Showing posts with label strength. Show all posts

Click For Clicks! 5 Questions With Author Amy Evans

Hey, gang! I'm sharing an interview I did recently with author Amy Evans with you today. Her book, Clicks, is a surfing adventure, a love story, an ode to dolphins, and so much more. Think you'll really dig learning about it.

A couple of quick news things first...

First, I wanted to mention that Camp New Adult is still chugging along, and this week we've got a Scrivener guru in the forums to take and answer questions. Her name is Kat, she's super helpful, and uses Scrivener in a lot of cool and different ways to help her writing process.

So if you have questions about the software, or maybe even tips to share with others, be sure to jump over and check it out. Logging in to comment is as simple as using your Facebook, Twitter, or Google accounts. You can do so, HERE.

And you might even bump into today's guest author or me over there. :)

Second, I wanted to give a shout out to my pal Carrie Butler, who is re-releasing her book, Strength (which I've featured here on this blog), as an independently published book.

She lost her reviews and sales ranking because of the transition, not to mention she's had to learn all the ins and outs of DIY publishing--all in a short amount of time. Furthermore, the sequel to Strength will be hitting the streets in just a couple of months.

So, to help kickstart things and celebrate the new direction in her career, Carrie is offering up Strength for .99 cents for a limited time. She was featured on this week's W4WS, so you may have already pitched in.

If you haven't, I know many of my followers here are Indies, and you know how steep the learning curve can be. So if you can, please consider jumping over to Amazon and downloading Strength. It'll cost you less than your next soda and be so much sweeter. :)

5 Questions With Amy Evans, Author of Clicks

EJ: "Born and bred to win, sixteen-year-old Cami's family expects her to join a secret society called The Guard, marry one of the two identical twin boys next door, and stay on Pinhold Island for the rest of her life. But she has other plans: work beach patrol, win the Surf Carnival and leave Pinhold to compete in international surf rescue competitions and see the world."

That's the blurb for Clicks. It sounds a little bit fantasy, a little bit sporty, a little bit The O.C., and a LOT awesome! So, which is it?

AMY: Clicks is a coming of age story about a girl who takes her home and family for granted until they are threatened.

EJ: Clicks sounds like a beach goer's dream read. Where'd you draw your inspiration for the story from? Was it long days stuck inside dreaming about the beach, or long days AT the beach? :)

AMY: Long days at the beach actually. I wanted to spend even more time there, so I wrote about it.

EJ: There seems to be a strong environmental theme in Clicks. Is that something you're passionate about? Is there anything you hope readers will take away from the story?

AMY: The environmental theme Clicks grew from my obsession with dolphins and my real fear that the damage to our environment and oceans has become irreversable. I wanted the story to be accessible for people younger than me, to help them grow up with an interest in protecting the ocean.

EJ: Clicks is a self-professed coming of age story--an experience that is often sometimes sweet, and sometimes bitter. Why do we want to go on that ride with Cami (the heroine of Clicks)?

AMY: Cami gets to do really fun things - lots of swimming with dolphins and surfing and kissing. She's a reluctant hero who is content to sit back and wait for others to solve problems until her twin Mica is in danger. It's only when pressed that she embraces her natural strength and her instincts, which is the key: listen to that voice that's inside you because you are the only one who can.

EJ: Our favorite question here at The Open Vein! Why should Clicks be our end-of-summer read, and where can we snag a copy? (links to book, websites, author stuff will go here).

AMY: Because everyone wants to hold on to summer as long as you can. And no one ever gets enough time at the beach. And did I mention the hot lifeguards?

Here's where you can find me an Clicks!

AMY
Website
Author Facebook
Tumblr
Twitter
Author Goodreads
Pinterest

CLICKS (EJ NOTE: Also only .99 cents!)

Goodreads

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

I'm Back & Bringing Courage With Me!

Hey, gang! How the heck are y'all? I've missed you (and my computer) more than I can say. :)

I'm finally back to the blog after making the loooonngggg trek from Texas to California. Along the way, I saw desert, mountains, more desert, vineyards and more than a few terrible drivers. -_- (Seriously, who lets these jackwagons operate 2 ton projectiles of death unsupervised???!!!)

But, I'm proud to report we are moved in (sort of) and getting settled in our new town with only the minor moving-related injuries to report. (I swear I've got "box thumb". It's a rare disorder that comes from opening up and breaking down way too many damned boxes.)

