Tag Archives: author

Reflections: New Year, Here I Come!

Affirmations, KINETICS, Out in the World, Ramblings, updates, , , , , , ,

So, yeah, missed a #summarySunday AND ran late on writing my Obligatory New Year’s post, but better late than never, right?

So, 2019, huh? What’s happened there? Lots of laughs and smiles and hugs and togetherness. But also lots of tears and pain and loss and senseless violence.

Then again, that’s every year nowadays, right?

So, I’m reflecting on my personal 2019, with my outlook now that we’re back in the “Roaring 20s” era. Here’s some key parts of my life from 2019, as I reflect on the previous year:

Smoky Writers Retreat – February-March 2019

I accomplished so many words this year. The biggest goal I achieved both broke me and gave me most of the closure I needed. I FINISHED KINETICS. At least, the first drafts. Obviously, Books One (“KINETIC REBIRTH”) and Two (“KINETIC MEMORY”) are already out in the world. And Book Three… Well, let’s just say there will be a blog post tomorrow or Sunday giving some exciting news about that one. But, the full main series was a total of 5 novels. I finished Book Five’s first draft on March 1st, 2019. My uncle – the man who inspired me to follow my dreams and who helped give me that push toward writing – died March 1st, 2004, exactly fifteen years after his death. I’ve joked about the timing as Jessi and my Uncle Dave plotting the timing of this finale from the beginning. The best part was that I told my husband (fiance at the time) that it would be so cool to finish Book Five at Smoky, because this series started at the 2017 Smoky retreat. Ironic it actually happened that way, and I’m so glad it happened then! My fellow Smokies were there to comfort me, give plenty of hugs, encourage me to still join in on the fun activities of the retreat, and talk to me through my panic attacks and depression crashes as closure attempted to settle down in my body. Couldn’t ask for a better writer’s family.

Ravencon 14 – April 2019

I was so blessed and lucky that I was selected as an Author Guest panelist again for Ravencon 14 out in Williamsburg, Virginia. I’ve been attending since 2009, so this one marked 10 years of attendance. Ravencon is like a home away from home, where I can be with my like-minded creatives.
I met some really cool people, made professional contacts by networking over similar interests, and gave the best advice I could muster to help out the other authors in the audience of each of my panels. As usual, JV Jr accompanied me and kept wanting food. That doll has the “nom noms” to the max, even when she was actually a living person on this earth.

Engagement Photo Shoot – April 2019

If going to Williamsburg for Ravencon 14 wasn’t enough, I invited one of my close friends, Allison, to provide her with lodgings for the whole weekend for free, so she could attend Ravencon the whole weekend: something she hadn’t been able to do in a long time. In return, she spent our last day in Williamburg by taking me and my husband’s engagement photos. The photo shoot landed EXACTLY one year from the day B-Roc (my husband) proposed. Here’s a sampling::

Wedding Day – September 2019

This day was magical. I was marrying my soulmate, my rock, my perfect match. I can’t even come up with the words to describe how amazing that day was, aside from one event that occurred before the actual ceremony. The Bride-to-be and father of the Bride get a horse and carriage ride down to the ceremony location at the base of a waterfall. While passing regular visitors to the park, most of the kids were in awe of the horses. But, there was this one little girl, maybe 2-3 years old, whose Dad had picked her up and moved aside for my carriage to get by. The girl’s eyes widened, and she said excitedly to her dad, “Daddy, look, look! A princess!” Then, she looked at me and waved frantically and yells, “HI, PRINCESS!”

One of the most memorable moments of my life.

Conclusion and Looking Ahead

By the end of 2019, I’d had so many memorable moments, most of them once in a lifetime. However, my life has not slowed down since my wedding. Maybe even before that, thanks to the planning and prepping chaos that happens for every bride when getting ready to devote their life to their perfect match. But, I’ve had family in and out of hospitals, getting surgeries, getting sicker quicker. My baby sister moved out of town before I even returned from my and B-Roc’s honeymoon (Vegas, baby!). My debt is a key issue that I’ve struggled with for years now (shopping addictions suck, man…), and planning how to pay it off and stop spending covered the latter quarter on my year. And, just within the last week, me and B-Roc have started our search for our perfect house to start a new chapter of our joint life together.

