Cover reveal: Infiltrator (Contributor trilogy, book 2)

First, I owe some of you an apology. Several amazing people have read and reviewed Contributor and reached out to me to tell me how much they liked it. You've been waiting anxiously for the second book, and I took my sweet time getting it out. Truth is, I was scared to write it, but I made myself conquer that fear, and I'm excited about this book. I hope you will be too. I'm also making you this solemn promise: you will not have to wait nearly as long for book three. The first book I publish in 2014 will be a new adult romance, and after that I will publish the last Contributor book, so plan on a release in the first half of 2014.

Without further ado, here is the cover and description for Infiltrator. (Warning: If you haven't read Contributor, the description of Infiltrator is a little spoilery. Sorry, but it was unavoidable!)

Infiltrator will be available for Kindle on December 20, 2013.

YA post-apocalyptic/dystopian

Surviving her apprenticeship was just the first step. Now that Dara has joined the Free Thinkers, her life is about to become much more dangerous.

Frustrated by her seemingly pointless efforts to prove her worth to the Free Thinkers, she wonders if she made the right choice. Yet she can’t go back to her old life, can’t forgive Magnum for what it did to her mother. Then she discovers a crucial piece of intelligence: Andersen has been hard at work on a clandestine project that’s caught the attention of the Creators.

At last Dara is made a Free Thinker operative, trained and taught the truth about the Great Famine and its aftermath, but she must conceal her knowledge at all cost. Andersen must believe she’s no more than the sacrificial lamb he thinks she is.

But as the Creators’ interest in the project deepens, Dara is placed under surveillance and cut off from her Free Thinker lifeline. When she makes one last, desperate attempt at exposing his secret project, the repercussions are enormous.

Click here to add Infiltrator to your to-read shelf on Goodreads! 


Haven't read book one, Contributor, yet? Get yourself a Kindle copy here! And click here to add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

 YA post-apocalyptic/dystopian

When the Great Famine threatened the existence of mankind, the Creators saved humanity. Humanity has been their loyal subject ever since.

This history has been ingrained in seventeen-year-old Dara Morrow since her first day of Creator-sponsored school. Grateful for the life-giving necessities her Creator provides, Dara is thrilled to be one of three students chosen for an elite, year-long apprenticeship program. Now is her chance to prove herself a devoted Contributor.

But Dara’s competition is ruthless and will stop at nothing to win the competition. Worse yet, her exacting master has little patience for her.

Then Dara’s mother is seriously injured, and Dara realizes the price of being a Contributor: once you’ve outlived your usefulness, you’re discarded. Can Dara learn to manipulate the system to save not only herself, but everyone she loves? 

Read it already? What do you think of the new cover and revamped blurb?

NaNoWriMo: Are you ready for the craziness?

For those of you who don't already know, I am a HUGE NaNoWriMo cheerleader. I badger encourage everyone I know to participate in NaNoWriMo each year. So many of us have a novel inside, but we're positive we can never write it. I used to feel that way too. What's great about NaNoWriMo is you can't make any excuses--you just have to sit down and write that novel. And guess what, you will write it. Honestly, you will. I don't claim to have a vast pool of writely wisdom to bestow on others, but I do have some NaNo tips that have helped push me past the hump, and that have made me a more productive writer overall.

1. Just write. This is the most important one and, on the surface, it's the easiest one. However, it's more complex than most people think. I know the drill. Been there, done that. I can't write because I'm not inspired. I can't write because I don't have any good ideas. I can't write because I don't have time. Those are just three of the excuses I've used in the past, and I'm here to tell you they're nonsense. Really, they are. If you want to write, you have to put yourself in front of your keyboard or your pad and pen and you have to write words. Just write them. Don't worry about whether you're making mistakes or if your plot makes sense, just write.

The first year I did NaNoWriMo, way back in 2010, the novel I wrote was a hot mess. It's seriously unworkable, but that didn't make it any less valuable in the end, because it was the year I proved to myself that I could sit in front of my keyboard and bang out words, no matter how little I wanted to do so.

I think people underestimate how important it is to prove to yourself that you can do something. Even if you do it poorly, there's still a huge sense of accomplishment that goes along with completing a task you'd convinced yourself you couldn't complete.

2. Challenge yourself. When NaNo 2011 rolled around, I decided to mix things up a bit. Each year, I would pick a new genre and write a novel for it. My choice for that year was young adult dystopian, a genre I was pretty much 100% positive I couldn't pull off. The end result was Contributor, which is still one of my personal favorites. For NaNo 2012, I wrote a fantasy novel: Asleep. This year I'll be tackling new adult romance. The title is Starstruck, and I've sneakily included the cover for the book on my NaNo profile. Next year? I'm toying with trying out my hand at writing a mystery/suspense novel.

3. Have a routine. This isn't strictly necessary, but I find that establishing a routine gets me in the right frame of mind for writing. One year I drank pumpkin spice coffee every day during NaNoWriMo. I'm obsessive about the pumpkin spice, and that little treat gave me the incentive I needed to get working. I still associate pumpkin spice coffee with NaNo.

4. Reward yourself. I do a lot of bargaining with myself: If I write X number of words, I can play The Sims in the afternoon, or I can watch that movie I've been dying to see. Choose whatever works for you. Giving yourself rewards makes it easier to get motivated to get it done, and it feels good. Rather than drowning in guilt because you're fooling around when you should be writing, you can revel in the enjoyment of your reward while also feeling the warm glow of satisfaction at having met your goals for the day.

