actually real dead people, and they want to take her home to her real parents. The twins rip Jaden from her peaceful, college student life into a world of magic and the unexplainable. But Jaden doesn’t just see the dead–she can communicate and interact with them. And someone else is hunting her for those abilities. For Jaden, this rollercoaster of a fantasy story should have remained in its book. Because, now that she’s living it, she’s finding it harder and harder to believe that anybody will tell her the truth. Even her closest friend.

 

KINETIC MEMORY (#2)

25353950_774331536087850_8225048927092445593_n[Kindle/KU] / [Print]

The Past is a complicated place… After bringing Kiran and Jessi back from the dead, Jaden assumed things would get better for her. Even with worries lingering on the horizon, her immediate frustration was dealing with the twins’ deceased father and his arrogant demon who developed a strange fascination with her. When their friend and companion Shalbriri falls ill, the annoying demon has a plan that might just save the Fifth Kingdom heir’s life. However, it requires returning to the twins’ birthplace, a town outside of the Five Kingdoms. With her sister-mother Dove in tow, Jaden, Lukas, and the twins all venture to the run-down village of Hyndon. The longer they stick around, the more Jaden realizes there’s more to the place than meets the eye, and those shadows offer no comfort. The answers they seek lead them to the most unexpected place. There is truth hidden in their parents’ past… but it all leads to a man she wishes was merely an ancient myth.

*****

Also, if you’ve read or will eventually finish reading these or ANY of my works, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON AMAZON! Reviews are an author’s best friend, and I would be eternally grateful!!

 

Well, back to part-time author time. Keep Faith, everyone.

And, as they say in the Five Kingdoms, “Assume Nothing.”

– C

New Year’s 2018 – Looking to the Year ahead

#ChaosAccounts, Dear Diary, inspiration, KINETICS, Out in the World, Publishing & Writing Career, Ramblings, ToTV saga, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

Hey there, Vikans!

So, we’re about a day or so away from the end of 2017. Looking back at the events the rest of the world dealt with, from losing friends over politics, shootings, some people scared to even cross the street. We lost pop culture icons, some very tragically. So, in the public eye, 2017, in general, sucked.

I look back on my 2017, my personal 2017, and, on the surface and at first, seemed just as sucky and tragic. My regular day job is going through major changes that might have me out of work some time this year. My books, stories, and Patreon supporters had drastically, exponentially less impact on the reading community than I had hoped for. And, biggest hit of all, I lost JV on January 31st. There’s rarely been a day since she passed that I haven’t cried or at least gotten choked up. She was my coauthor, my co-conspirator, my Youtube vlogging partner, my best friend, and, post-mortem, my biggest source of inspiration.

Which leads into the next, and more important, part of this post. I have very strong GAD and depression, which means trying to find things to be happy about is very VERY difficult. However, at the end of every year, I organize my thoughts, reflecting on the year as a whole, both good things and bad. Here’s a bit of happy things I am grateful for:

  • Went to Smoky retreat again. It was only 3 weeks after JV’s passing, so I was in a dark spot. My fellow Somkies supported me lie I’ve rarely had before, and I cranked out 30+k on my first KINETICS novel.
  • I finished my Smoky project within a month (End of Feb to end of March), and sent it out for professional editing a week or two later.
  • I got to kick two bands off my bucket lists of concerts I wanted to see live before I die. AND got to take my sister. Sister bonding time rocks. 🙂
  • I wrote three short stories that became my CHAOS ACCOUNTS serial saga. Fourth one, “Account of Secrets” is due at the stroke of New Year 2018.
  • I wrote and completed both KINETICS #1 and #2, titled “Kinetic Rebirth” and “Kinetic Memory” respectively. First one went live in September/October 2017, and the second coming late Winter 2018
  • I started two new novel projects. One was KINETICS #3, title TDB. Second is the first in my CASTERS series, which essentially is recycling characters from my first series I wrote in high school and creating a story so drastically different than their original one.
  • I rebranded my short stories, that now all have bad-ass covers. 🙂
  • I linked all my series into a connected, interlocking universe (KNU), where each one relates to another, so my readers can find Easter eggs and connections and freak out as much as I was when making those very links.

And that’s just the major stuff. This year was my most productive writing year since I started my writing journey in 2007. … Wow, ten years? Hard to believe. But, that’ll be a reflection I tackle in my blog at a later date.