I’m going to be entirely honest here, a decade ago, if you told me everything I’ve accomplished, the high school me would’ve scoffed, rolled her eyes, and dismissed it. I wouldn’t have ever believed all the milestones, all the love of two families, all the moments I’d never forget, all the hospital trips. Going to college. Graduating a semester early, get a salaried job three months out of college, still at same job five years later. My first and only boyfriend, an engagement, a wedding, and the loss of an amazing, genuine best friend… I never could’ve imagined it.

But, you know what?

I survived.

And I’ve had a good feeling for the last two months that life was going to be great in 2020. I have this gut feeling that our lives will change in more ways than one. Good and bad, likely, but the anticipation of that gut feeling keeps me motivated, eager to see what changes and news and events are awaiting down this yellow brick road of 2020.

2020?

Bring it on.

This is gonna be a fun year!

Keep your eyes on this blog, Vikans. Big news this weekend, as well as (hopefully) some helpful things I may have for y’all!

Keep Faith, everyone.

And, as said in KINETICS – a phrase perfectly aimed at the anticipation for the new year of 2020:: “Assume Nothing.”

– Chrissy

#Productivity2020 Summary Sunday – 2019/Dec – Week 51

#Productivity2020, KINETICS, New Release Details, Summary Sunday (SS), updates, Writing, , , , , , , , ,

Well, guys, another bust week. Only wrote 2 out of 7 days, and not a ton of words, but at least I’m making some progress! Lots of barriers lately, with family members’ health, my new responsibilities at work, trying to kickstart some freelancing stuff on Fiverr and my new layout business here,… Oh and don’t forget the holiday season!

But, I believe this’ll smooth over soon, and I can try to reach a good streak with #productivity2020 when the new decade begins. I feel a lot is going to happen in my life in 2020. Not sure what or when, but good things are coming for me, and hopefully, you readers of mine too!

Anyway, onto the accountability portion of this #summarysunday blog post::

 

Summary Sunday

2019/12 – December – Week 51 out of 53

Total WC: 952

Projects worked on: “Cast The First Stone” (First Kingdom Files #1)

Percentage of Days Written (by week):

WriteYN-Wk51

Current Stats for week’s Projects::

“Cast The First Stone”

CurrentWCandPercent_CastStone_Wk51

Here’s a snippet from “Cast The First Stone”, the only project I worked on this week::

 

<<< Start Quote >>>

In a flash, her hand flew forward, instinctively stopping a staff of wood swinging for her head. Her eyes opened wider and snapped to the kNightmaster, who now stood just inches from her, putting light pressure against her aching hand. Through gritted teeth, he growled, “You have no idea who you’re messing with, Princess.”

Her own mouth twitching into a small smirk of her own from rising adrenaline, Chrissy replied lightly, “You know what? I think I kinda like it that way.”

<<<End Quote>>>
Aaaaaand, that, boys and girls, is how NOT to talk to a kNight. You’ll understand why when this book comes out. Hopefully sooner than I can picture right now.

Also, big news within the next week. Just trying to prep a few things on my end before making the official announcement, so keep your screens on watch mode. As a hint, it’s KINETICS related. 😀

****

Anyway, I’ll be checking in every Sunday, keeping myself accountable and giving you all updates as to my current status for my Productivity Goals for 2020.

If you’d like to take this journey with me, I will be uploading a downloadable Excel Spreadsheet template for you all to download and join in for the upcoming year. Also, if you want to participate, use hashtag #Productivity2020 on social media (Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc, etc), so maybe we can all motivate each other when one of us hits a low point.