5. Prepare. Sometimes my prep is pretty extensive and at others it isn't. This will depend on your topic and how you write--I tend to be a pantser. This year I haven't done as much prep as in the past because my book will be contemporary. I have some basics down about my characters, and I have a rough sketch in my head of the setting. The previous two years, though, I did a lot more prep because I wrote dystopian and fantasy respectively. I did the world building ahead of time, outlined how the societies would work, wrote up character descriptions, etc. Getting this stuff done in advance means you can't come up with excuses not to write when you're in the swing of NaNo. You've done the groundwork, so all that's left is to put the words on the page.


6. Have fun and take risks. Throw in that outrageous plot element. Make your characters do something insane. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone. It'll keep you on your toes, make writing more interesting for you, and ultimately make your book better. Plus, imagine how great you'll feel when you pull off that crazy idea you want to try.

7. Do NOT give up. You'll reach a point where you feel like you've hit the wall. You're frazzled from caffeine overdose on top of a lack of sleep. You hate the plot twist you introduced ten pages ago, or your characters are giving you no end of grief, or you feel like you've completely lost the threads of your narrative. Yep, I've been there too. This is the hardest part about writing. The best thing you can do is push past it and fix it later. Giving up isn't going to make you feel good. As painful as forging ahead may be, you'll feel all that much larger a sense of accomplishment when you cross that finish line.

I'll be talking a lot about NaNo in the coming weeks, cheering on my fellow participants and describing my own trials and tribulations. One of the things I love most about NaNo is the community spirit. Writing can be a lonely endeavor, and I love that each November is when everyone is an author and I realize how alone I'm not.

If you'd like, add me as your NaNo writing buddy. I can never have too many of them. Best wishes and, most of all, happy writing!

Book Launch Day: Committed, Episode 4 is now available!

 
When Ella Mikowski decided to plan her dream wedding, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. As if juggling her career and the millions of wedding planning details isn’t enough, it seems that anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Will Ella manage to make it down the aisle with her sanity intact?

Committed is a serial, with episodes of approximately 12,000 words to be released every two weeks. There will be a total of eight episodes.

Episode 4: Ella’s final wedding gown fitting ends in disaster when the iron used to press her gown malfunctions. How can she possibly find a replacement with only four days to go until her big day?

Committed, episode 4 is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Have you seen the new Contributor cover yet? If not, have a look!

One of only three students chosen for an elite, year-long apprenticeship, seventeen-year-old Dara Morrow is eager to excel in the high-stakes competition and prove herself a devoted Contributor to her Job Creator. Success means a prosperous future. Failure means losing her standing in society.

But Dara’s competition is ruthless, and her exacting master has little patience for her. When her mother is injured and Dara’s eyes are opened to the injustices of the system she trusted to care for her family, her prospects become even more uncertain. If she can’t learn to manipulate the system, she risks exile not only for herself, but for all those she loves.

Contributor is the first book in the YA Contributor trilogy.

Contributor is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Psst: If you haven't signed up for my mailing list yet, you may want to. I'm giving away gift cards to your choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo. You can read more details in my post here, and you can sign up below!

Subscribe to our mailing list

Cover Reveal: New Design for Contributor

After a lot of consideration, I decided to give Contributor a new cover. I absolutely love the first cover, but I'm afraid it doesn't clearly brand the book as YA sci-fi, which was the reason behind my decision to change it. I worked with a very talented artist on the original cover, and think it would work well as an adult cover, but I'm not sure it connects with a YA-reading audience.

Original cover:

And the new cover:

To kick off the new cover, I've decided to make Contributor .99 cents through Friday, April 6. Fans of post-apocalyptic and/or dystopian YA fiction, here's your chance to grab a sale copy for Kindle, Nook, or Kobo!

One of only three students chosen for an elite, year-long apprenticeship, seventeen-year-old Dara Morrow is eager to excel in the high-stakes competition and prove herself a devoted Contributor to her Job Creator. Success means a prosperous future. Failure means losing her standing in society.

But Dara’s competition is ruthless, and her exacting master has little patience for her. When her mother is injured and Dara’s eyes are opened to the injustices of the system she trusted to care for her family, her prospects become even more uncertain. If she can’t learn to manipulate the system, she risks exile not only for herself, but for all those she loves.

Contributor is the first book in the YA Contributor trilogy.

Announcement: Expanded distribution and my leg woes

As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been doing much blogging lately. This is due to my having torn a leg muscle in a very stupid way while exercising. Today will be my first session of physical therapy to help me recover from the injury, and I'll need physical therapy twice a week for four weeks.

The good news is that, while the injury will take a while to heal, I should eventually get back to normal, and it's not stopping me from working. The bad news is sitting in my desk chair results in a lot of pain when I have to get up and move around. Because of this, I've been limiting my desk time to concentrating on my writing, so I've been neglecting everything but that.

However, because I've been intensely focused on my books, I've been working hard to start extending my distribution now that my exclusivity clause is expiring, and I'm very happy to announce that Contributor is now available on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, in addition to Amazon. My exclusivity clauses on every book expire at various times throughout the month, so Phoning It In and The Eye of the Beholder will also be available at multiple vendors by the end of this month; I'll keep you posted as the books go live at the other stores.

Along with expanding the distribution for Contributor, I've also got a new cover design in the works. I absolutely love the original cover, but I think it may not make it clear that the book is a young adult book, so I'm going to try different cover art to see if that helps better convey its genre.

One last tip: last week I kicked off something fun that I'm calling Free Book Fridays. It means exactly what it sounds like it means: I give some of my readers free books. Tomorrow will be another Free Book Friday, so keep your eyes peeled. How do I decide who to give books to, you may wonder? Well, rumor has it that being on my mailing list could have something to do with it. Sign up here if you haven't yet joined--I've also got some member-exclusive promotions coming up down the line. I've also been known to drop in on Goodreads and take a look at those who have my books shelved. (And a note about Goodreads: as I expand my books into other markets, I'm also updating Goodreads to reflect this, so that the following editions are listed: Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.)