I’ve finished two full-length novel manuscripts, started 2 others, and cranked out 4 short stories. And that’s just the writing bit. I’ve come so far in my day job career, learned so many new things. Plus, the year has rounded out with rebranding both of my short story saga’s. I’ll provide links to everything I’ve published to date, including the New Year’s preorder link to “Account of Secrets“, my 4th CHAOS ACCOUNTS story.

Looking toward 2018, I’m determined to be just as productive as I was in 2017, maybe more so. In addition to CHAOS ACCOUNTS #4 on New Year’s Day, KINETIC MEMORY is due out in a month or so (still working on last minute proof checking), CHAOS ACCOUNTS  #5 is slated to release in Spring/Summer 2018, and I’ve got a plan to hopefully have another book released in Summer/Fall 2018 as well, but depends on editing and cover delays. This book will take us back to where my publishing journey started. Hint: it’s a world that I’ve already written stories for. It’s also the namesake for this website. 😉

Now, here’s the covers and links to all of my writing that I’ve published. Some are free permanently, some free only until the New Year (on Smashwords only), and some that cost a little bit.

eBooks Only:

TALES OF TERRARA VIKOS:

***ALL PERMAFREE EBOOKS!!!***

Cross of Faith (#1): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]
Trees In The Storm (#2): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]
Blood on a Broken Hand (#3): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]
Warped Destinies (#4): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]

 

THE CHAOS ACCOUNTS::

 

Account of Anxiety (#1): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]
Account of Unrest (#2): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]
Account of Friendship (#3): [Amazon] / [Smashwords]
Account of Secrets (#4): [Amazon] / [Smashwords] (Preorder until January 1st, 2018)
Account of Risks (#5): COMING SPRING 2018!!

 

Both eBook and Print::

Terrara Vikos-related:

The Vikan Quartet (Tales of Terrara Vikos collection, stories #1-4): [Kindle] / [Amazon Print] / [Smashwords]

The Protektor’s Reality: [Kindle] / [Amazon Print] / [Smashwords]

 

KINETICS:

 

**eBook only**: Kinetic Tragedy (a Kinetics prequel): [Instafreebie]
Kinetic Rebirth (#1): [Kindle] / [Amazon Print]
Kinetic Memory (#2): COMING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018!!

 

Until 2018, Vikans. Have a Happy New Year, and see you on the other side!
YOU GOT DIS. 😉

phil_modern_family1

COVER REVEAL: Kinetic Memory

#ChaosAccounts, KINETICS, Out in the World, Publishing & Writing Career, Writing, , , , , ,

As of now, in preparation for Book Two discussed below, Book One, KINETIC REBIRTH, is now discounted for Kindle! A cheaper deal to prepare you for the fast-paced adventure to Hyndon in Book Two. Read below for details on Book Two, and get Kindle version [here].

***********

Hey, Vikans! What’s up?

So, this with either be my second-to-last post of 2017, or third-to-last. But, as close as we are to the year’s end, this post has GREAT, long-awaited news.

TADA!!

 

25353950_774331536087850_8225048927092445593_n

 

Yep, that’s right, we now have a tentative release for the second book in my [KINETICS] series, KINETIC MEMORY! If everything finishes as planned, expect an early January 2018 release. 🙂

Exciting, right?

Summary:::

“The Past is a complicate place…

After bringing Kiran and Jessi back from the dead, Jaden assumed things would get better for her. Even with worries lingering on the horizon, her immediate frustration was dealing with the twins’ deceased father and his arrogant demon who developed a strange fascination with her.

When their friend and companion Shalbriri falls ill, the annoying demon has a plan that might just save the Fifth Kingdom heir’s life. However, it requires returning to the twins’ birthplace, a town outside of the Five Kingdoms. With her sister-mother Dove in tow, Jaden, Lukas, and the twins all venture to the run-down village of Hyndon. The longer they stick around, the more Jaden realizes there’s more to the place than meets the eye, and those shadows offer no comfort.

The answers they seek lead them to the most unexpected place. There is truth hidden in their parents’ past… but it all leads to a man she wishes was merely an ancient myth.”

 

Curious about where Jaden and crew’s adventure takes them next yet?

Goodie!