Here’s where you can find me, keep up to date on me, and follow my marathon that is writing for a majority of 2020:

My Facebook Author Page:: https://www.facebook.com/cmcdonnellauthor/
My Twitter Account:: @discoverywritin
This Website/Blog:: https://terraravikos.com/
My Vlogging Youtube Channel:: @RandomChrissy
(^^^Haven’t been active for a while, but planning to change that. Support my Patreon below if you might want to see video content from my creative and twisted mind. Mwahahaha…)
My Nightcore/Knightcore Youtube Channel:: @TerraraVikos
(^^^Above is part of a partnership with Angel’s Lite Creativity; see this [[POST]] for details)
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/discoverywritin
(^^^Pledging to me will help boost my confidence and motivate me to write even more. Even a $1 a month would be AH-MAZING!!!)

Strap in, y’all. This is gonna be a wild ride!

Until next Sunday (or sooner, *hinthint*), Keep Faith.

We got this, guys.

We got this.

– CM

 

 

#Productivity2020 Summary Sunday – 2019/Dec – Week 49

#Productivity2020, Fiction, KINETICS, Summary Sunday (SS), updates, Writing, , , , , , ,

So, to keep myself accountable in 2020, I plan on doing these “Summary Sunday” posts, where I post screenshots of progress, talk about the events that either limited my writing time or boosted my inspiration, and potentially give a random snippet of something I’ve written from that week. Sounds like fun! Right?

This month, as it is still 2019, will be my “Trial Run” month, getting me into a rhythm and giving my mind and muscle memory a fighting chance when the marathon of #Productivity2020 begins on Jan 1st, 2020.

Then here we go!

Summary Sunday

2019/12 – December – Week 49 out of 53

Total WC: 4,933

Projects worked on: Cast The First Stone (First Kingdom Files #1)

Percentage of Days Written (by week):
WriteYN-Wk49

Current Stats for week’s Projects::

“Cast The First Stone”
CurrentWCandPercent_CastStone

Here’s a snippet from “Cast The First Stone”, the only project I worked on this week::

<<< Start Quote >>>
“And you didn’t bother to mention your name, jackass,” Chrissy snarled, “So… ‘Well, well’…” She noticed a slight twitch in the man’s jaw as she mimicked portions of what he’d just said in the thickest, most sarcastic way possible. Okay, appeared she could get on his nerves if she needed to. Bonus news. “What should I call you? Because as of now, all I can come up with is the Man in Black.”

His wicked grin twitched a few times, with a dribble of blood slowly creeping from the corner of his lips. The man scooched to sit upright with his back against the tree’s trunk and commented flippantly, “Well, last I checked, that name is already taken by the Dark Tower series and movie by Steven King. Gotta say, Matthew McConaughey was brilliant in that movie adaptation, so I am flattered that would be the nickname you give little ol’ me-”

Scowling, Chrissy swiped her arm out again, sending more Wind at him. She heard a slight crack when the man snapped the tree from the force and tumbled further back. The tree crashed to the ground in a heap. She gazed down at her hands which were flashing between her skin color and bright white. How did I…

“Seeing that strong of power makes me a giddy as a kid in a candy store.”

<<<End Quote>>

 

So, in that scene, we are introduced to the mysterious kNightmaster, a young man not too much older than my protagonist Chrissy. He’s both a sadist and a masochist, and loves toying with his prey. Unfortunately for our heroine, in this moment of time of her story, Chrissy appears to be this vicious, twisted man’s new prey. Will that turn out to be true? And why would he want her as his prey? And how long was he on Earth to be able to see “The Dark Tower“, as it released in theaters in 2017. And, you might be asking about the timeline. Trust me, it’s a knot of interweaving stories that I’m still trying to untangle, but I knw it’ll be worth it in the end. Look out, world. I might have just started working on an intertwined universe that could rival Marvel and the MCU at some point.

… A stretch, you say? *shrugs* Eh wishful thinking. Can the chronically depressed author be psitive every so once in a while?

Anyway, I’ll be checking in every Sunday, giving updates as to my Productivity Goal for 2020.

If you’d like to take this journey with me, I will be uploading a downloadable Excel Spreadsheet template for you all to download and join in for the upcoming year. Also, if you want to particpate, use hashtag #Productivity2020 on social media (Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc, etc), so maybe we can all motivate each other when one of us hits a low point.

