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Cover reveal for GEARS OF BRASS!

By on October 8, 2014 in Writing

Congrats to S.A. Larsen, writer and blogger friend in this new anthology!

Gear up
for GEARS OF BRASS! 



A world like ours, but filled with gears of brass, where the beating heart is fueled by steam and the simplest creation is a complex clockwork device.  

Within this tome, you’ll find steampunk fairy tale re-tellings, as well as original stories that will send your gears turning.  

Welcome to the steampunk realm, with eleven authors guiding your path. 

GEARS OF BRASS is a steampunk anthology published through Curiosity Quills.  It will be available for purchase on November
10, 2014.  Within the pages, you’ll come across clockwork inventions and steampunk-ified fairy tale retellings.  Eleven authors will guide you through worlds filled with airships, top hats, and corsets.

Meet the authors:
Jordan Elizabeth writes young adult fantasy for Curiosity Quills, including ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW which was published in October and the upcoming TREASURE DARKLY; she’s represented by the Belcastro Agency.

J. Million is the author of Last of the Giants and can always be found reading or writing.

Lorna MacDonald Czarnota is a professional storyteller and author of several books including, Medieval Tales That Kids Can Read and Tell, Breadline Blue, Legends Lore and Secrets of Western New York, Wicked Niagara, Native American and Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York, and Dancing at the Crossroads: Stories and Activities for At-Risk Youth Programming.

SA Larsen is represented by Paula Munier of Talcott Notch Literary
and is the author of published short stories, community-interest stories, and
magazine articles focused on children. 

Grant Eagar is an Engineer who would take the tales he told his children at bed time, and transform them into fantasy stories. 

Clare Weze is the author of The House of Ash (forthcoming) and the co-author and editor of Cloudscapes over the Lune.

Eliza Tilton: gamer, writer and lover of dark chocolate; author of the YA Fantasy, BROKEN FOREST, published by Curiosity Quills Press.

Heather Talty’s stories have been featured in Enchanted Conversation, as well as her own fractured fairy tale site, Mythopoetical (www.Beatrixcottonpants.com).

W.K. Pomeroy is a third generation writer who has published more than 70 short stories/articles/poems across many genres and styles, which now includes Steampunk.

Christine Baker is the author of Lana’s End, The Guild of Dagda, and many more. 

Natalia Darcy: a bookilicious reader, tea drinker and Zumba aficionado who enjoys playing cards against humanity and washing her hair with ice cold water. 

You can get your steampunk fix before GEARS OF BRASS is released in November.  To enter for your chance to win a copy of
GEARS OF BRASS, you will need to share the cover.  This can be on your blog, Facebook, Twitter… Each time you share the cover image, log it into Rafflecoper (#insert link) to record it.  It will give you more chances to win.  The drawing for the winner will be held on October 27th. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments { 4 }

A free serialized novel from Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie!

By on June 11, 2014 in Writing

I love seeing authors try something new for marketing. While this isn’t new in the Indie world, I enjoy seeing traditional authors branch out and experiment. So when Trisha, a fellow New England author, put out the call, I offered up my blog.

***

With the release date of CREED rapidly approaching, Lindsay and I have been fielding questions about what our co-authored voice sounds like,  how psychologically twisted our collective mind is, and do I need to read all of your co-authored pieces with the lights on?

Rather than simply answer those questions, we thought we’d take it one step further and actually show you! We toyed with writing a prequel-type novella to set the stage for CREED, but you know us…why write a novella to CREED when you can give them an entirely different book to enjoy!

After much discussion with our agents and an enthusiastic ‘go for it’ from our publisher, we have decided to utilize Wattpad to give the world a sneak peek at what they can expect from our co-authored voice. So here it is, a new, psychologically twisted, co-authored YA Thriller.

 

“The darkness would’ve scared me years ago, but not anymore—if you couldn’t see it, then you didn’t know it was there to be afraid of.”

~Jake Holloway, SILO 

Starting today, we will be sharing a chapter a week of our co-authored book, SILO, on Wattpad for the world to enjoy, hate, question our sanity, run screaming from… The last chapter of the book will drop the week of November 8th, the same week CREED releases!

So, go forth and be appropriately frightened as you realize just what our twisted minds of capable of.  Spread the word, leave a comment on Wattpad or simply enjoy the book in the dark confines of your own home.

Link to SILO on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/54090436-silo

 

 

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather irreverent dog.  Her co-authored, YA Psychological Horror drops November 8, 2014 from FLUX.  Her solo YA Contemporary, THE SECRETS WE KEEP, releases April, 28th 2015 from FSG/ Macmillan

www.trishaleaver.com
Goodreads
Twitter
Facebook

 

Lindsay lives in Chicago, Illinois with one incredibly patient hubby, three amazing kids and one adorable, but irreverent Bullmastiff named Sam. She graduated from Knox College in the heart of the Midwest and has been writing for as long as she can remember.