But, this book is more of a dedication to JV than the previous one. See, JV and I met through mutual friends and a virtual forum-based roleplaying site said mutual friends created. For more details on that, check out me and JV’s first Coauthoring vlog on my Youtube channel [here]. Anyway, the name of the fictional town the RP was set in was a town called Hyndon. Without Hyndon’s roleplay, I never would’ve even known JV, much less become best friends. Actually, Kiran, Jessica’s twin brother in KINETICS, and his parents originated from this roleplaying adventure.

Book Two is the biggest ode I could muster to honor the reason I got to be in JV’s bight, happy, too-short life, as 2/3 of the book take place in my twisted version of Hyndon. I took some of our friends’ characters as well, but changed their names and tweaked their details a bit per the friend’s request. For those of our friends that shared this adventure in college, there are a LOT of references to our adventures, along with a twist to the biggest adventure we all participated in.

(*cough*smokedragon*coughcough*)

Anyway, this book was a great trip down Memory lane for me (pun intended), as it involves Jaden and crew trying to solve the mysteries of their parents’ origins in the small, charred town of Hyndon.

Part Two to this blog post is an announcement. I am in the process of rebranding my covers for TALES OF [TERRARA VIKOS] and [THE CHAOS ACCOUNTS]. I realized a while ago that the covers I had made, both first round and second, don’t convey YA Fantasy like they should to draw in readers. So, I am enlisting a few helpers, and hopefully will have all eight of those covers done by year’s end.

Here’s a sneak peek. This is my new cover for ACCOUNT OF ANXIETY, Chaos Accounts #1:

 

C_McDonnell

 

So, a lot to look forward to in the New Year! I’ll hopefully have one more, year round-up post closer to the 31st, so stay tuned.

Keep Faith, Vikans.

And, as always, “Assume Nothing.”

Lightning Strikes!

Fiction, inspiration, KINETICS, New Release Details, Publishing & Writing Career, Ramblings, Writing, Writing Process, , , , , , , , ,

Hey there, Vikans!

So, a LOT has happened lately for me, both in terms of personal and professional plotlines. In addition, my eyes opened wide about three weeks ago, almost as if struck by lightning, in an instant, I had my entire writing and publishing career figured out. Well, in basic, general terms and only in my head, at least. Here’s how this happened, and what it means for my readers and me.

Three weeks ago, I was 25,000 words into KINETICS 3, 13k of them written during the previous 8 days of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, for those that don’t know that acronym). I had decided to recycle characters from manuscripts that ended up in my “Manuscript Graveyard”, essentially, stories and novels that I didn’t think would ever see the light of day. By doing that, I make this ode to my best friend JV fully encompass my writing career from its very roots.

Two characters that will show up in Book 3 are named Chrissy and Ryan. They were the Hero and Antagonist from my first ever finished manuscript in high school. Over the course of middle and high school, I’d finished 2 full novel-length manuscripts, and started on the next three. Back then, I bounced between books in a single series, as it was a bit easier for my ADHD minded imagination at the time. Toward the latter half of high school senior year, I ditched this series for Terrara Vikos-related writing (aka-first book in that trilogy).

However, I dug it out again mid-college. Read through it. At the end, all I could think of is, “This is a piece of crap!” So, I decided to try a complete rewrite back in 2012. In fact, my first two short stories for my Creative Writing class critique in college were written with characters from my Chrissy and Ryan series, at the time named THE ENCOUNTER. I had hoped those stories would give me the boost to get that first book rewritten as similarly to the original as possible, just with better writing. And, hopefully, a domino effect would occur.

I stopped five chapters in.

And those five chapters went back into the Manuscript Graveyard.

Here we are in Fall of 2017, and Chrissy and Ryan decide to become a part of my KINETICS universe. When trying to figure out their back stories, my min wandered back to my original, action-packed story, with lies, secret identities, a heroine like Kim Possible, and magic that vaguely resembled Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I was a seventh grader coming up with this story. Get over it.

Anyway, I was trying to figure out their past that led up to their appearance in KINETICS 3. What would need to change? What would be different? That’s when I had a major, stray thought:

“What if I didn’t need to change a thing? What if, somehow, their story happened in some kind of relation to my KINETICS storyline?”