To get my feet wet, this week on the blog I'm featuring a couple of my favorite folks, who also happen to be talented authors. :) First up is Ms. Carrie Butler, who'll be bringing us the sequel to her debut novel, Strength (ladies will remember the cover, I'm sure), this October.

Carrie has crafted another beauty of a cover (one I might just remember!), and all of the details on Courage are below... also be sure to give Carrie a hand with her blog tour if you have a spot available. She comes up with the best stuff for her tours. :)

And let me just say one more time that I REALLY missed the heck out of all of y'all!

~EJW~

COURAGE by Carrie Butler

Title: COURAGE
Series: Mark of Nexus - Book 2
Author: Carrie Butler
Category: New Adult (NA)
Genre: Paranormal Romance (PNR)
Release: October 15, 2013
Formats: E-Book & Paperback

Courage (Mark of Nexus #2) features four unique points-of-view. While the novel stands alone, it is best enjoyed after Strength (Mark of Nexus #1).

♥ ♥ ♥

Making a deal with the bad guys wasn’t the highlight of Rena Collins’ semester, but, hey, it saved her boyfriend. Now, in order to appease the human-altering organization known as ERA, she’ll crawl under their microscope while they study the Mark of Nexus and plot their eye-glazed version of the future—until she realizes that’s not all they’re plotting.

Wallace Blake has always known his girlfriend is unlike most girls. But now that information has surfaced regarding the two bloodlines that balance his supernatural race, he finally understands why. Rena belongs to one of them. She’s been augmenting his power, all along...

Enter: Corynn Catley. Brought into the country under the guise of an internship, she’s intended to become ERA’s secret weapon. Kind of. Her abilities cancel out Wallace’s, rendering him powerless, but that’s exactly what he’s always wanted. Too bad it only works when his girlfriend’s not around.

All the while, Rena fails to notice the crush her geeky best friend, Aiden Ross, is nursing. He’d give anything for her to see him in a new light—even reinvent himself through questionable means—but there’s a reason people are told to be careful what they wish for. Finding the courage to tell her could put everyone’s lives in danger.

Design: Carrie Butler

Photography: Subbotina Anna & Yuri Arcurs

Participate in the Courage blog tour, happening October 14th–26th!

Building An Effective Author Website by Carrie Butler

Hey gang! Very excited to share the expertise of our fellow author-at-arms, Carrie Butler, with you today. Carrie isn't only a scribbler and marketing goddess, she's a rocking graphic designer and dark practitioner of HTML-omancy, too. (Okay, it isn't REALLY dark... more grayish. :)

Anyway, Carrie is going to give us some tips for not mucking up our websites. Take it away, CB!

10 Things to Consider When Making an Author Website

Thank you for having me over, EJ! I'm so excited to talk about author websites.

I decided to make mine right before I started querying, because I wanted a centralized, easy to find web prescience. If you're thinking about making a website, here are ten things to consider:

1. Which category do you write in? (Adult, NA, YA, MG, etc.)
Why I ask: If you write adult, you probably shouldn't make a website in bold, primary colors.

2. Which genre do you write in? (Romance, thriller, science fiction, etc.)
Why I ask: Someone who writes romance would probably opt for "softer" graphics than someone who writes science fiction.

3. Do you write in multiple categories/genres?
Why I ask: If they can't be thematically blended, you might decide to take a more neutral approach.

4. Who is your audience?
Why I ask: Like writing, you should try to appeal to your target market. Think demographics here.

5. When you go to other author sites, what are the things you want to find as a reader?
Why I ask: Those are the things you should implement, i.e. bio, books, press pack, contact, etc.

6. How can you convey your personality, while still keeping things professional?
Why I ask: You're building a brand. You'll want to keep common colors and themes across all of your sites, i.e. blog, Facebook cover photo, Twitter background, etc.

7. Where will you get your domain?
Why I ask: This one requires a little research.

I obtained my domain (www.carrieabutler.com) through GoDaddy.com and sprung for the privacy service. (Read up on ICANN and WHOIS.) It amounts to less than twenty bucks a year, and I consider it a career investment.

Side note: This was the only money I spent on my website.

8. Which host will you use?
Why I ask: Again, you'll need to do a little research.

I use Weebly, and I love it. Not only do they have a free option, but it's highly customizable. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, you can create something truly original.

9. What will you put on your website?
Why I ask: It's best to plan this out ahead of time, especially if you're trying to save money.

The images you see on my website are Creative Commons, public domain, or of my own creation. The content is mostly what I had strewn across the Internet prior to this, i.e. social media links, my biography, information about my book, etc.