Announcement: General News

I've been really lax about my blog this week, which makes me feel badly but the truth is, though I enjoy the blogging, it always falls by the wayside when I'm really busy with other things. So what am I so busy with? Well, how about the following:

1. Creators is now available from other retailers! You can purchase it at Amazon, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble! For now, my other titles are still exclusive to Amazon, but that exclusivity expires on all three of them in March, so throughout that month I'll be adding the books one at a time to Kobo and B&N.

2. I'm working on a romantic dramedy serial called Committed, which will be released under my Anne Wentworth pen name. It'll be 8 episodes long, and it centers around Ella, who is a week away from her wedding day and busy dealing with a disaster each day leading up to her wedding. I'm working with the awesome Carrie at Cheeky Covers on the cover, so some of my time has been spent looking at designs and stock art for the perfect cover. I have a couple of advanced readers lined up, but I could use more eyes. If you're interested, let me know on my Facebook page.

3. I'm planning on releasing paperback copies of The Eye of the Beholder, and I've been tinkering with Createspace, trying to get a feel for it. I'm extremely happy to say that I'll be able to keep the original cover, but I'll need to give the designer some additional information about the size of the book, number of pages, etc. so that a print version of the cover can be created. Before I can do that, I have to nail down the formatting, so I'm planning on doing some tinkering with that over the next week or so. I'd like to have the paperback out by February.

4. Lot and lots of promotions. I was a part of Elle Casey's anniversary giveaway, and am in the process of contacting the winners of copies of Contributor and Creators. I have another promo coming up at the end of the month, this time for The Eye of the Beholder (be sure to check my giveaway page--more details will be coming soon). I've also been scheduling some promotions for Phoning It In.

5. Setting up my mailing list. It's ready to go at last! Subscribing to the mailing list will give you access to the following:

• Members-only giveaways
• Extended excerpts
• A quarterly newsletter
• Notification of new releases

There will be no spamming with my mailing list, just pure, awesome goodness. You'll receive less than 10 e-mails a year from it. I'll set up a separate mailing list for my serial so that I can let readers know as the episodes become available.

So, as you can see, my plate is pretty full of lots of good stuff.

One last note: I now have 11 reviews for The Eye of the Beholder on Amazon, and some of them have made me so happy. Last night, I saw this new one, and I am flying high. Disclaimer: I don't expect everyone to love my book, but every review I receive helps me to become a better writer. Plus, I can't say how much it means to me to see readers taking time out of their busy days to not only read one of my books, but write a review of it. You, dear readers, are awesome!

Monday Musings: Issues and their place in literature

When you write, there are inevitably some bits of your own life that seep into your work. While nothing I've written is directly based on either myself or anyone else I know, some of the characters and events I've written have been inspired by real world experiences. For example, I chose to write Phoning It In because I worked in a call center when I was in my 20s. I have a partially completed manuscript about a young woman who is a teacher because I wanted to write about the experience of teaching, to give readers a feel for what it's like to be in a teacher's shoes.

The one thing I don't want to do, though, is write a book that makes a reader think, "Oh, there goes the author, getting on her soapbox." I've read books like that, and I don't particularly enjoy them. As with anything, YMMV; sometimes I read a book and don't think it's particularly preachy, while other readers think the author is beating the reader over the head with the message, and vice versa. Since we all come at literature from our own perspectives, the issues dealt with in a book may have more or less impact because of our own experiences with those particular issues. I'm sure we all have those moments where we talk about a book with someone else and think, "Wow, how could they not see the author was saying X and Y? It was so obvious."

Given all this, I think that writing specifically about a particular topic can be one of the most nerve-wracking things to do. There are certain things that are important to me: education; equality for everyone regardless of gender, race, or sexual preference; social justice; etc. Sometimes I do tackle these issues obliquely in my books. Sometimes, as with Creators and Contributor, I tackle them a little more head-on. The worry in writing about certain issues is that they may be alienating to some readers. While I'm perfectly fine with the idea that my books just won't be for some people--just as some books aren't for me--I want to write books that might help someone step a bit outside their comfort zone and maybe walk away with a new perspective.

After all, I think this is essentially what books are for. True, we can choose to read books that fit only within narrow parameters that are comfortable for us, and that's fine. I'm not someone who thinks there's anything wrong with reading purely for entertainment. But we can also choose to read something that might challenge our own notions a bit. The books that have had the biggest impact on me are the ones that make me think more deeply about an issue, books like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi, and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read a lot of books and enjoy many of them, but the ones I'm most likely to recommend to others are the ones that stick with me.

Why Sci-Fi?: Introducing Christine Pope and Tony Bertauski

Welcome to Sci-Fi Spotlight week!  I've teamed up with a great group of indie authors of science fiction, and we're running a promo from November 26-November 30.  You can snag 15 books for free and another 15 books for a mere 99 cents.

Each day this week, I'll feature some of the authors whose books are a part of the Sci-Fi Spotlight.  I hope this will help you, my readers, discover great new authors and books you'll love.

I'd like to kick this week's blog feature off with my own answer to the question:

Why Sci-Fi?

  

All good literature has the power to make us think, to shake the foundation of the things we believe, but I think good science fiction has a particular power to make us look ahead.  It forces us to consider the future impact of current events, and to think deeply about how those events will shape our future.  It makes us question how we want our world to look, and it makes us think about what we can do to ensure our world will look that way.

Contributor is only 99 cents this week!  You can also pick up a copy of Creators, the prequel novella, for free on Tuesday, 11/27, and Wednesday, 11/28!

Why Sci-Fi for Christine Pope?

