Okay, it’s a bit premature to be making a post announcing I’ll eventually be making a post… But I wanted to let those who’ve been asking know that the cover reveal date for NOBODY’S GODDESS has been confirmed to be next Friday, January 23rd! Anyone with a book blog interested in joining the official reveal team can do so here.
Thank you for your enthusiasm and support!
It’s bittersweet to be posting this, the last cover for the Silver Moon Saga by Melissa Giorgio (a series for which I beta read), but here it is, and isn’t it lovely?
Ever since that fateful night Gabi Saw her first demon, she’s been questioning who and, better yet, what she is. When given a chance to find the answers she seeks, she seizes it, even if it means putting herself—and her beloved friends—in danger.
From upstate New York to the streets of Manhattan, Gabi chases after the truth that has, until this point, remained out of reach. But when her whole world shatters, Gabi wonders if it would have been better to remain ignorant. Because once you know the truth, there’s no going back.
In the final installment of the Silver Moon Saga, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been for Gabi and her friends, and no one’s guaranteed a happy ending. Will Gabi triumph or will the shadows claim her for their own?
You may have seen my debut pop up on a number of blogs this week thanks to the Month9Books Spring 2015 Debuts Blitz and Giveaway! I can confirm that NOBODY’S GODDESS now has a firmer release date:
The cover reveal is coming soon!
Another year down, and less than a year until Nobody’s Goddess releases! We announced the deal this past January, but I actually knew as far back as September 2013 that Month9Books was interested and I had to sit on the news. I’ve been so excited about the release that it seemed like it would take forever, but the year has flown by. This year it’s gotten a new title and a cover (although I haven’t been able to share that with you yet) and has gone through a few more revisions. I also managed to write both sequels to it (one’s been turned in to my publisher and has begun revisions, one’s still a draft), which are due out in 2016 and 2017.
The past couple of years, I’ve posted a list of all the books I read (not including graphic novels and manga, of which I’ve read many) on this blog to celebrate New Year’s. Why continue to do that now that I have a Goodreads account? Well, I don’t always post what I’m reading there—unless I feel especially passionate about sharing it with you all. As a soon-to-be published author myself, I feel weird about assigning grades and criticizing other people’s novels, especially since if I don’t love something, it might just be my own tastes, you know? This is a way for me to celebrate how much I’ve read each year.
Not as many as last year, but I’m still happy with my progress!
Happy (almost) 2015, fellow WIP Marathoners! 🙂 I love checking in with you each month. Even when I don’t get much done, it helps to remind me to get back on track. Congrats to all of you on your writing and editing this year, and good luck next year!
Things I’m Glad I Did In 2014:
In 2015, I’ll love to:
Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 1. 88,426 words and 36 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3–first draft done
2. 82,790 words and 26 chapters in NOBODY’S GODDESS (NEVER VEIL 1), in the process of revising
Current report WC + CC/ SC: 1. 88,514 words and 36 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3 (I spent very little time on it)
2. 85,589 words and 26 chapters in NOBODY’S GODDESS, latest round of revisions done and sent back to publisher
WIP Issues This Month: Oops. After that first week, when I was finishing up the latest NOBODY’S GODDESS edits for my deadline, I really barely did any writing or editing at all. So… Finding the time and motivation to get back into it.
Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. December is not a good time for me to write.
2. You can resurrect scenes you liked you long ago cut out when an editor suggests something and you think you have the perfect thing to address that in your reject folder. (Yay!)
3. You wind up reading a manuscript MANY times before publication. Many. Good thing I love my characters!
4. Juggling writing, work and so much else can be hard.
What distracted me this month while writing: The holidays! Not just the actual celebrations (I’ve had two so far :)), but preparing for them took up a lot of my free time, and I don’t even consider myself someone who goes overboard. Also, work picked up a little (yay) and multiple people in my life, including me, got sick, so that sucked. (I seemed to have it easiest with a head cold, though.) I saw The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, but it was my least favorite of all six LotR films. (Yet I want to see it again.) I also got distracted by Super Smash Bros. throughout the month.
I don’t usually mention my reads here, but My True Love Gave to Me was the PERFECT December read for me and gave me many warm fuzzies.
Goal for next month: My editor tells me I may get the final round of revisions to do and approve in January for NOBODY’S GODDESS–that’s right, the FINAL round. It’s off to the printers after that! So that will come first, of course. I do want to add a new scene to NEVER VEIL 3 and fix a few things and then start the whole beginning-to-end read-through before passing it along to my beta, but I have time before it’s due and may not get to it. (My goal last month was to start it and I barely did, so…) I hope to, though. I have no plans to draft anything new or work on any of the other projects on hiatus this month, though.
Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 1. 23,897 words and 10 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3
2. 85,221 words and 26 chapters in NOBODY’S GODDESS (NEVER VEIL 1)–I hadn’t touched it in months and was waiting on the next round of revisions, which I got back in early November… When I got it back, my stellar editor helped me cut down some wordiness, so it was 82,854 words and 26 chapters before I began work on the next round (wow, a good editor can really help you streamline things!).
Current report WC + CC/ SC: 1. 88,426 words and 36 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3–first draft done! Woot! It took me 45 days (not bad at all) and I started the month of NaNoWriMo with 33,000-ish words–and managed to add 50,000 to “win” the month’s challenge by November 20th.