Then:

“What if ALL my series were interconnected like that? They’re basically the same type of magic system and abilities, after all…”

One thing led to another, and, one-by-one, connecting lines criss-crossed, and I had most of my major projects from the last decade of writing interlocked with each other. My adrenaline pumping again, I finally realized that this new universe would probably take my entire writing career to finish. Granted, a have a good chunk of those interlocked series either completely written or partially written, but I’d still need money for covers and editing and such, so I’ll have to space them out.

This universe I’ve created looks like a cork board with strings that a stalker or serial killer might have, just in my mind. I am tentatively named this universe the KNU, or “Kinetic Noveletic Universe”. Once I’ve got two more books or so out, I will put “(KNU)” at the end of each series title, making it easier on Amazon for my readers trying to find every story within this interlocked collection of worlds. Also, this might be fun for my readers, because there will be Easter eggs in each series that mirror or relate to something happening in a connected series. It’ll be fun, right?!

A few days after this revelation, I started working on Chrissy and Ryan’s story again from scratch. Remember when I said above that their backstory didn’t have to change?

Well it did.

A little.

…

OKAY, A LOT! GEEZ!

The story is completely different from the one I started with. The opening scene was salvaged from my 2013 rewrite, but the reasons and motivations were completely different. In fact, one of my main adult heroes becomes an antagonist, whereas my antagonist became my anti-hero, and the romance that was slow-paced and spanned three novels originally starts in Chapter Two.

Not digging any deeper than that, sorry. You’ll have to wait for it.

Oh, and next week’s blog post should have long-awaited details on KINETIC 2, as well as a few details on my above mentioned series with Chrissy and Ryan, tentative series title is “CASTERS”.

See ya on the flip side, Vikans!

Keep Faith!

Been a While, Vikans

Fiction, KINETICS, Out in the World, Publishing & Writing Career, Writing, , , , , ,

WOW, been a while, Vikans!

Lots been happening lately, both in personal and professional life. With things shifting around at day job, prepping Book #2, and trying to catch back up on NaNoWriMo targets, I am wiped.

Okay, I’ll touch on some of that a bit more.

For those of you unaware, November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. It’s a month-long challenge to writers and authors of all types, all chasing after the coveted 50,000 word mark in the thirty days of November. Some start brand new projects, others work on a previously-started WiP, but only count new words (the latter is me). Essentially, we have 30 days to write a brand new 50,000 words on a project. To break it down, that’s approximately 1,667 words a day. And, when you have a day job, it can be hard to find time for words. Thank God for notebooks and wireless Bluetooth headsets. As of today, I’ve fallen a bit behind. I’m at just over 12k as of last night, and yesterday’s goal was over 13k. By tonight, the goal is a solid 15k. I might not reach it, but I’m gonna try to get there. If not, I’ll have the weekend to play catch-up, and maybe created that ‘buffer’ I wanted to make last weekend.

My project?

KINETCS, Book 3.

I know what you’re thinking, so give me a second, alright.

You’re thinking: “Book 3? What happened to Book 2?”

Well, as I hinted above, there is some progress on Book #2 in my KINETICS series. You hear this first here on my blog, as I probably won’t announce on my newsletter list until I get more final products. I got my edits back a little while ago, completely my edits based on her comments, and it is now in process of proofreading. Then, in December, I will hopefully be getting a cover created by the ever-AMAZING Designed By Starla. Starla did my covers for KINETIC REBIRTH, KINETIC TRAGEDY prequel short on Instafreebie, and even as far back as THE PRTOEKTOR’S REALITY. Always amazing, always professional, and always fun to know and talk and coordinate with. To other aspiring authors out there, check her out if you want a cover done. Because she will take your hazy ideas and make it into a cover-come-true.

So, based on timing for cover, layouts, and proofreading, we’re looking at an early 2018 release. January sometime, if everything in life flows like it should.

JANUARY, GUYS.

OMG.

Keep in mind, Book #1 (KINETIC REBIRTH) just released earlier this fall (2017). To be honest, I promoted my buns off, and still didn’t do as well as I’d hoped, not gonna lie. It was better than THE PROTEKTOR’S REALITY’s release back in 2014, and I’m glad I put that series on hold for a while. But, even though I’ve watched my eBook’s ranking fluctuate (a sign people in the Kindle Unlimited subscription program are downloading it), haven’t have more than two people read it from KU, one an old peer at college, who finished it (If that person is reading this, THANK YOU!!), and another unknown reader on KU who’s only read about a third of it so far. I haven’t made any eBook sales since three days after digital release, and have yet to make any print book sales in the month of November. My print sales in October were pretty depressing too. But, as I said above, the launch was more successful internet-wise than TPR, just not as many hand-to-hand sales with family and old friends who wanted signed copies.