"I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy. I adored those books, but even back then, when I probably wasn't the most analytical reader in the world, I noted a serious lack of strong female characters or interesting romantic relationships. So Blood Will Tell was inspired by the space opera I loved so much, but with a romance at the heart of the story. I guess I just wanted something with spaceships and explosions and kissing!"

You can grab a copy of Blood Will Tell for only 99 cents this week!

For more on Christine and her books, like her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, or check out her website.

Why Sci-Fi for Tony Bertauski?

"Santa is not just about the presents. I wanted to get past that and see something deeper about this mythological figure. A story that’s more meaningful. For me, science fiction has always made me see life a little different. Perhaps a bit more clearly.

Claus: Legend of the Fat Man finds a cast of gritty, compassionate and courageous characters that make the journey to mythological fame despite their shortcomings and frailties. It pulls away the veil of magic, reveals the difficulties of love and loss and our struggle with life.

It’s not about the presents. It’s much more than that."

Get your copy of  Claus for only 99 cents this week, and you can also grab a copy of Tony's The Discovery of Socket Greeny for free!

For more on Tony and his books, like him on Facebook or check out his website.

Monday Musings: NaNo angst and big news!

Well, tomorrow I will hit the 50k mark for NaNoWriMo, and I am overwhelmingly relieved about it.  I've been able to hit my target word count every day, but I'm feeling so insecure about this draft that it's making me a little nuts.  It doesn't help that I really, really want to get Phoning It In done and just haven't had the time to devote as much editing time to it as I'd like.  Once I hit the 50k mark tomorrow, I'm going to take a bit of a break from Asleep so I can get Phoning done, and hopefully I'll be a saner person for it!

I'm really starting to gear up for the Sci-Fi Spotlight promotion I'm participating in, in honor of Cyber Monday.  I'll be offering Contributor for 99 cents from November 26-30 as part of the promo.  If you're a fan of science fiction, you won't want to miss the promo because it's your chance to snap up 15 free books, as well as 15 books priced at 99 cents.  And, if you haven't already, be sure to enter the Sci-Fi Spotlight giveaway for your chance at $175 in Amazon gift cards, along with autographed books and swag!

In honor of Sci-Fi Spotlight, my blog theme for November 26-30 will be "Why Sci-Fi?"  Each day, I'll feature new indie authors participating in the promo.  They'll explain why they chose to write a sci-fi novel, and I'll include their book covers and blurbs.  Hopefully, this will help you discover some new favorites.

On Wednesday, December 5th, I'll be revealing the cover for Phoning It In here on the blog.  I'm very excited about releasing the novel, and plan on having it out before the end of the month, though I'll announce an actual publication date once the novel is ready.

And, somehow, in the middle of all this, I'll find time to plan birthday parties, spend time with my family, and just generally enjoy the crazy ride that is the holiday season each year.  I can almost taste the turkey now!

Woo Hoo Wednesday: NaNoWriMo is coming!

Welcome to another installment of Woo Hoo Wednesday, where I take the time to celebrate the small bits of everyday happiness that make life so sweet.

My first woo hoo goes to my decision to return The Eye of the Beholder to the KDP Select program, which allows readers to borrow the book from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.  While I'm not so fond of restricting the number of outlets where my book can be purchased, the fact is that I get more lends than I did sales through other outlets, so it just makes sense to do whatever gets my book into the hands of the greatest number of readers.  I've already lent enough copies of The Eye this month that one more lend means I'll have exceeded my best month on Barnes & Noble.

Another big woo hoo goes to my serious productivity as of late.  I've been hitting the 3,000 words per day mark consistently for the past couple of weeks.  I'm now entering the home stretch with Phoning It In, so if edits go well, I'll have that book out before the close of 2012.  I'm looking forward to seeing how readers like my attempt at contemporary women's fiction.  I have to admit, I'm very, very fond of some of the characters in Phoning It In, and I hope my readers will be too!

My family deserves a huge woo hoo.  I am so lucky to be surrounded by such loving, supportive people.  I thank them for putting up with me when I'm in one of my moods because I'm having trouble writing.  They deserve a resounding woo hoo for making me feel loved and special every day of my life, even when I'm being rather unlovable.

And, lastly, a giant woo hoo for the fact that NaNoWriMo 2012 is just around the corner!  I am seriously excited about it this year.  I've done it for the past two years (Contributor was the product of last year's NaNo), and I enjoy it every year.  I'm especially excited this year because I have writing buddies!  If you've ever hemmed and hawed about doing it, I have this to say to you: DO EEEET!  Trust me, hitting that 50k mark feel like a HUGE achievement, and you'll feel good about it for months on end.  If you need someone to be your cheerleader, feel free to add me as your buddy and I'll urge you on.  My username there is NCiacchella.

If you're looking for something to read this weekend, why don't you pick up a free copy of Creators, the prequel novella to my Contributor trilogy?  I'm running a free promotion Saturday, October 6th and Sunday, October 7th, so be sure to get a copy.  I'm very excited to see what you, my awesome readers, think of it!

Happy Wednesday and may your week be filled with many things that make you say, "Woo hoo!"

Monday Musings: Competitiveness versus collaboration

The older I get and the more I think about the way I wish the world worked, the more I study things for patterns.  It's simplistic to suggest that all of society's problems can be boiled down to one specific thing, but I do think there are certain behaviors that are indicative of the culture at large, and one of the ones I find most disturbing is the way everything seems to have become a competition.  It makes me wonder: are we so busy competing with one another that we've forgotten about the power of collaboration?

You can learn a lot about a society by studying its popular culture, and I think part of the reason why dystopian young adult literature is so popular is because it explores this theme of life as competition.  The Hunger Games is the most specific example, of course, but there are others as well: the Divergent series, the Partials series, and many others I could name.  While many of these books don't explicitly talk about competition in so many words, it's one of the central themes in the books.  In essence, these books show, there is an "us versus them" mentality that can have a very insidious effect on our world.