Here’s where you can find me, keep up to date on me, and follow my marathon that is writing for a majority of 2020:

My Facebook Author Page:: https://www.facebook.com/cmcdonnellauthor/
My Twitter Account:: @discoverywritin
This Website/Blog:: https://terraravikos.com/
My Vlogging Youtube Channel:: @RandomChrissy
(^^^Haven’t been active for a while, but planning to change that. Support my Patreon below if you might want to see video content from my creative and twisted mind. Mwahahaha…)
My Nightcore/Knightcore Youtube Channel:: @TerraraVikos
(^^^Above is part of a partnership with Angel’s Lite; see this [[POST]] for details)
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/discoverywritin
(^^^Pledging to me will help boost my confidence and motivate me to write even more. Even a $1 a month would be AH-MAZING!!!)

 

Strap in, y’all. This is gonna be a wild ride!

Until next Sunday (or sooner, *hinthint*), Keep Faith.

You got this, guys.

You got this.

– CM

Winter Sales – Free eBooks and Discounts and Promos, OH MY!!

KINETICS, New Release Details, publishing, , , , , , , , , , , ,

So, it is now December. The world swirls with holiday cheer, decorating, families coming together… And freezing cold weather. For some. Not mentioning any places *cough* Virginia *cough*

However, as the holidays draw near, I decided to do a quick 4 day Kindle promo for KINETIC REBIRTH on Amazon. Starting today through to midnight PST on 12/7, KINETIC REBIRTH, the first book in my KINETICS series, the Kindle version will be free to download!

Also note that if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber already, both the first AND second (KINETIC MEMORY) are enrolled in Kindle Select program, making them free to you guys as well.

Also, starting in early January, I will be temporarily discounting Books One and Two at different rates and promos. This is related to some upcoming news concerning this series, so the promos are a way to pump you all up!

 

Here’s the links to the Amazon pages as of 12/3/2019::

Book #1: KINETIC REBIRTH

Book #2: KINETIC MEMORY

 

By the time this post drops, that link for KINETIC REBIRTH should have been updated on Amazon to be free through to Saturday!

Also trying to figure out timing for a discount promo for Book Two [KINETIC MEMORY], so that might happen soon.

If you want to get ahead of the crowd, you can buy them now, or, if preferred, buy them during some of the upcoming promos.

Also keep an eye on this blog in the coming days. I’ve got a big announcement once all my ducks are in a row, and it’s something I hope you all might be excited about. I know I’m so excited I might explode with happiness!

2020 looks like it’s gonna be a great year, my friends!

So, until later, Vikans. Keep Faith.

– C

Wow, New Year already?

Career, Dear Diary, KINETICS, Out in the World, Ramblings, , , , , , , , , ,

What happened? 2018, gone just like that? Where’d the year go?

When I realized what that meant, I felt like I’d barely accomplished anything of value in my life. Had I written stuff? Yes, I had.

However, the kicker for me was this…

I hadn’t published much of anything.

Granted, three works got published, but without really any noticeable success, either reader-wise or sales-wise. “Account of Secrets” and “KINETIC MEMORY” both were released in January 2018, with the 5th CHAOS ACCOUNTS story (“Account of Risks“) released in July 2018. Yes, these are published works, but my mind believes that even with those releases, there is a lack of accomplishment or fulfillment. Especially because the last two months, as 2018 started coming to a close, my inspiration and motivation to write weakened, due to anxiety of holidays, day job, and prepping for my wedding in Fall 2019. (Getting engaged was one of few high points in 2018, let me tell you.)

I feel a bit weird about all of that in general. Think about it for a second. 2017, after I lost JV, was my most productive and active year of my writing career thus far. I wrote the first 4 CHAOS ACCOUNTS stories and published 3 of them. I also published a prequel ebook (“KINETIC TRAGEDY“; only available on Instafreebie) and the first KINETICS book (“KINETIC REBIRTH“), as well as written that whole first book, its sequel, and the fifth CHAOS story, rounding out that series’s first Arc.

