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.
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”,
I am currently panicking. With KINETIC REBIRTH releasing digitally next Tuesday (September 19th), my day job taking a sharp turn on a rocky mountain side, and my creativity monster giving me flack, my mind never shuts off. I have woken up slightly late every day this week thus far, luckily only arriving a few minutes late to day job. My brain has been going a hundred miles an hour as I prep for release day, which makes my body exhausted. If that wasn’t bad enough, I’ve been getting crippling chest pain, which doctor’s tell me is due to anxiety.
No. Frickin. Way. NEVER would have guessed THAT. (Catch the sarcasm?)
Anyway, long story short, lots of stuff going on. KINETICS #2 (Title TBD) reached 40,000 words a few weeks ago, with a total goal of minimum 60-65k. ACCOUNT OF SECRETS, my Chaos Accounts Story #4, is only two or three scenes away from its cliffhanger ending, so close I can taste it.
I haven’t touched either in a week.
My creativity and inspiration has been floating back to the series I was writing with JV. If you want an idea of how we decided to coauthor a book together, that story starts as far back as when we first met in October 2011. Check out the videos JV and I did for my Youtube Channel: [Part 1 here] and [Part 2 here]. Part 1 talks about our friendship, while Part 2 talks writing a book series together. Also, if you want a good grasp of JV’s character and personality (and mine as well), check out [this video] (also below) of us acting like goofballs::
This has happened once before, back in April, where my inspiration for writing always crept back to Lite & Darke (Our series title). It’s a struggle, because, currently, I do not have access to her notebooks. Legal stuff I’m not going to get into. The point is, I coped with it by finishing a few unfinished chapters I’d written, and updated our outline/word count spreadsheet. That gave me enough satisfaction to finally move back to projects I might actually have a chance of finishing, aka, Chaos Accounts and Kinetics.
Well, it came creeping back into my brain lately, probably because of the nearby release date, and the fact that JV would have had her baby around the seven month marker since her death.
Not an hour has gone by every day since January 31st that I don’t think of her. She was my closest friend, practically a sister. I made a promise to her while during the funeral home viewing and at the church ceremony, as well as promised each of her family members and close friends, that I would finish Lite & Darke for her, and her name would be on the covers right next to mine. While KINETICS is my ultimate dedication to her life and personality, Lite & Darke is my way of showing how we helped each other to grow as writers, how we had a chemistry with creative juices and thought processes. In fact, one of us would have an idea for a scene, and when telling the other over the phone, the other would cut the original plotter’s description, but say the exact same thing the originator was going to say. I swear the two of us had some kind of psychic bond between us, which is probably why her being gone is so painful.
Anyway, to conclude, I went into my Lite & Darke folder on my computer and opened my merged file with all of our completed or partially completed chapters, as well as the Book 1 Outline we only partially finished filling out. Don’t think even for a second that was all we’d planned together. No, we outlined the whole series in our heads and words, and I remember every single idea, even without written/typed documentation.
I did some minor editing, finished up a partial chapter, and updated the Outline with the total Word Count so far.
30,000 words.
Yup, you read that right: Thirty Thou, baby!
This doesn’t include all the scenes that JV handwrote during her breaks at work. Like I mentioned before, those are locked up until May 2018 at the latest. However, I found a loop hole. In our Outline, we designated chapters to each of us, labeling each chapters as “C”, “J”, or “Toss Up”. While I can’t work on the “J” ones just yet, and I remain wary of the “Toss Up” ones as well, I can still writing the scenes I was assigned, at least until my creativity monster is satisfied with the progress and lets me go back to Chaos Accounts and/or Kinetics.
Oh, and just FYI, KINETIC REBIRTH is currently doing preorders for the Kindle version, which, as mentioned above, released on September 19th, 2017 (Next Tuesday // SIX DAYS!!). I’ve been a bit disappointed at the lack of preorders I’ve gotten, so if you’ve got a Kindle or a Kindle app, PLEASE preorder a copy! Preorders count once release day hits, and every one matters to me. To preorder the Kindle copy, PLEASE click [here]! It would mean THE WORLD TO ME!