When I came up with the idea for the Contributor series before NaNoWriMo 2011, I thought I'd write about education and how it's becoming more of a competition by the day.  Students are under a lot of pressure to be the highest performers, to be the quarterback or the class president or the captain of the girls' swim team.  Teachers are expected to compete with other teachers, and oftentimes their job performance is judged based not on how much their students have improved, but on how they stack up against their colleagues.  

However, as I wrote, I realized that this cultural shift has applications outside of the classroom as well.  Rather than providing her with an education, Dara's schooling is more like a training program for how to be competitive in life.  Everything in the world of Contributor becomes a competition: who's the best performer, who gives the best presentations, who can contribute the most to their Job Creator?

But is this the best way to look at the world?  When we're so focused on individual achievement, are we overlooking what can be accomplished if we form teams?  Speaking as a former teacher who witnessed how overbooked many of her students were, I think a lot of teenagers are tired of the constant competition--and they haven't even made it to college yet.  I think that's why many teenagers like reading about the struggles of characters in dystopian novels.  It's satisfying to think that it's possible to buck the system and win.

Yet, it's not as if adults have this figured out either.  It's hard not to be aware of what's been going down on Goodreads and the books blogosphere if you happen to be an avid reader, as I happen to be.  I find it perplexing that some authors view other authors as "competition".  I find it strange that authors feel their competitive edge is threatened by readers who happen not to like their books, and who write reviews to express their negative opinions. 

This makes absolutely no sense to me.  First, because tastes in reading are subjective.  It hurts when someone doesn't like one of my books and is critical about it, but it also helps me to grow as a writer to read their critiques and reflect on them.  Chances are, I can learn something from those critiques.  And, secondly, if a reader dislikes what I write, it doesn't automatically mean every other reader will dislike it as well.  Part of the beauty of the way the book world is turning is that there's more choice than ever, which means authors get to tell the stories they want to tell and readers can read the stories they want to read.  Everyone wins.  There's no need to think of it as a competition.

I guess what I'd like to see in all walks of life is for people to take a minute and to reflect, really reflect on what benefits the world most.  Of course we need to have those extraordinary people who stand out, who can achieve big things.  But not everyone can be that extraordinary person.  And that is where collaboration comes in.  By working with others, by thinking about their opinions and their ideas, we can create things that no individual could ever have created on their own.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm perfect and I'm above it all.  I'm as guilty of engaging in unhealthy competition as anyone else, but I know this, and I want to change it.  When I think about my particular corner of the world, I see readers and writers who can work together to make books and stories that are better than ever.  I love the way the publishing world is changing, and I'm eager to take it all in and benefit from it as much as I can.  That's why you'll see me promoting other authors' works or writing reviews of books I particularly enjoyed.  I want to promote other people and, hopefully, they'll want to promote me as well.  That is the effect that collaboration can bring about.

Woo Hoo Wednesday: It's fall!

Why am I so happy right now?  Well, friends, I am not much of a sun worshiper.  Sure, I love sunny days as much as the next person, but I really hate the heat and humidity of summer in Michigan.  This summer was particularly horrible, and I feel like I spent the vast majority of it holed up in the house with the air conditioning cranked.  Now that it's September, the weather has taken a turn for the decidedly fall-like, and I couldn't be happier.  Bring on the 60 degree days!  I've been able to actually open the windows and go outside to get yard work done!  What's more, I can wear hoodies and jeans again.  I'm sorry to rain on the parades of those who love summer, but I am all about this weather right now!

A big woo hoo for my new computer screen!  I wasn't very happy about my old monitor dying, and it pretty much goes without saying that I couldn't function without one.  I'd been wanting a bigger one for a while, so the good thing to come out of the hardware failure was finally getting a much larger screen.  It's amazing how much more I can see when I'm working in full-screen mode on Scrivener.

Woo hoo number three is writing related!  After some deliberation, I decided to put Infiltrator on hiatus for now and work on my contemporary women's fiction novel, Phoning It In, instead.  As much as I love the Contributor series, it's nice to have a break and to work on something that has a completely different flavor.  I've been extremely productive the last couple of days, cranking out more than 3,000 words a day, so I'm hoping to finish the manuscript by the end of this month and get some editing in before NaNoWriMo starts.  My goal is to publish Phoning by the end of the year, which will bring me to a total of four books across three genres.  I'm excited to see what the market is like for contemporary women's fiction, but don't worry--I'm not forgetting my other manuscripts.  For NaNoWriMo, I'll be writing the next entry in the Fairytale Collection series, and then it'll be on to Infiltrator, book two in the Contributor trilogy.

Most exciting of all, though, is how well sales of The Eye have been going this month and last.  I'm on the verge of a major milestone, and it looks like I'll hit it by the end of the month.  It's so exciting to see something that I hoped against hope would sell 100 copies in a year do so much better than I'd ever dreamed!  I'd like to get my other books off the ground as well, but right now I'm extremely pumped because, thanks to sales of The Eye, it looks like we'll be able to make a trip to Europe next year.  This is huge because my husband is from Belgium and all his family lives there, so a 2013 trip would be the first time he's seen his parents, brother, and nephews in three years.  I'm very close with my family and can't imagine having to go that long between visits, so it means a lot to me that my income is contributing toward making a trip home possible for him.

What's got you pumped this week, my wonderful readers?

Oh, and just because you're awesome and my last run went so well, I'm doing another free run of Creators today, September 19th, so get yourself a copy from Amazon!  I'm really looking forward to seeing what readers think of both it and Contributor.  Happy Wednesday!

(Psst!  On Friday I'll give everyone a sneak peek of Phoning It In.)

Monday Musings: What to write next?