Move onto 2018. I wrote as much as I could, but the inspiration and motivation started to wane and weaken. I ended up transferring to a merger company that my day job joined with, a company that started business early 2018. Since I had to learn a completely new system and way of doing day-to-day activities, plus having to interact with people of lots of different personalities and work ethics. That was a HUGE learning curve, and I think that stress and elevated anxiety was probably a root cause for lack of activity.

Now, like I said above, I got a LOT of writing done in 2018, at least in the first half or so. Highlights:

— Finished writing AND personally editing first drafts to the third AND fourth KINETICS books, as well as written 1/3 of the fifth and final installment

— Wrote a couple thousand words for CHAOS ACCOUNTS #6, as well as began formatting for the first CHAOS ACCOUNTS collection, for Accounts #1-5 (Aiming for physical copies of this as well)

— Worked on editing old WIP projects

— Started writing new WIPs – one that I’m presently working on in hopes of traditional publishing (hopefully)

However, still hardly any publishing credits for most of 2018. I have a good amount of finished projects, as well as dozens of WIPs. You want proof?

Image may contain: screen and laptop

Yeah, looking at that makes my head spin too.

The above and below screenshots are a spreadsheet that catalogs progress on any projects I’ve written for as far back as New Year’s 2011. That means today marks eight years of consistent writing, and hopefully useful words and maybe eventually books / ebooks. I created this Spreadsheet around 2014/2015-ish, and any projects I’ve made progress on since then actually keeps track of my word count each day for whatever project I wrote for. I’m OCD to the max, I already know this. 😉 But, the above is almost all my projects, either WIPs, completed novels, or spin-offs/sequels to earlier projects in the first two categories. Any project since 2011. ANY.

Now, the top right of this spreadsheet made me feel at least slightly accomplished when I did my end of the year WC check:

No automatic alt text available.

Yes, you are seeing correctly. Eight years of monitoring my word counts, and in the year 2018, I reached over 1.1 million words written, either in completed works or the word counts in my present WIPs, since 2011.

Then, looking through my project tabs, I mentally remembered plot lines to the WIPs I hadn’t touched in years, smiled slightly. Those 1.1 million words created so many great ideas and so many happy memories. Hopefully one day, I’ll be able to share them with you.

I replacement of a New Year’s resolution (as no one keeps those anyway), I will be even more meticulous when it comes to my writing schedule. I’ve added tabs to that massive spreadsheet, where I will also record each day’s word counts. I’ve added a reference tab as well, where I outline the minimum word count I’d like to achieve each month, and even broke that minimum to how many words per day I’d need to reach the monthly goal. I chose different minimums for each month, varying depending on what activities I know will be going on that month, outside of author-dom existence. Hopefully I can stick to this OCD recording better than I have my blog in recent years.

I will also attempt to save money to eventually roll out KINETICS #3 and #4 in the coming years (as self-pubbing costs money, and I really don’t have a huge fanbase. Actually, to be honest, might only have a handful of them. Wish I was more visible…).

And, as always, I will write. I write for my readers. I write for myself. And, I write for my future, as well as the futures of anyone that cares to grab digital and / or print copies of my books and stories. As an author, the best part about getting your stories out there is to have people take a leap of faith and join your characters on their journeys. And, even with the minimal readers I have now, I will always write stories. Because, maybe one day, I’ll look back and be happy that I took a leap of faith too, hoping people might enjoy my stories. And, hopefully, that dream might become a reality.

Here’s to an exciting and unpredictable year!

2019, bring it on!

Have Faith,

– 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

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

THE DAY HAS COME! // “Kinetic Rebirth” Release Day

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

Greetings, Vikans!

I know, it isn’t Wednesday. But my regular blog posts are Wednesdays, right? Why would I switch up my schedule?

KineticRebirth_promo

BECAUSE KINETIC REBIRTH IS NOW AVAILABLE DIGITALLY ON KINDLE!!