10. How often will you update your website?
Why I ask: It's something to think about, especially if you include time-sensitive material.

I update my website at least once a week, but I'm very hands-on. You may choose to only update yours once a month or whenever something needs to changed. The key here is consistency.

And there you have it! If you have any questions, I'll be in and out today. Thank you for stopping by. :)

About Carrie:

Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.

Links

Thanks a heap, CB! By the way, Carrie has an awesome new book out. It's called Strength, and there's a highly shirtless man on the cover. I blogged about it not long ago. Feel free to ogle the cover before clicking the link below for more details. :)

Click here for the skinny on Strength!

Strength

Hey gang! Hope you've been enjoying the character closeups so far. :)

I'm supremely honored to share the book launch of a very talented author-lady today. The cover alone will make swooners swoon and the soft-stomached insecure! I present to you, Strength by Carrie Butler:

Title: Strength

Series: Mark of Nexus – Book 1

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing Category: New Adult (NA) Genre: Paranormal Romance (PNR) Release Date: March 07, 2013

Available at: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and Nook. More retailers will be added in the coming weeks, i.e. Sony Reader Store, iBookstore, Kobo, etc. Be sure to keep an eye on Carrie's Pinterest "Retailers" board. She updates it whenever STRENGTH pops up somewhere. :)

STRENGTH

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.

Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few minor setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…

Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.

They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.

Book Trailer

About the Author

Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.

Where to find Carrie:

Where to find Strength:

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Don't Get Mad, Get Writing

Credit to Cellar_Door_Films WANA Commons

Hey gang! Hope your weekends were fabutastic. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to wish the winners of my cover contest well! If you missed it, you can check it HERE.

This week, I want to talk about an 18 year old who just signed a six-figure publishing deal (yes, it's a vampire story), but first ...

New Adult Twitter Chat (#NALitChat) Update

Many of you know that I host a weekly Twitter chat, but there are some new folks following this blog so I thought I'd share a quick update...

For the uninitiated, New Adult is a category of literature aimed at the 18-26 year old demographic. The themes and characters tend to fall into that focus as well. Basically, if you're a fan of YA lit, and wondered 'what comes next?', you simply have to come hang with us. We do talk about a range of writing and reading related 'things', not just New Adult, so I think there's a little bit of something for everyone. (And all are certainly welcome.)

If you're feeling a bit naughty, this is the month to join in as we're starting our 'Risky Business' series in which we'll be chatting about sex in New Adult lit, taboos in New Adult lit, and much more steamy goodness. All from a writing and reading perspective. To take part in the chat, just jump on the Twitters every Thursday night @ 9 PM EST and use the #NALitChat hashtag in your Tweets.

For more info on the chat, check out the NA Lit Chat blog, complete with fancy calendar, HERE.

This Week's Good News!

Speaking of steamy, check the cover for this fabulous upcoming New Adult release!

I think my author-pal Carrie Butler is going to set the reading world (as well as a few eyeballs...) on fire when Strength debuts next March! Don't believe me? Check this epic blurb:

"When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.

Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few minor setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…

Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.

They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart."

Epic, right? You'll want to stalk Carrie to stay up on the Strength release shenanigans I'm sure she has planned, and you can find all of the details HERE.

My own good news!

So, I somewhat stealthily added my book, Blood Fugue, to Goodreads recently. I did so to allow the folks who have received arcs to be able to review it in advance of release (later this month), and planned to officially announce that it was up when I posted about the epic launch blogfest I'm planning (in the coming days).

Well, I got my first review and decided to break out the announcement early. Why? Because the review was awesome! lol Super-duper-awesome author-blogger Eve (aka - The Desert Rocks), and recipient of a Blood Fugue arc, gave it five stars! You can read her full review HERE, and be sure to give her blog a follow. She's an absolute blast, and now on my holiday shopping list. :-)

Also, if you'd like to add Blood Fugue to your Goodreads list (and jockey for position on my holiday shopping list), you can check out the official listing HERE.

Don't Get Mad, Get Writing

An author I follow on Facebook posted this article about an 18 year old girl who recently signed a big book deal with a BIG publisher. She didn't share it as good news ...

The author who shared the story is, like 99.9% of published authors, solidly mid-list. Which is to say she has had to scrap for every ounce of respect, every smidgen of publicity, and every last cent given to her by the book publishing world. She works her tail off, and hopes each book she puts out moves enough copies to get her next story published, much less six-figures. As I said, that's life for most authors.