One of the biggest challenges for me as an indie author is deciding what I'm going to work on next.  I have so many irons in the fire, so many ideas, that it's hard for me to decide which one to go with.  When you couple this with the business end of things, well, it really gets messy.

Of my three books, The Eye of the Beholder is my best performer.  It took off much more quickly than I'd expected.  Frankly, I didn't think anyone would want to read a fairy tale retelling.  I'm glad everyone who's purchased my book has proven me wrong!  Its success has inspired me to write a second fairy tale book, which will be my NaNoWriMo project for this year, and which I hope to publish early in 2013.  I love fairy tales, so I'm more than happy to write more now that I know there's a demand for them.

Creators and Contributor are proving much slower to take off.  This is so funny to me because I was convinced that the reverse would be true.  Just goes to show you that, when you do this self-publishing thing, you never really know how things are going to go.  Sometimes I feel like I spend 99% of my time flailing in the dark, angsting over what marketing (if any) I should do, what genre might prove to be the most reliable, etc.  I didn't go into this expecting to be a pro, but it is uncomfortable to feel like such an amateur at times.

My intention was to continue on with the Contributor trilogy, but now I'm really torn.  I resurrected an old partial manuscript for a contemporary women's fiction novel, and I'm strongly tempted to finish it first and then work on the next Contributor book once NaNoWriMo is over.  I'm very curious about how that book would perform, and having books across three different genres would probably also give me a better idea of what types of books are more successful.  Then again, another part of me feels like I need to stick to one thing and then branch out later.  I'm afraid if I'm spread out over multiple genres, I'll lose readers because, even if they liked one of my books, they might not necessarily care for the other genres I'm writing in.

Right now, I am leaning toward working on the contemporary novel.  I had some more ideas for it this morning, and I'm anxious to tackle it.  Maybe I need a little space from the Contributor saga.  Either way, I'll be in front of my keyboard again tomorrow morning, working on my next novel.  I've had a bit of a break and now it's time to get back to work.

I also want to announce that I'll be doing another free promo with Creators on Wednesday, September 19.  I was excited about how successful the last promo was, and I'm hoping to reach even more readers with this next promo!

Monday Musings: The importance of routine

It's everyone's favorite day of the week again!  While I don't hate Mondays like I did back in the days when I wasn't fulfilled by my job, I am sorry to see my husband go back to work.  The truth is, I kinda like to have that guy around.  But what I do like about Mondays now is they mean it's time for me to focus on my passion: writing.

However, there's not much writing going on here at the moment.  This is partially because I just published Contributor and, friends, I need a bit of a break once a book comes out.  It's hard to describe how completely it takes over my life, but suffice it to say that my brain needs a bit of a rest before I put my nose to the grindstone and start working on the next book.

What I have come to realize throughout this endeavor, though, is how important routine is.  Since I started staying at home with my kids, I admit that I pretty much hate routine.  I want to roll out of bed when I feel like it, drink some coffee, and ease into my day.  Granted, that's tough to do when you have kids, but I do get a chance to indulge in some of that during the summer and on the weekends.  But the fact of the matter is, when I do have a routine, I get more done.  Without routine, my attention is fragmented all over the place and, half the time, I can't even remember what I did all day long.

My intent for next week is to start settling into my routine.  I want to establish a regular schedule for when I write, when I blog, when I do social networking, etc.  My biggest challenge over the summer was finding the time for all of these things and, now that school is in session and I have someone coming to clean my house, I don't really have any valid excuses for not being more organized and productive.  Unfortunately for me.  I may be a perfectionist, but I'm also a procrastinator.  It's like the two sides of me are constantly battling, and it ain't pretty.

I want to take a second to thank everyone who downloaded a copy of Creators during its free run on the 7th.  At one point, it reached #69 on the top 100 list of free books in its subcategory, which frankly shocked me.  I felt like I was in one of those dumb movie scenes where the unattainable boy points at me, and I do that thing where I turn around to see if he's pointing at someone behind me, but find he's actually pointing at me.  OMG!  *squee*  Seriously.  Forgive me for being a super nerd here, but it really shocks me in a fantastically awesome way when I realize that people are buying my books.  Hopefully you're liking them too, because that's even more important to me.

I also want to give a big thanks to everyone who has purchased my books.  It's 100% the truth that I couldn't do this writing thing without your support.  So thank you very, very much for giving me a reason to sit in front of my PC all day angsting over each and every word I type.

Starting on Friday, I'm planning to post some tidbits from my latest work in progress, Infiltrator.  It's the second book in the Contributor trilogy, so there may well be some spoilerific moments if you read the excerpt without having read Contributor.  For that, I sincerely apologize, as I'm one of those people who really hates it when the surprises are spoiled for me.  I'll try to keep the giant revelations under wraps.  Happy Monday!

Contributor, Now available for purchase on Amazon!

I'm extremely happy to announce that Contributor is now available for purchase on Amazon!  If you're a Prime member, you can also borrow the book for free and, as always, my books are and forevermore will be DRM-free!

Don't forget--tomorrow, September 7, you can download a free copy of Creators from Amazon!

Woo Hoo Wednesday: It's finally done!

Right now, the temptation is strong in this one (10 points to Gryffindor if you get that reference!) to run around in circles pumping my fists in the air.  Why?  Because I just finished hitting the button to upload Contributor to Amazon!  For some reason, I feel like I've been working on that book for the last three hundred years.  Then again, I guess I get like that with all of my books, when I've spent months doing copyedits.  I reach a point where every last word in the book looks like it's made up or misspelled.