Yes, that’s right, friends. September 19th, 2017 has finally arrived, and I am so excited and beyond terrified at the same time. To me, this book is my greatest accomplishment, and my ultimate dedication to JV (If you don’t know who she is, go read a few previous blog posts. Long story short, she was one of my best friends who was killed early this year, and I have inserted her as one of the heroes, being as true to who she was as I could manage). It’ll give me a little bit of closure, knowing she will be forever immortalized in my writing. She was my beta reader, my inspiration, my co-author (on another series), and my best friend. She was almost like a sister to me, so this is the least I can do to honor her life and memory.

KINETIC REBIRTH is also available for Kindle Unlimited (KU) subscribers as well. Also, for those of you that don’t have a Kindle, there’s a Kindle app for smartphones, tablets, and any other AppStore technologies.

Just for a brief update on projects, I finally beat a week-long writing slump and cranked out almost 2k on my KINETICS #2 WIP, bringing rough word count to over 42,000 words. Chaos Accounts #4 also got hit by that writing slump, so it won’t be out as soon as I had hoped. Also, I dabbled just a tad on me and JV’s series, but can’t work on it too much for a lock-up of JV’s notebooks. No worries; I’ll get them eventually, but it’ll be a while. I’m also considering an attempt to go the traditional route with our co-authored series. When the book nears completion in a year or two, I’ll decide for sure.

You can grab your digital copy of KINETIC REBIRTH off Amazon [here]. If you’re more of a print version, subscribe to my newsletter [here] to be reminded closer to Print release day and on actual print release day on October 19th, 2017.

Hope you all enjoy reading this adventure as much as I loved writing it.

As always, Keep Faith, everyone.

And… Remember this::

“Assume Nothing.”

 

Kindle/KU link:: http://amzn.to/2vFyZGA

Email Subscribers link:: http://www.subscribepage.com/a5h2b9

KINETIC REBIRTH Cover Reveal!!!

KINETICS, New Release Details, Out in the World, Ramblings, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here you guys go; today as promised! Here’s the cover to KINETIC REBIRTH::

KineticRebirth_promo

AWESOME, RIGHT! I owe this beautifully perfect cover, and the matching one for the KINETIC TRAGEDY prequel eBook short, to Designed By Starla. She is always a joy to work with, and it’s almost like she can read your mind sometimes!

Alright, so, I know I promised a surprise along with this cover reveal. Here it is::

[Kindle Preorder]

Yep, you read the hyperlinked-text correctly! KINETIC REBIRTH is now available as an eBook preorder on Amazon! And, if you venture over to that page, you’ll notice the release date says “September 19th, 2017”. No, that’s not a typo. Yes, I am serious. The Kindle version of this, the first book in my KINETICS series, will release a month before the print. Print copies still won’t be available until October 19th, as I have advertised before, as that day is so important for my life and my friendship with JV.

20883020_10212703497198936_6822857052902535667_nSpeaking of which, a few hours ago, my wonderful Boyfriend drove me 30 minutes to the cemetery to visit JV. This will have been the first time I’d been to see her since the day she was buried there. We bought some yellow flowers, as they are the symbol of life-long friendship. As it rained last night, we brought a trash bag to lay under my towel, so I could sit and talk to her, like old times. Boyfriend even just wandered around the cemetery to give me and JV some alone time. I played some new Peter Hollens music for her, showed her my new re-branded covers, and introduced her to JV Jr. I told her that I would give up anything, even my skill and ability to write stories – my passion and life – if it meant I could bring her back. I kinda felt her wanting to slap me for that, because she knows how important my writing is to me, and would never want me to give that up. L20915445_10212703496518919_842195955544002829_n.jpgots of tears were shed, but I felt her right there with me. When I headed to the car, Boyfriend (he told me this later) went to her resting place, put a hand on the stone, and said to her, “I know I’m not as great a listener as you are, but I promise I’ll take care of Christine for you. She’ll be looked after, I promise.” Then, he followed me to the car, hugged me, and I proceeded to sob like a baby. I had never felt so close to JV before, but it finally hit me that she wasn’t coming back.