If you’re a print-book type of person, [subscribe] to my email list. You will receive an email closer to print release date, which is October 19th, the six year anniversary of when JV and I became friends. You will also receive an email the day of digital release next Tuesday morning, as well as a reminder on Print release date as well. Print might not be perfectly timed for a recorded release of October 19th, as I’ll have to approve it prior to October 19th to ensure it is live and available for purchase by the 19th, but I will send the print reminder as soon as the book goes live.
Also, if you have a Kindle, you can get a taste of my KINETICS series on Instafreebie, where you can download KINETIC TRAGEDY, a short prequel story available only to Instafreebie subscribers currently. You can get that story [here]. Also, by downloading that story on Instafreebie, you are automatically added to the above aforementioned subscribing e-Newsletter list. So, not only will you get an email alert when my books/stories release, but you get a free story out of it too! 😀
Maybe a snippet of the first chapter of KINETIC REBIRTH might give you an idea of whether or not you want to join Jaden, Lukas, Kiran, and Jessica on their journey home.
As a final word before the sneak peek…
“Assume Nothing”
SNIPPET START:::
Chapter 1
Keyboard keys tap-tapped all around Jaden Walker. She ripped her gaze from her computer screen to gaze around the competition room. Her spot sat in the second row from the back, with about ten rows of students and computers in front of her. Supervisors scattered around the rows, keeping an eye out for cheaters. Jaden didn’t see the point in that, as every competitor’s test had been randomized out of a pool of questions. In order to cheat, you’d either need a camera and earpiece or be an idiot. That first option screamed “Idiot” to her too, to be entirely honest. After a quick sweep of the testing room, Jaden locked gazes with one of the Supervisors. His burning amber hair stuck out like a sore thumb as he smiled crookedly at her, as if he knew something she didn’t. That look pointed out the obvious, as he – being a Supervisor – already functioned in an aspect of the business world and obviously would know more than college freshman Jaden Walker. Rolling her eyes, she directed her attention back to her test. Despite the beaming talent surrounding her, she knew she would wipe the floor with them. About twenty minutes later, she closed down the testing browser, grabbed her coat, and scooched her way down the narrow walkway to get out of the square of competitors. Right as she reached the edge, she ran right into somebody. “I’m sorry-” “Shhhh…” the man whispered, “Others are still testing.” Jaden nodded. “Sorry.” She kept her voice hushed as well. When she looked up at the Supervisor, she recognized him as the red-headed man who’d made her feel annoyed earlier. “May I ask your name?” Scoffing, she replied lightly, “Like you need to know.” The smallest of smiles crept onto the man’s face, his green eyes gazing down at her as if analyzing her every move. “I’m sure I’ll know it soon enough.” “Riiiiiiight…” A chill shot down her back, which she shrugged off. As she turned around to leave, she felt his eyes on her the whole walk to the back exit. As the door shut behind her, she relaxed, releasing a heavy sigh. “Sooooooo, how’d you do?” Jaden spotted Lukas, her closest friend, leaning against the wall with one foot flat against the tan wallpaper. “I hope you’re not leaving a shoe print on that wall. The convention center staff might not take too kindly to that.” Removing his foot, he smiled. “Avoiding the question, I see?” Shoulders dropping from exasperation, she snapped lightly, “How should I know? I won’t know until the awards ceremony tomorrow night.” “Jeesh, just asked a question. No need to be harsh.” Rolling her eyes with a small smile, Jaden walked down the testing hallway. Her eyes skimmed the walls, all plastered with promotional “BS” related to this Phi Beta Lambda national conference. She won first place in two state competitions and second in a third, which gave her admittance to the national level of testing. Even placing in the top ten would be amazing. Plus, it looked impressive on a resume when she would graduate in a few years. She’d just finished her final test, so all that was left of her agenda involved networking with business professionals (in her wording, schmoozing the big wigs) and tomorrow night’s award ceremony at Six PM. Lukas suddenly appeared at her side, matching her step by