So, now that I've put the book to bed, I'm pretty sure I'll go about twenty-four hours before I start feeling like I need to chain myself to my desk and finish the next book.  That's the sad thing about me as a writer--and I don't think I'm alone in that.  With my old, traditional jobs, there was a clear line between when work started and when it ended.  Not so much with writing, where I feel this compulsion to be doing it almost constantly.  Or maybe I'm just the world's most exacting boss, who knows?

Another big woo hoo goes to the fact that school is in session and the cleaning company is coming to clean the house this week.  While I had a fun summer, it'll be nice to have some time to buckle down and do some serious writing, particularly with NaNoWriMo beginning to appear on the horizon.  Ah, I can hear the siren's call of the annual November insanity already!  Soon I'll be snarfing bites of turkey while banging away at the keyboard.  Who's with me this year?  I need some more people to share in the pain joy!

Last but certainly not least, an absolutely ginormous woo hoo shall be shouted from the rooftops because of my August sales.  Seriously, my readers are awesome.  I still can't believe you're paying actual, real money for something I wrote.  I'm not exactly making a living wage at this point, but August has been my best month yet, and my sales have increased every month by at least 25%, so I'm definitely not complaining.  It feels absolutely amazing to make ANY money doing something I love so much.  I mean, I'm getting paid to play around in my imagination all day long.  How cool is that?

I'm just going to leave this here while Amazon is in the process of publishing Contributor:

As they say in Contributor-land: Have a productive day!

(Psssst: Don't forget that Creators will be free on Friday, September 7.)

Tuesday Teaser: Sneak Peek at Contributor!

I'm back from my end-of-the-summer hiatus, raring to focus on my fall writing schedule.  On the agenda: book two in the Contributor series (which I've already started), and my NaNoWriMo project, which will be my alternative take on Sleeping Beauty.  I'm really excited about both of them, and am looking forward to getting back into the fairytale genre in November.

However, before those two is the upcoming publication of Contributor.  I've got an amazing cover for it, and am working on polishing up the last bit, but I'll be sending it over Amazon's way tomorrow, which means it should be available for purchase on Thursday!  Also, to celebrate the release of Contributor, I'm running a promotion: download a copy of Creators (the prequel novella to the series) for FREE on Amazon on Friday, September7.

To whet your appetite, I thought I'd offer a little taste of Contributor.  I hope you enjoy it!

*****

“As for you, Apprentice Morrow,” Andersen said, bringing her work up on the screen.  Her throat constricted and she could barely breathe.  “Your solution was quite ingenious.”

Surprised, Dara hazarded a glance at Letizia, who gave her a searing glare.

“It’s unfortunate that you made such an inexcusable error in the beginning,” Andersen continued, staring at her.  She felt like sinking down in her chair, through the floor, and continuing on down into the depths of the earth.  “Had Apprentice LeTour not caught it, your solution would have resulted in even more extensive damage.  An innovative mind is a useless quality in an engineer who makes stupid errors, errors that could cost Magnum millions.”

Dara went completely numb.  She felt as though her fingers and toes had turned to ice, and she feared they might begin to crack, shattering her into a million tiny pieces.  Still, that would probably be far less painful than the public dressing down she’d just received.

“Cheer up,” Javier murmured as they left the room.  “He did say your solution was quite ingenious.”  Surprised, Dara glanced at him.  He grinned crookedly at her.

“Um, thanks,” she said.

“No problem.”

Warming up to him, she smiled ever so slightly.  “Thanks for what you said to Ryan too.”

“Don’t think that means we’re on the same side, Dara.  There can only be one of us left at the end, and I don’t like you that much.”  He winked.

Feeling her spine stiffen, Dara nodded curtly and increased her pace, leaving him trailing in her wake.

Woo Hoo Wednesday: Yay for less stress!

This week, I'm in a very good mood because I did something I've been wanting to do for some time: I hired a company to do some of my house cleaning so that I can have more time for writing!  This will give me the chance to finally designate a very good chunk of each weekday to devote solely to writing, and that makes me very happy.  It's been frustrating to have to try to cram writing in whenever I can, so freeing myself of the housework has really lightened my stress.

I'm also feeling happy, lucky, and grateful because I'm having a great month with regard to sales.  I'm just amazed by how The Eye has been taking off in a way that far exceeds my wildest dreams.  It's thrilling beyond belief that people are buying my book, and it makes me think that I just might be able to make a go of writing for a living, something I honestly never expected to be able to do.  It feels better than I can express to finally be able to pursue my passion rather than do something "practical".

Another big Woo Hoo is due to the fact that I've finished my final edits on Contributor.  Silly me--I once used to think that writing was the worst part, because there are days when I feel like I have to pry the words out of my brain with a crowbar.  However, those days are nothing compared to staring at my manuscript until I go cross-eyed and can't remember if I've already done a search to see how many times I've used the word "gently".  I've kind of developed an irrational hatred for that word now.  So Woo Hoo for being done with the pain of the editing process!  A few more finishing touches, and Contributor will be ready for publication.

Lastly, a big Woo Hoo for the mild weather we've been having for the last couple of weeks or so.  I am not a fan of searing summer heat, so I've been incredibly pumped because I've been able to turn off my A/C and enjoy fresh air blowing through the house.  On Monday, I sat outside enjoying the gorgeous weather while typing away on my laptop and it was bliss!

That sums it up for me this week.  Just a reminder, if you haven't entered yet, you can still seize your chance to win a copy of Reinventing Claire by the super sweet Darian Wilk.  See you for Feature Friday, where I just might post one last excerpt from Contributor!

I'm a featured author.

I'm really excited to be a featured author today on Aside from Writing.  It's a really great blog devoted to promoting indie authors, and each day you'll find features on various authors and books, along with giveaways.  It's a great site if you're looking to discover some amazing new indie authors and books.  I also can't say enough nice things about my experiences working with the blog's founders.  They were sweet and absolutely a joy to work with!