This new series, this new universe of KINETICS and magic, has made me feel so much closer to JV. I’ve gotten a handful of compliments from my select ARC readers, some of them who knew JV, and said she was the best character, and the ones that knew her said my portrayal of her was spot on and perfect. Every compliment I get on JV’s character brings me closer to tears of happiness. Every. Single. Time.

If you are even remotely interested in how special JV was to me and everyone she interacted with, go preorder a digital copy of KINETIC REBIRTH, and, in the meantime, head on over to Instafreebie for the short eBook prequel story (KINETIC TRAGEDY) to tide you over until the Kindle release in September.

If you are a physical copy kind of person, follow me on Twitter, or Like my Author Page on FB, so you can see my posts and be reminded when the print book comes out. Trust me, I know a lot can happen in two months, and I wouldn’t want you to forget about this ultimate dedication to my best friend.

I know she’s still near. I can feel her.

And, the only thing I can say to her, is summed up perfectly in my last words at her grave site today:

“Jessi, you were my best friend, my coauthor, pretty much a sister to me. You made me a better friend, a better writer, a better person. I am so lucky you were a part of my life, no matter how few years our friendship was. I am so grateful God put you in my life, and I will make sure your energy, your personality, your passion, and your life will remain immortal within the pages of my books. And, for everything you’ve done for me, I cannot explain in few enough words. So, simply put, Thank you, Jess. For everything.”

Keep Faith, everyone. And keep love in your hearts, because that is the sole thing that beats despair. Love will always win.

Wild News Wednesday (2017-07-26)

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TWO BLOG POSTS IN A WEEK? WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?!

To kick off this Weekly update, I want to remind y’all of my current giveaway. If you subscribe to my e-Newsletter list, whether via Instafreebie [here] (which gets you an eBook download of KINETIC TRAGEDY for FREE! It’s only available there) or my direct sign-up link [here] from now until August 31st 23:59 EST, and then contact me, either by FB [here], commenting here on this post (or on my previous post [here]), or PM my Twitter [here], then you’ll be put in for a drawing for a FREE, AUTOGRAPHED, ADVANCED COPY of KINETIC REBIRTH, that you should receive prior to its release date this October. For more details, see that blog post [here].

Next up, cover reveal!

I have picked August 19th as my big cover reveal day for KINETIC REBIRTH. At that time, I will also reveal the back page blurb/summary, and I have a little surprise in store that day as well, which has related news I cannot disclose until that reveal day. Mark your calendars, though. If you want to make sure you remember, I will be posting reveals and reminders all over social media, as well as to my email subscribers.

(BTW-All links are on my “Contact Me” page [here])

Final topic: my writing progress. I have submitted final files to Createspace, and they’ve been approved! Now, while I ride out the two-and-a-half month wait for the release date, I have been working on the sequel. I started it at the beginning of June this year, and, as of last night, I had reached just over 19,000 words on it. Title is TBD, but the story picks up soon after the ending of KINETIC REBIRTH. Also, this story is taking me back to the origins of me and JV’s friendship, with a roleplay about a town called Hyndon. It’s how JV and I first met and became fast friends. As she is not only one of the heroes in my KINETCS series, but I am incorporating as much of our friendship as one series can hold. Book 2 goes back to our roots as friends, and you’ll be in for a wild ride.

That’s all I can say about it right now, simply because 19k might seem impressive, but the acceptable minimum word count for a YA novel is 50,000. So, yeah, got a ways to go.

Also, on the grieving front, it’s been almost 6 months since JV left this world. It’s hard to believe. We were so close, almost like sisters. And then, in one freak accident, her beautiful life was cut short. I miss her like crazy, but she’s still here with me, with every she cares about. Want to know how I know? When I listen to music (which is every day for hours at a time), I have my entire library on shuffle. Driving home yesterday, my shuffle played this song (below), right as I was thinking about how much I missed her. She loved Peter Hollens just as much as I do, and this song always gives me chills. I know she played that song, to let me know she’s still there, still watching over me.

Keep Faith, guys. ❤

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojt0eiFX1K4