Tag Archives | A Spy Like Me

The rat race of publishing and a cover reveal!

By on May 15, 2017 in Exciting news!, murder and mystery, publishing industry

Gosh, where does time go?

Life is busy. It is for everyone. What I have I been up to?

Enjoying my family. Spending time with friends. Reading non-fiction while struggling to find novels that keep my interest. (It’s me, not the books!) Planning for an upcoming high school graduation. (Eek!) Re-evaluating my career. 

I guess the last one is most prevalent to this blog. I think it’s important every so often to revisit the direction our writing takes. Revisit our goals. I’m still in the process of doing that. I will say that a lot of “stuff” triggered this period of re-evaluation, and I won’t share most of it. The one aspect I will share with you is that I grew tired of the rat race. If you write and self publish you might know what I mean. The keeping-up with the new marketing strategies before they’re no longer effective, the continual push and realization that the best way to make a profit is to write popular genres and put out a gazillion books a year.

I found myself putting my most exciting ideas on the back burner either because they were middle grade or outside of my established genre or would require more time. I didn’t want to write ten books a year. I completely understand that to keep books visible it helps to release books continuously, in the same genre, in a series, over and over and over.

That’s not why I started writing.
That’s not why I love writing.

But…I do want to make a profit. I run a small business. So I’m figuring out what that will look like for me. I’m striving to find a balance between writing what I love and what will sell.

(It also grew discouraging to see the top 100 on Amazon filled with Amazon imprints and KU books.  Some in categories they clearly should not be in. Amazon is a business, so I don’t fault them for pushing their own books.)

I decided to write two more books in my original series, Circle of Spies. I follow the main characters but years later. The cover reveal is below.

And a favor, if some strange pharma links show up at the bottom of this post, please email or tweet me and let me know. I can’t see them, and I can’t get ads while they’re still on my blog. Thank you!!!!

Let me know how you’ve been doing in the comments!

RoyalCon

 

Comments { 4 }

I admit. I’m jealous.

By on August 21, 2014 in How I Write

I’m talking about a wips tab here. Works-in-progress. That tab on the menu bar where authors share a little bit about their upcoming projects.

I admit. I get jealous. I stop by at blogs because I love seeing what other writers are up to, and I love soaking in new covers and the excitement that lies between the lines on an author’s post. It’s contagious. We can all use a bit of inspiration. I know I can. I also love hearing about works in progress.

And I would agree that talking about works in progress is a form of marketing. Sharing a cool premise or an enticing logline can build anticipation in your friends and potential readers. I would love to add a tab where I describe future projects.

Then I think about my production schedule.

The cool ideas that I’m itching to write. That I plan to write in 2014 and 2015. I should share them.

Except, every once in a while I completely ditch a story before it’s written or part way through. Sometimes an idea jumps the line. This happened last spring. In sudden inspiration, I wrote a story that haunted me and wouldn’t let go. And it’s now sitting. I haven’t looked at it since. Here’s the thing. I don’t know yet if and when I’ll publish it.

What if I talk about a work-in-progress and then the concept changes in rewrites, or I decide it needs to sit a bit longer? Or if I decide not to publish it? Then what?

Ah well, for now, I will continue on without a wip tab. Such is life.

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15 Winter Reads on sale now!

By on December 30, 2013 in book reviews
Ho! Ho! Ho! That’s Santa laughing all the way from the North Pole at the discovery of this incredible deal he found. Yes, even Santa orders stuff online.
Or, I could just tell you that some of the Indelibles have put together this incredible boxed set just for you.

FOR TWO WEEKS ONLY 15 Winter Reads is on sale for

$0.99 

So, sit back, relax in your favorite reading chair and enjoy 15 Winter Reads from 15 bestselling YA authors. 

There is something to delight every reader in this box set – paranormal romance, futuristic sci-fi, historical, time travel, and contemporary.

15 Winter Reads includes:
The Iron Butterfly by Chanda Hahn: Escaping an experimental prison, Thalia tries to hide her past and her gifts, from her friends. But her past isn’t always easy to escape, especially when it hunts you down.

Tremble (Celestra Series) by Addison Moore: Sixteen year-old, Skyla Messenger is a dead girl walking. When her newly remarried mother moves the family to Paragon Island, to a house that is rumored to be haunted, Skyla finds refuge in Logan Oliver, a boy who shares her unique ability to read minds.

Exiled by RaShelle Workman: Venus wakes to find herself no longer on her home planet of Kelari, but on Earth with a week to get back or she’ll die.

Dragonfly by Leigh Talbert Moore: Gossip Girl meets VC Andrews in this contemporary family saga. Love, lies, and betrayal become the new normal when Anna enters the world of Jack and Lucy Kyser.

Open Minds and Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn: When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Untraceable by S.R. Johannes: When Grace’s forest ranger dad disappears on patrol, she fights town authorities, tribal officials, & nature to prove he’s alive. Torn between a new hot boy and cute ex, she heads into the wilderness to find her dad. Soon, she is caught in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder.


How to Date an Alien and How to Break Up With an Alien by Magan Vernon: Alex Bianchi takes an internship at an alien operations center to pad her college applications but doesn’t plan on falling in love with one of its residents. But as Alex’s senior year progresses, everything changes and she can’t figure out if it is interstellar or if it is just time to break up with an alien.

Flutter of Luv by L.M. Preston: Dawn, the neighborhood tomboy, is happy to be her best friend’s shadow. Acceptance comes from playing football after school with the guys on the block while hiding safely behind her glasses, braces, and boyish ways. But Tony moves in, becomes the star Running Back on her school’s football team, and changes her world and her view of herself forever.