Tomorrow, my Sample Sunday post will feature an excerpt from Creators, and I'm really excited to share it.  Writing the Contributor trilogy is turning out to be such an amazing experience for me.

Lastly, I want to just thank all of my readers.  Whether you've picked up a copy of The Eye of the Beholder or a copy of Creators (or both!), I just want you to know that you're helping me to live my dream, and that is priceless to me!

Tidbit Tuesdays: The trilogy begins!

I'm really excited to offer this first glimpse into Contributor today.  This book was born during NaNoWriMo 2011, when I thought, "Hey, why don't I try writing a YA dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel?"  I had a lot more fun writing it than I would have imagined! 

*****

Dara swallowed hard, trying to fight the nausea that threatened her concentration.  As she stared at the monitor, the numbers and symbols seemed to swim through her vision, and she blinked several times, forcing herself to focus.  Though she was only seventeen, her training as an engineer had begun at the age of three, so she was more than capable of handling the task before her. 

This, however, was no exercise.  If she failed this evaluation, none of her years of hard work and dedication would matter.  She would lose her position amongst the Ballasts and would have to take up one of the menial occupations of the Cores.  If she did well, a prosperous future would be well within her grasp.

With one last deep breath, Dara looked at the screen. As she exhaled, she cleared her mind.  To her immense relief, as soon as she started to pick apart the problem, she lost all sense of her surroundings, her mind completely focused on unraveling it and implementing a solution.
At first glance, the problem appeared to be simple, but Dara knew the engineers wouldn’t lob anything quite so easy at her.  Because she had been first in her class, they would want to test the limits of her abilities, so she continued examining the schematics in front of her, her mind working rapidly to diagnose and analyze the problem.  She ran through a couple of scenarios, rejecting several possible solutions until, finally, everything clicked into place.  She broke into a wide grin as her fingers flew over the interface.  It was tempting to pump her fist in the air when the machinery resumed its smooth operation, but she managed to restrain herself—barely.

Almost instantly, a door opened and a tall, imposing man entered, followed by two women and one other man.  

“Ms. Morrow, I’m Head of Engineering Andersen, and these are my subordinates, Senior Engineers D’Angelo, Walters, and Chen,” the tall man said.

Stunned, Dara hoped she wasn’t gaping.  She’d had no idea the Head of Engineering would be supervising her evaluation, which was a good thing.  Had she known, she’d have been even sicker with apprehension. 

“P-pleased to meet you,” Dara said, cringing internally at her stutter.  She offered her hand first to Andersen, who shook it with a bruising grip.  Each of the others shook her hand in turn, and Dara tried her best not to squirm as they studied her.

“Due to the high level of aptitude shown by your evaluation results, you have been selected for a specialized apprenticeship program.  You and two other candidates will spend a year under the tutelage of the senior engineers.  The highest performer may earn the opportunity to become my assistant,” Andersen announced.  His eerie blue eyes were very keen, and it was clear to Dara that this was a man who missed nothing.

“Oh, thank you, Head of Engineering Andersen.  This is truly an honor, and I’ll work very hard to prove myself worthy,” Dara said.  She fought to remain composed as a giddy combination of relief and excitement washed over her.

“I will expect you tomorrow morning at six-thirty sharp, when you will begin your training with Senior Engineer D’Angelo.  A word of caution to you, Ms. Morrow: you must operate at your peak each and every day.  I expect nothing less than a stellar performance from you.”  Andersen’s eyes met hers, and Dara had the disconcerting sensation that his gaze was boring straight through her, stripping away skin and bone, muscle and sinew until all that was left was her very essence, her innermost thoughts.  She tried hard to suppress a shudder and thought she saw Andersen’s mouth quirk, as if he had noticed her discomfiture.

“I assure you, sir, I will not disappoint you,” Dara vowed.  The thought of working with this towering, blond, imperious man was dismaying, but she wouldn’t allow this to show—she couldn’t.  She knew full well that becoming the assistant to the Head of Engineering would mean big things for her.  If she had to work herself half to death in order to impress him, so be it.  Nothing mattered more than securing her future with Magnum.

“I will see you in the morning.”  He examined her for one excruciating moment before turning smartly and leaving the room. 

“Congratulations, Contributor Morrow,” Walters said, smiling warmly.

“We’ll see what you can do tomorrow,” Chen told her, a muscle in his cheek twitching.  The two shook her hand and left the room.

“I’ll escort you to the exit,” D’Angelo offered.  Her face betrayed nothing, and Dara’s stomach quaked.  The Senior Engineer was taller than Dara, her dark hair pulled back in an immaculate twist.  Her face would have been devastatingly beautiful were it not for the cold expression in her eyes.  As D’Angelo turned, Dara shivered.

They wound their way through the corridors of headquarters, Dara peeking into every window as inconspicuously as possible.  Though apprehensive about her severe master, she was barely able to contain the excitement that made her feel as if she wanted to fly apart.  She couldn’t believe that she was actually here, in Magnum’s headquarters, and that she was going to become a part of its team.  Her head spun as she thought about her acceptance into the elite apprenticeship.  She couldn’t imagine a more perfect beginning to her career.

They finally reached the exit, which led into the thoroughfares ringing the dome.  D’Angelo closed the door gently behind her.

“Be prompt tomorrow,” D’Angelo instructed, smiling and nodding at a man with a Magnum badge who was passing by, before turning back to Dara, all trace of the smile gone.  It was disconcerting.

“I will,” Dara promised.

“Head of Engineering Andersen is a man of many talents and one of Magnum’s most valued Contributors.  He has high expectations and misses little,” D’Angelo said, emphasizing the last two words.  “You must be meticulous.”  Each syllable was like a hammer blow, and Dara forced herself to stand up straighter.

“Of course.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”