Today, Lindsay is an author, as well as a freelance editor for young adult, new adult and middle grade fiction.  She is a proud member of SCBWI, The YA Scream Queens and OneFourKidLit.

 www.lindsaycurrie.com
Goodreads
Twitter

 

  

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The delicate balance between art and publishing.

By on June 5, 2014 in publishing industry, Writing

I self publish. I’m an Indie. At some point I heard it was good advice to create a business plan. I did, even though it was simple and not filled with some of the intellectual language I’ve seen in other samples.

I also heard it was good to create a production plan, which I do. It’s on a digital sticky note and it goes into the year 2016. At some point I had to stop going so far into the future because I kept changing my mind. New ideas would rise up, demanding to be written. Or flashy ideas that I thought had merit needed more time to simmer.

That is the delicate balance between art and publishing.

If I were a robot, spitting out words just for profit, different stories would be on my production plan. Ones that made more sense. Ones that were part of a large series and with romance and kissing. Ones that fell into commercial genres. And sometimes, I write those stories.

Just today, based on the Create Bravely theme from NESCBWI and everything I talked about here, I deleted every project past this coming December. I will finish projects I’ve started and there’s a certain sequel I want to write. But then it’s all free and clear. And I love it!

Sometimes I have to follow my heart and write the stories that are a challenge, that are scary, that seem to fall outside those genres that sell well. Sometimes I need to write the stories that call to me, those that I will love writing, those that won’t let me go.

There’s nothing wrong with writing to sell, with choosing a genre that you know sells well. Nothing at all. I’m just saying that there is no guarantee no matter how you publish or which genre you write that a book will sell well, so you might as well write what makes you happy.

Right?

Anyhow, I am always thinking about what I’ll be writing next, trying to find that balance between art and running a small business. It isn’t easy.

So for now my calendar is open while different ideas push at the envelope of my creativity, wanting to be written. I honestly don’t know which one will win.

How do you deal with this balance? I would imagine a similar struggle exists for those pursuing the traditional path.

photo credit

 

 

 

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Create bravely: Make your Mark!

By on May 9, 2014 in Writing

It’s been a week since the New England SCBWI conference. I keep seeing recap tweets and blog posts, and most of them are saying something about being brave. This unnamed courage that applies to anyone expressing themselves creatively.

And, of course, I got hit with plenty of chances to show courage this past week. Not in a way that anyone would notice. My life is continuing. I met my word count, and I see the finish line for this current novel. I can sit down and write every day. That’s not a problem.

As an Indie author, I run a business. And that means I need to balance between loving what I write and considering the market too. There’s sticking somewhat to my brand while improving my craft while also being open to try new things.

I want to explore with my stories. Brave things. Scary things.

I want to experiment.

That said, I’m really struggling with what to write next. I have several ideas, and to be honest, they are all calling to my heart in the same way. I want to write all of them. I try not to write anything I’m not completely one hundred percent in love with and passionate about.

As I finish writing this current work, I’m struggling to decide if this was a good practice manuscript, but not something I should pursue. What comes next?

I’ve gone round and round, and I might possibly have reached a decision. Deciding what to write next, to spend months working on, takes a lot of bravery. So I keep returning to the theme for NESCBWI.

Create bravely: Make your Mark. (This phrase coined by conference director Kris Asselin.)

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NESCBWI and an official book release!

By on May 6, 2014 in Writing

I’m finally recovering (sort of)  from a busy, incredible weekend at New England SCBWI.

Last night I tried to make blueberry streusel muffins. The key word being tried. I added double the amount of oil so had to try and double everything else. I dropped an egg. And then I forgot to add the topping before they baked.

I blame pure exhaustion and the fact that I’m still running on low.

But as always the conference was incredible. I got to hang with all my writing friends who over the years have turned into close friends. I met and roomed with my blogging friend Sue Quinn. I love meeting blogging friends! Plus, I sat in on her self publishing workshop. #awesome

Talking about writing and Indie publishing is always inspiring. And this year, on panels, agents stated that self-publishing is a viable path. Very different from two years ago. Times are changing. But we all knew that.

On top of all this, I released Prom Impossible a bit early to make sure it was ready to go for the Book Blast on May 13th! Yay! I had a lot of fun writing this story. I hope you love it too!

You can download Prom Impossible now!

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo ~ iTunes (coming soon)

Thanks for stopping by! And have a great week!

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