step, completely in sync with her pace and speed. “So, no weird people in there?” “Well there was one guy, but I think other people saw him, so not a figment.” The term “figment” referred to the hallucinations she’d had since she was a child. At first, her parents blamed it on an over-active, childish imagination. Once she’d reached high school and still saw people and animals who weren’t there, her parents worried deeply for their daughter. They employed the help of a shrink, who, for each session, she’d humored with breathing exercises and repetitive mantras and meds until she bolted out to go home and read a book. Rather quickly, she masked her diagnosed schizophrenia from the world, instead diving deep into her studies and avoiding as many social situations whenever possible. “You trust your sight yet?” Heaving a heavy sigh, Jaden responded, “Not entirely. You’re still here.” “Hey!” After whacking him lightly on the back of his head, she finally cracked a smile. Lukas had been her friend since third grade and stuck like glue to her side. In fact, he went everywhere with her. Weirdly enough, he’d frequently show up out of the blue during personal trips and vacations, insisting he wanted to surprise her. At first, his surprises did shock and elate her, but after a couple years of it, it became pretty predictable. His parents tended to be lenient toward him and his antics, and they somehow had the money for him to follow her pretty much anywhere. Part of her thanked God that he wasn’t another one of her figments. People saw him, talked to him, and played with him, so he existed. Since he’d been by her side for so long, she confided her mental handicap to him early on, and only him. Outside of him and her family, no one knew, and she wanted it to stay that way. She’d thought it was strange with how accepting he was with it. He didn’t freak out or get depressed or feel worrisome. He’d pretty much shrugged it off, like seeing imaginary people everywhere was as normal as pizza on a Friday night. Lukas rubbed where she whacked him. “Um, ow!” Her smiled widened slightly as she shoved him with her shoulder. “That didn’t hurt and you know it.” She knew it too, because he possessed a “high pain tolerance”, as he’d reminded her on countless occasions. With a light chuckle, he shoved her with his shoulder like she had to him. “Good, you remembered.” Then, he froze, stopping in his tracks. His icy blue eyes locked on something ahead. “Uh, oh…” Her eyes followed his line of sight and easily spotted two teenagers making a beeline for them. Or, rather her, because she went to address Lukas to discover he’d vanished. Again. He’d done this frequently in her life, and it always annoyed her. He didn’t up and poof away in a puff of smoke, but he always picked the perfect moment to disappear on her, usually moments he didn’t want to deal with. “Freaking kidding me, Wolfe!” The two kids stopped about three feet from her. The girl waved and greeted, “Hi!” Her personality bubbled with childish excitement, like a kid stuck in a sixteen-year-old’s rather bulky body. Jaden stared at her for a moment before weakly raising a hand as well. “Hi?” The boy with her rolled his eyes. “Jess, you’re freaking her out.” The girl’s eyes widened slightly. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” “Not startled,” Jaden replied slowly, “Just weirded out. What can I do for you two?” The girl and boy looked at each other briefly before turning attention back to her. “My name’s Jessica, but most people call me Jessi. My twin brother here, Kiran, usually calls me Jess or JV, just randomly picking between four different variations of my name. It’s a good thing I’m used to being addressed with all four throughout my life.” Kiran’s head rolled back as he sighed, “Jess, diarrhea of the mouth again. I honestly don’t think she cares about your millions of nicknames.” Shaking a hand at him, Jaden said, “It’s fine. I don’t mind. My sister’s the same way sometimes. So, Jessi, Kiran… Can I help you with something?” The two teens exchanged looks again before looking back at her. Jessi told her, “We think someone might be looking for you.” Raising an eyebrow, Jaden responded, “Probably my parents. They’ve been wandering around this Gaylord center every time I have mandatory events. I’ll find them eventually, I promise. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She walked around them, but only made it two steps before the two kids stepped into her path. Holding up a hand, a “STOP” gesture, Jessi told her, “No, not your parents. Someone else. Someone bad.” In her mind, Jaden could only call them crazy kids with overactive imaginations. Right when that thought crossed her mind, she recalled that being her parents’ initial reaction to her seeing the figments. These two probably have been dealing with the same stuff she had her whole life, and she felt a pang of empathy for them. “Look, I’m sure security around here will be able to pick him up like a sore thumb.” Jessi shook her head, her sandy brown hair flying around at the rapid, overly-excited speed she swung it. Jaden caught scattered blonde highlights in the strands of her bob-like haircut. “No, they can’t, because no one can see him. Nobody but you.” Jaden’s heart started pounding in her chest, her skin chilled with goosebumps. Did these two kids, strangers at that, really know that she was a schizo? Shaking her head slightly to snap out of her worrisome, panicked thoughts, she replied, “I have no idea what you mean by that. Plus, I’ve got a seminar at four that I can’t be late for.” This time, Kiran spoke up, “Which seminar?” She hesitated. Clearly these two needed help, or at least needed to stick with their guardian or chaperone. But, she really didn’t see the harm in sharing. “‘Budgeting for Needs and Wants’. Since I’ll be coming out of college debt-free, thanks to my dad’s military benefits, I need to figure out how to budget once I don’t have my parents to help. I graduate in about three years, so it’s better to be prepared, you know?” Kiran’s eyes lit up, his irises a blue-green that reflected the color of the ocean. “Oh, cool! That sounds like fun! Mind if we tag along?” As much as Jaden wanted to get as far away from these unhinged children as fast as she could, she bit back her stress and told them nonchalantly, “Yeah, sure, that’s seems okay with me. You can join me. Make sure you have a notebook handy. I’ve heard the speaker is amazing and gives tons of good advice.” Kiran’s mouth widened into a huge smile. “That’s sounds awesome! Sold! C’mon, Jess, let’s go learn about finances.” Jessi stared at her brother for a few seconds before sighing heavily. “Alright, Mr. Studious Crazy, I’ll come too. Take notes for both of us though. I don’t want to zone out and not have the amazing knowledge this strange businessman has to offer.” Jaden recognized the slight sarcasm in the girl’s words, but Kiran’s excitement blocked him from identifying it himself. “Great! Lead the way…” He faded off, biting his lip. He glanced at her and then at his sister. Mentally rolling her eyes, Jaden filled in the missing blank: “Jaden. Jaden Walker.” With a smile, Jessi responded, “Nice to meet you, Jaden. I hope we won’t slow you down much.” As she held back a laugh, remembering a ton of times that Lukas had said that to her in jest, she told her, “Trust me, I’ve dealt with worse. Okay, I believe that seminar is in room 2B.” “Excellent!” Kiran rubbed his hands together, during which Jaden thought she saw sparks flying out. Trying to snap herself out of those thoughts didn’t work at first. First figments, and now I’m imagining electricity popping out of a kid’s hands. Don’t tell me my problem is branching out more… “Let’s go!” Kiran’s shout of excitement shocked her out of it. Her head snapped up from where it had been angled at the floor to find the two teens halfway across the atrium. Kiran waved at her excitedly. “C’mon, slowpoke! Thought this was your panel choice.” Her face cracked a small smile at his eagerness. As she walked to catch up with them, a question ran through her head that worried her. Did they know? Followed by a second one: How?
So, life’s been stressful lately, but I won’t bore y’all with details. However, I will update you guys on my writing endeavors. I owe you guys that much for reading coming over here to my slice of the Interwebs.
So, we have less than 3 months until the official print release of KINETIC REBIRTH, the first in my KINETICS series. You know, the one I’ve been talking about non-stop for months? Yeah, that one.
It’s due to release October 19th, 2017, and I have NEVER been more excited in my life! HOWEVER, some reveals are closer. I’ve decided to do the official cover reveal on my social media on Saturday, August 19th, exactly two months from the print book’s release. Along with it will be a surprise pertaining to KINETIC REBIRTH’S release, which I’m sure will make some people super excited.
Or, at least, I hope.
Anyway, if you want to make sure you get notified of the cover reveal, Like/Follow/Subscribe to the following pages, so you’ll see everything when the news goes live.