I LOVE her books, by the way. They are unique, and beautiful--truly nothing else quite like them. That I've read, at least.

And I'll say this: Indignation over a fledgling adult, much less author, having an agent FIND HER, and getting a big contract for writing ANOTHER Twilight-inspired spinoff is certainly understandable, and probably justified. It's hard to process how one person can bust their ass for years--trying to get an agent, trying to write something good, trying to write something marketable, etc.--and not achieve the success of a first-time teenage author.

However, there is something the young woman in the article got right that I think many established (and otherwise) authors aren't figuring out: she wrote stories, and she shared them. From the age of 15, she was uploading chapters to various social writing sites. She eventually got enough exposure that an agent took notice.

Now, I don't think I need to write another 'publishing has changed' post today. I think what I need to tell you is this: If people aren't reading your words, it's your fault.

Go ahead, get pissed at me. Throw stuff. Quit following me... on second thought, let's not be hasty. You can stomp your foot, maybe even curse me under your breath, but you should keep following. I'll say something you'll like soon enough.

So if it's your fault, how can you fix it? Simple!

- You need an idea for a story.

- You need to learn how to write.

- You need to get better at writing.

- And you need to be willing to put it out there.

These steps apply to EVERYONE. You want to go the traditional route with an agent, etc.? Great! Start getting your work out there. You want to be independent and do your own thing? Great! Start getting your work out there.

The lesson is this: There isn't an established author-process anymore, other than writing something awesome and fighting like hell to get it in front of readers.

A couple of suggestions, if I may. 1) If your goal is to get a novel represented by a literary agent, and one day see your book in a real book store, write other stuff on the side and put it out there. 2) If you aren't sure what publishing direction you want to go in, write a bunch of stuff, and put some of it out there.

Note: This isn't me advocating throwing poop on the wall to see what sticks. Your dry runs are best kept in house, even now. You put out something before it's ready--before you're ready--and the cold Web-world will strike you down with a fiery vengeance. Besides, you owe it to your readers to be the best you can be, at whatever stage.

I'm simply advocating action. As silly as it sounds, the modern writer must write! We are in a content driven age. People want to read about everything, and they want to read about it now. That's truth.

So the next time you read about some 'instant' publishing success story--or other affront to how you believe things are supposed to work--don't get mad, get writing.

~EJW~

BEWARE THE MANUSCRIPT BEAST!

My opponent never tires … never gives up. I’ve spent the last several weeks hacking at his very soul, using weapons that should have reduced him to nothing more than a few well ordered pages. Yet still he remains, fat and bloated on the excess imagination he’s devoured.

He’s fearsome to behold. His stare is the stare of 10,000 coffee saturated hours. His breath has the disgusting reek of superfluous conjugation. Adverbs slip from his every pore like maggots. They seek out new works to infest, and for every one I cut down, six more take their place! Hardened layers of exposition take the shape of cruel horns. They jute out at every angle, and I fear they are too numerous to file down. Bad dialogue has grouped to form rows of razor sharp teeth that tear at my fingers and rip away the flesh of my resolve. I’ve come to fear the sight of my opponent as one fears the shadow of his own death.

Our arena is a temple of unfulfilled dreams, half-drank glasses of wine, and dying promises. Signs of our epic struggle surround me; severed pages, dead plots, useless character sketches, and disemboweled how-to-books litter every surface. Yellow sticky notes are splashed on the walls like the blood of order-craving insects that’ve gotten squashed beneath my foe’s heavy boot. A once hardy chair now crumbles under the perpetual weight of a cruel master; the once glimmering desk is only a scuffed prop in an out of control war. How a creative heart could survive in such a despairing place is beyond reckoning.

Yet survive I must. Too many good people have succumbed to the Manuscript Beast. Some have given him their lives, a lucky few have only lost years. His reign must end! I see now that to best him I will need an arsenal of exceptional tools:

I will need The Sword of COURAGE to fight the doubts of those who say I cannot win.

I will need The Shield of STRENGTH to endure the hours, days, and weeks of battle that still lay ahead.

I will need The Spear of WISDOM to attack my opponent’s weaknesses.

Lastly, I will need The Armor of HEART to sustain me when my rational mind is turned to poison by the Beast’s relentless assault.

*** Note from the author ***
This post is dedicated (in fun) to all of you who have been fighting through edits. It sucks, but I’m convinced that we can (and will) win. Happy writing this week, and go give the Beast some hell for me!