So, here’s what I’m going to do. To anyone reading this (and come this far down, I applaud you dedicated readers), comment below what your favorite paranormal ability and/or superpower is, and why. I will pick a favorite after two weeks from this blog posting (around 11/23/17, which is Thanksgiving for my fellow Americans), and I will connect with that winner to send them a signed copy of KINETIC REBIRTH, along with a printed booklet for KINETIC TRAGEDY, a story that is currently only available as an Instafreebie short, and is in print NOWHERE ELSE. You’ve got two weeks to comment, and get creative. Jokes and humor around topic will get brownie points toward picking the winner as well.

Well, hopefully I can pick up my weekly blogging routine again.

 

This is my goal schedule for the next 3 weeks of NaNo:

Weekdays – Day Job, notebook writing, lunch with notebook writing, travel 30 mins home, transcribing with music blasting, extra writing to reach goal, dinner, possible proofreading, sleep

 

Weekends:

Before finished proofreading – Wake up as early as my brain will function (probably between 7-9 AM), write, caffeine, video editing, writing, video editing, writing, break for lunch w/ Boyfriend, write, possible proofreading, free time, writing, dinner, more possible proofreading, sleep

Post-Proofreading – Wake up as early as my brain will function (probably between 7-9 AM), write, caffeine, video editing, writing, video editing, writing, break for lunch w/ Boyfriend, write, layout, free time, writing, dinner, more layout, sleep

 

Wish me luck, Vikans. Hopefully more news and advice next week!

Keep Faith, and Assume Nothing.

PRINT BOOK DONE GET BUMPED! (a late #WildNewsWed update)

#ChaosAccounts, KINETICS, New Release Details, Publishing & Writing Career, , , , , , , , , , ,

MISSED WEDNESDAY AGAIN! To be entirely fair, though, I ended up having to deal with chest pain from took much anxiety. I’m fine, I swear. So, don’t worry about that.

ANYWAY! Today marks nine days since KINETIC REBIRTH released as a Kindle book.

Can I say, EXCITED?!

KINETIC REBIRTH is also available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, at least for the next couple of months. So, if you use #KU , go download a copy, because I’m not sure if I’ll renew the KU option when the duration runs out.

[KINETIC REBITH KINDLE LINK]

However, I have news in the realm of the Print Book’s publication…

I’M BUMPING IT UP.

NO, SERIOUSLY. BUMPING IT.

Instead of the October 19th release, the print version of KINETIC REBIRTH will now be released on OCTOBER 5TH, 2017. Yes, correct, a week from today. Someone very close to me mentioned that you set release dates based on when all your ducks are in a row. My ducks have been in a row for over a month now, and are getting fidgety. I realized that while October 19th is special in my heart, as it was the day I first met JV and became fast friends with her, that date doesn’t mean much to you all as readers. I also realized that it’s more important to me that you all read the story, enjoy it, and get to see JV through my eyes as one of the heroes in this series (sneak peek at her crazy, hyperactive personality in the featured image above! 😀 ). I also know that lots of you out there prefer physical print copies of books (Rock on traditional readers!). For those three reasons, I am now releasing KINETIC REBIRTH two weeks earlier, October 5th, 2017, aka- Next Thursday.

MORE EXCITEMENT!!

In other news, the fourth Chaos Accounts story was put on hold to finish up KINETICS, Book Two. Once that starts post-production (see below), I will probably pick those back up again.

ALSO, I have been hard at work on Book Two for KINETICS, title and release TBD down the road. However, this past weekend, I breached 50k. FIFTY THOUSAND WORDS. Seeing as my goal was to be around 59-65k, and I’m nearing the climax that introduces a new antagonist, so both timing and storyline are matching up almost PERFECTLY! I’m aiming for an early 2018 release for that, granted I can again get my ducks in a row with post-production. Also, I’ve learned from my current Book One experience that releasing digital and print on different dates was a stupid move. Soooooo, won’t be doing that again!

GET PUMPED FOR NEXT THURSDAY, GUYS! PRINT BOOK’S A’COMIN’!

Keep Faith.

And…

“Assume Nothing”

-Chrissy