One way is Instafreebie. When you download KINETIC TRAGEDY, the eBook short story prequel to October’s novel release, your email is added to my e-Newsletter subscribers list. You’ll get pertinent information, and I promise I won’t be sending too many emails to my list. At least, not yet. To download the story AND be added to my subscribers list, go [here] to download it! If you just want to be a Newsletter subscriber, but don’t need the eBook short for whatever reason, you can directly sign up [here].
You can also Like my Facebook Author page. Either search C. McDonnell on the FB search bar, or just click [this link]. Yes, I did change the title of my author page. This is because I learned back in 2011, when I released my first short story, that there is a children’s book author that also has my name. So, all upcoming and future projects will be under author C. McDonnell, to stop confusing searches on Amazon, B&N, etc.
Another place to keep up with me is Twitter. My user is @discoverywritin, or you can click [here] to go to my Twitter page. Don’t be afraid to say Hi! I don’t bite, I swear.
Okay, one last update.
As of the beginning of June, I have been working diligently on Book 2 of my Kinetics series. Yep, the sequel to the above aforementioned October 2017 novel release. (Sorry, mouthful). As of now, title is TBD, as is completion date and release date. From June 1st until yesterday, I have written over 24k words (24,000 words, for those of you that don’t understand the abbreviation). YA Fantasy generally has an accepted 50k minimum word count, but I’ve never had a problem surpassing that in my other 7+ completed manuscripts that I’ve set on the back burner. So, essentially, I’m halfway to the least I can publish. While it is just an objective minimum, it gives me a calculable goal, and I know this book will surpass that easy peasy.
Also, to give a bit more details, this second book will encompass more of me and JV’s friendship, going back to our roots, back to when we first met and became friends back in October 2011. We met through mutual friends, through a forum-based fantasy RP they’d created. If you want more info on our journey through our five and a half year friendship, go to [this video] on Youtube, where JV and I discuss how we became friends. Part Two (found [here]) delves into our transition into coauthoring a series together.
And, for clarification, the KINETICS series is NOT the one we were coauthoring. Currently there’s a snag in getting her writings for it, but once that snag is untangled, then I will pursue that series as well.
Anyway, back to my information on Untitled Kinetics Project #2.
It goes back to our roots, in a little town called Hyndon. We created characters about 1-2 months in that were in a relationship together. Even after the RP site went inactive, JV and I continued those characters’ story within private, shared Google Docs files. That led to multiple different Google Docs of varying role-playing, each with their own sets of characters, settings, magic systems, etc, etc.
My Kinetics series is my ultimate dedication to JV, and the friendship we had together. This series will get crammed with so much of our writing together, that you will hopefully know her as well as I do.
Monday marked 6 months since she passed from this world, and I cried all day and all night, and didn’t sleep well that night. When I woke up the next day, my boss asked me, ten minutes into the work day, if I was okay, and that I looked like I was in bad shape. Have I mentioned how awesome my boss is before? Well, I am now.
However, within a few hours, I looked at my JV Jr doll, who I’ve taken to work every day since the funeral, and also looked at the photo on my desk, and realized crying won’t bring her back. To be honest, I’d give up my creative mind if it meant bringing her back, but since that isn’t a possibility, I have to utilize my gifts to make sure she forever lives on through my writing. So the world can see how pure, creative, fun, and amazing a person she was. This is our friendship’s legacy, and I hope you’ll get copies when KINETIC REBIRTH is released, so you can see for yourself how much she meant to me, and to everyone else she cared about.
So, links are in brackets where each social media platform is mentioned. You can also locate me on the links on my “Contact Me” tab [here].
And, my new sign-off for Kinetics related stuff…
“Assume nothing.”
Also, Keep Faith, guys. Life may be hard now, but, at a certain point, you can only go up from there.
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.
These weekly updates posts are keeping me accountable so far, and I hope to keep it that way. Hopefully I don’t drop it like a weight when I get busy.
ANYWAY!
So, over the weekend, I released a short story prequel to my upcoming October release. It’s titled “KINETIC TRAGEDY”, and takes place six years before the events of “KINETIC REBIRTH” (slated for an October 19th release). It’s a quick read, and leaves you with more questions than answers. Perfect fodder for this author. >:)
It is currently only available on Instafreebie, but a month or so before the novel’s release, I will be publishing this eBook prequel story on all digital retailers to prep for KINETIC REBIRTH’s release.