Watched by Cindy M. Hogan: It takes more than a school trip to change Christy’s life. It takes murder.

Clockwise and Clockwiser by Elle Strauss: A follow up to Clockwise, Casey and Nate travel back in time and race against the clock to rescue Casey’s rebellious brother Tim from frontline battle in America’s civil war.

Glimpse (Zellie Wells #1) and Glimmer (Zellie Wells #2) by Stacey Wallace Benefiel: While working together to figure out what their shared vision means, Zellie discovers that Benjamin is a worthy friend and mentor. If only he could keep his hands off of her – if only she wanted him to…

A Spy Like Me by Laura Pauling: After dodging bullets on a first date, Savvy must decide how far she’ll go to protect the ones she loves.

Grasping At Eternity by Karen Amanda Hooper: An eternal soul mate, a supernatural family who has known her for centuries, and lifetimes of erased memories: this is Maryah Woodsen’s life. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Lacrimosa by Christine Fonseca: In the world of angels and demons, one thing is clear – some sacrifices should never be made. Even for love.The Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle: The town of Spruce Knoll hides many secrets–and many dangers, among them are that the untimely death of Eren’s parents was no accident and that she is far more than she realizes.

So pick up this beauty between now and January 11 at these retailers:

AMAZON ~ Barnes and Noble

And enjoy all of the wonderful reading! Oh, and didn’t you know? I have a feeling Santa loves reading YA!

Comments { 4 }

Showing some book love and a confession.

By on December 18, 2013 in book reviews

Along with writing and doing the whole author thing, I’ve run across some fantastic stories. I love to read. I love to find a great story that I feel I haven’t read before. As you most likely know, the more we read or write, the harder it is to find these gems! So I thought I’d share them with you.

But first, on a side note, blogging buddy Sheri Larson posted a review of How To Survive Ancient Spells & Crazy Kings. (Thanks Sheri!) It made me very sad because I love that story but since my publisher closed it has lingered on my hard drive. I’m not sure if and when I’ll self publish it. There are many reasons why–too many to pontificate on here. This blog post is to share with you some book love!

The first one completely surprised me. I was like, right, I am not going to like a big thick book about an alien invasion I don’t care how much buzz it received. Then I happened to be at the library and decided to read just the first page. Pure curiosity. I read the first paragraph and plopped it into the library bag. Loved it! Read this big, thick book with 24 hours.

 

I should’ve called this blog post 1 post-apocalyptic and 4 fun contemporaries. I’ve been on a fun and flirty reading kick lately and here are some great ones I found.

This teen spy novel was on sale for 2.99 and I grabbed it. Very cute and right up my alley. Not like I’ve written about spies or anything.

 

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Some books I read purely for voice. This story cracked me up! I laughed out loud in parts. I also loved the storytelling. I kept thinking I’d put it down but that never happened. The main character totally sucked me into her story.

 

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 Okay, so superheroes? Eh. But I always like Kelly Oram’s stories. She’s an automatic buy for me, so I tried this one out. Again, the voice and storytelling drew me in and I look forward to reading the sequel.

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This last one took me a while to pluck from the shelves. It has a nice cover but it doesn’t begin to cover the depth of this story. It was the most unique premise I’d read in a while. I enjoyed all the different point of views and how the author tackled the story and concept.

 

Hopefully, there’s something here you might enjoy if your reading tastes are somewhat similar to mine.

Confession: I still haven’t read The Fault in our Stars. I know, I know, everyone has to read it. I know it’s sad and every time I’m at the library I’m just not in the mood for a sad story. Maybe I’ll put it on my 2014 tbr list. Maybe.

That’s it for me. I’m signing off for the holidays. Let me know any good book recs in the comments! Even if it is about aliens. Have a great Christmas!

Comments { 9 }

To cry and to laugh and perspective.

By on November 26, 2013 in spies, Writing

Who said this publishing journey would be easy? (No one) Any posts by the published authors – traditional or Indie – will say the same thing. The writing is the easy part. The revising is the easy part. But dealing with the hard work of a small business and the ups and downs is emotionally hard.

There are so many things to make us cry like disappointing sales or screwed-up formatting or not enough chocolate chip cookies. Before that it was query letters and submission processes. Some days it’s not a problem and other days because of other pressures of life the smallest thing will set us off. It’s okay. Breathe deep, make some hot cocoa and put disappointments in perspective.

There are many things to make us smile and laugh too like good sales, pride of our own work, seeing friends’ success, and beyond writing and publishing, our family and friends. (That perspective thing again.)

Have a great Thanksgiving to my American friends! Here are some books and new releases for you to enjoy!

Vanishing Point is now free. Enjoy!!!!

Lies can be deadly.

Amazon ~ Kobo

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DANGEROUS DEPTHS, book 2 of The Sea Monster Memoirs

by Karen Amanda Hooper, has washed ashore.
Hell hath no fury like a selkie separated from his true love.
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EAST OF EDEN!!

Regret is a formidable foe.

Her parents had a second chance at love? Would she and Cade get one, too?
Amazon | Kobo | Smashwords
Coming soon to Barnes & Nobles and itunes
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Tattered Dream
(Desolation Diaries #3)
Miro has seen Akaros’ return–and James’ death. But James has been to Hell and back and refuses to let Akaros rob him of his future with Miri. Desi might not be there to save him this time but James is determined to save him.
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Have a great week!! Tell me what you’ve been reading!
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