Get your copy off Instafreebie [here]. And PLEASE sign up for the email list! I make it optional, but if you want to make sure you get a reminder email closer to the novel’s release, I’d suggest signing up. 🙂
Everything is set and ready to hit that “Confirm” button and release KINETIC REBIRTH into the wild. “So, why wait?”, you might ask. Because that release date is more than just a book release date. It’s the day I first met JV. The start of our 5+ years of friendship. October 19th, 2011. The reason I know that is because that’s when the roleplay launched that connected the two of us through mutual friends. We’ve had a blast crafting dozens upon dozens of characters for a good handful of roleplay documents, either public or private. Since KINETIC REBIRTH includes most of those characters we crafted together, it’s only fitting to release this first novel to celebrate the day it all started. Celebrating her life and not focusing on her death.
Now, for a slightly different, but not unrelated topic: my emotional state.
I am hanging in perfectly right now. Each piece that went into KINETIC REBIRTH, from the editing, layout, to uploads and short stories, made me slightly happier and more positive. The biggest increase in positivity was when the AMAZING [Designed by Starla] create the covers for both the novel and the KINETIC TRAGEDY short. When I saw those covers, that’s when it started sinking in: THIS IS HAPPENING. THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. FOR REAL.
Once I see the proof copy, I will probably burst into tears. Because, this series would never had existed if I had never met JV. We actually were in the midst of coauthoring a series together when she passed. NOTE: NOT THIS SERIES. Our series was different, and none of those characters will cross over. I just can’t handle reading her notebooks just yet. I WILL FINISH THEM. And her name will be on ALL four covers for it, right next to mine.
Dang, getting off track. Long story short: I’m doing better now than I have been in the last five months. It’s hard to believe it’s been five months since I’ve heard her voice. I will get through this. All of us that knew her will get through this. And, by including JV as one of the heroes in my KINETICS series, she will continue to live on forever in the words and stories within those pages.
Oh, and I got a haircut and color. IT’S SO LIGHT AND THIN. WISH IT COULD STAY THAT WAY.
So, summary: Short story on Instafreebie, KINETIC REBIRTH update, and hair cut.
Unfortunately, things got chaotic last night, and I never made a #TeaserTuesday photo. I’ll try posting on for Thursday. Yes, I know it’s a different day. I don’t care. :p
OH! And Cover Reveal for KINETIC REBIRTH will be in the coming weeks. GET PUMPED!!!
Hey there, all you Vikans! Hope this Friday is treating you well.
Soooooo, yesterday, I dropped my public announcement video outlining some details from my #secretproject. You can find that link [here], and also permalinked below. However, I wanted to give more details about this #secretproject. I will make videos later explaining this stuff and put them on my [Youtube Channel] (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!! I HAZ JV VIDEOS THERE!) at a later date, for the public that doesn’t follow this blog.
So, first point of importance, repeating details from the video::
This book series (yup, you read right: SERIES) is my ultimate dedication to my best friend JV (who you can briefly get to know at my [Youtube Channel] in the few videos I have of us and our crazy friendship).
Almost every single character in this series (or, at least in the first book) was one that either JV and I came up with for our group and personal roleplaying, and also 2 characters JV had created with her and her other best friend, Renee. Melding multiple characters from multiple different roleplays, insert them into a completely different universe, and still be true to how they were in our fun adventures together. If they had a different personality, I had to think about, “What would happen in order to change them from Point A to Point B?” Surprisingly, my mind instinctively filled in the holes without much conscious effort or planning.
Like I said above, almost every single character was completely fictional, and stemmed from my and JV’s fun writing times. The key word there is ALMOST. One character in this series was based on and inspired by someone very key to this project: JV herself. I have inserted her in this series as one of the heroes. I am writing her as accurately and true to JV’s personality and values when she was alive.
As a side note, when I got my edits back from my editor, there was a small paragraph in one section that I’d like to share…
Needless to say, I teared up reading that after Ravencon a month ago. That was the best compliment I could ever receive from someone pertaining to JV, and hearing that from a professional editor made it that much more special. Glad I’m doing her justice.
Okay, Part II – Release information
So, originally, I planned for a January 31st, 2018 release date. That will be the 1-year anniversary of the day JV passed on. My logic was that even though she’d died, she would live on through my writing.
I thought about it and thought about it, and realized that by releasing on that date would focus more on the fact she’d died, rather than a celebration of her life. She wouldn’t want us to focus on that; I know she wouldn’t. I swear I feel her yelling at me when I tear up on occasion remembering her. And then, she’ll probably start crying herself, and tell me to stop crying so she could stop crying. We were really in sync with our emotional personalities, and both sensitive to emotions floating around us.
Sooooo, I’ve picked a new release date: October 19th, 2017. Yes, there is a reason for that specific date. Travel back to October 19th, 2011. My freshman year of college. I had found a little circle of friends who loved fantasy, Marvel, action, writing, and creativity. A bunch of us joined up together and started a private forum-based roleplay website through Probroards. It was through these friends and the roleplay that I became friends with JV. Five-and-a-half years may seem like a short time to most people, but to me, that time with her in my life contains memories and laughter and mutual collaboration that will last a lifetime.
Lastly, Topic #3, which is related to the release date – Funds.
This book will be self-published through a self-publishing imprint of a large book distributor, meaning it will be available at THOUSANDS of print and eBook retailers. However, this company has a yearly fee, as well as initial start-up costs when uploading the cover/interior files.
I also need to purchase ISBNs. One ISBN costs $125, while a 10-pack costs $250, and each version of a book needs its own ISBN, so the 10-pack is my best option.
In addition, I will be utilizing the layout skills of Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris, who create quite AMAZING layouts to print AND eBook! That will be a couple hundred as well, but that’s a really good deal compared to other layout freelancers.
Also, add to that the cover, which I will be once again utilizing the dazzling, gorgeous graphic design skills of the great Designed By Starla. She did the cover for THE PROTEKTOR’S REALITY, which turned out AWESOME, so I know she can do this dedication justice.
Soooooo, as you can see from the points above, getting this first novel published is costly up front, but, for me, it will be worth it. This series is closure for me, a way for me to feel closer to JV even though life has torn us away from each other.
Now, with the release date changed over three months earlier, it will put a strain on my wallet and push my limits, both panicked and monetary. All those costs for the old release date would have been spread over the course of 8 months, now are crammed into 5 months. Less, actually, to have a preorder option.
So, let me outline some reasons and strategies if you’d like to make this JV dedication a reality:
PATREON.
My [Patreon] pledges from my Patrons get deposited into a checking account that is only used for literary expenses (i.e.- anything pertaining to post-production of a project/WIP).
I’ve got some GREAT reward tiers, anything from insider info and news BEFORE the general public, to becoming a member of my private FB group, or getting chapbook or print versions of my works, depending on your level. Here’s my reward levels for my Patrons as of today (2017-05-26)::
If you only want to donate for a few months, or even just one month, you can pledge a certain amount, and, once you feel satisfied with pledging or maybe overwhelmed by money issues, you can change to a different tier or even remove your pledges at any time.
ANY BIT HELPS!
Also, I’m considering doing a Kickstarter of some kind if I don’t get a lot of Patrons on Patreon. If you’re reading this, comment below on whether or not you think I should go that route or not. The reason I’m considering it is because that would allow me to take one-time donations toward this project, rather than people having to either pledge money on a monthly basis or grimace and unwillingly walking away. Comment below on your opinions, on a possible Kickstarter or anything else I’ve written in this blog post.
Oh, and now, my #secretproject will now be changed to #KineticRebirth, as this project is not-so-secret now. 🙂
Welp, that’s in for this post. If you’re new to this little slice of the Interwebs, here’s the link to my [Contact Me] tab, where you can find all my social media links, such as Facebook, Twitter, Patreon, etc.
Terrara Vikos 