2. 82,790 words and 26 chapters in NOBODY’S GODDESS (NEVER VEIL 1), in the process of revising
WIP Issues This Month: Not many again! Writing has gone well for me the past couple of months. I need to watch for repetitive phrases. (I tend to have people cross their arms and I write about people’s eyes a lot.)
Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. When I can write a draft relatively quickly, I feel much happier about the writing process. (It took me 5 months to write NEVER VEIL 2, even though it was 20k shorter and I started with 10k already written! 0_O)
2. Watch for “I saw X do this” or “I felt X happen” type of sentences in first person POV because they just add lots of extra words. My editor cut them all down (to like “X did this” and “X happened”) and the sentences read smoother.
3. Taking time to write something you really want to write, even though you know it won’t help you reach your new writing goals (I can’t get a new agent with NEVER VEIL 3, but I wanted to write it more than I wanted to write something new), can help you get your writing mojo back. (So I won’t have a new agent this year… Perhaps not even next year. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean it’ll never happen again or even if it doesn’t… *shrugs* What can I do?)
4. Finishing a trilogy is very satisfying! (Although there are years of revisions ahead.)
What distracted me this month while writing: I didn’t do much this month besides fiction write (even my client work has decreased, boo), so that might explain why I did so well. (If only I could make that my full-time job and not feel guilty about not business writing as much. *sigh*) I saw Mockingjay Part 1 twice because I love the Hunger Games books and films with every fiber of my being. 🙂 (Reading the trilogy inspired me to get serious about fiction writing after almost a decade of floundering.) I saw a couple of other good movies, too. (Big Hero 6, Interstellar, Birdman and Nightcrawler.) I’m not big on Thanksgiving, but we had a couple of nice, small gatherings.
Goal for next month: Wrap up this round of revisions for NOBODY’S GODDESS (due December 7th). Start revisions for NEVER VEIL 3–maybe even finish the first round and get it ready for my beta reader, but with the holidays and plenty of time before my due date (June 1st! I’m hoping I can turn it in a few months early, though), I’m in no rush. I just want to work on it, you know? And I don’t feel up to diving into a new (or on-hiatus) WIP just yet.
The second Silver Moon Saga novella is out! Fans of the series must read this! (Especially if you like to drool over all the hot guys in the series!)
As a child growing up in California, Evan Underwood only has a basic knowledge of Silver Moon, the organization that keeps the world safe from demons. After accidentally setting his parents’ house on fire with magic, he’s sent to the New York Silver Moon HQ to learn how to control his powers.
Frustrated by his teacher’s refusal to show him anything beyond magical theory, Evan decides it’s time to take matters into his own hands. But teaching himself magic isn’t as easy as Evan imagined, and it’s during one of these practice sessions that he’s discovered by Alexandra Chen, a strange girl Evan finds both frustrating and alluring. Making a promise to show Alex magic, Evan is determined to live up to her expectations, even if it means breaking a few rules in the process. But when things backfire, Evan must rely on his friends to help free him from the clutches of a new, sinister character.
A Promise of Magic spans the course of eight years, and readers will delight in the appearances of old friends and new characters as Evan navigates his life through the busy streets of New York. With two bonus stories that set up The Shadow Stealer, the final book in the series, Silver Moon Saga fans are in for a real treat.
Author Ava Jae is holding a one million pageviews celebration over at her blog. (Wow, one million!) I’m one of a number of authors donating to her book giveaway. (Writers can also win critiques!)
NOBODY’S GODDESS still isn’t out yet, so as I often do, I’m giving out Melissa Giorgio’s THE SIGHT SEER instead. May as well spread the love. Win a free Kindle copy!
And be sure to add Ava Jae’s debut novel, BEYOND THE RED, to your Goodreads to-read list!
It’s no secret that I adore Melissa Giorgio’s Silver Moon Saga, and it’s not just because I’m her beta reader and one of her best friends. I’m so excited to announce the next book in the series, a (LONG!) novella, is being released early: November 20th! Today was the cover reveal:
As a child growing up in California, Evan Underwood only has a basic knowledge of Silver Moon, the organization that keeps the world safe from demons. After accidentally setting his parents’ house on fire with magic, he’s sent to the New York Silver Moon HQ to learn how to control his powers. Frustrated by his teacher’s refusal to show him anything beyond magical theory, Evan decides it’s time to take matters into his own hands. But teaching himself magic isn’t as easy as Evan imagined, and it’s during one of these practice sessions that he’s discovered by Alexandra Chen, a strange girl Evan finds both frustrating and alluring. Making a promise to show Alex magic, Evan is determined to live up to her expectations, even if it means breaking a few rules in the process. But when things backfire, Evan must rely on his friends to help free him from the clutches of a new, sinister character.
A Promise of Magic spans the course of eight years, and readers will delight in the appearances of old friends and new characters as Evan navigates his life through the busy streets of New York. With two bonus stories that set up The Shadow Stealer, the final book in the series, Silver Moon Saga fans are in for a real treat.
Now that you’ve seen that, you have to visit Melissa’s website for a hilarious conversation between Gabi and Evan about why he’s not on the cover.
Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 0 words (outline completed over two years ago, though)
Current report WC + CC/ SC: 23,897 words and 10 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3 (That “new WIP” I started over the summer is on hold for the foreseable future; I never could bring myself to finish the outline even.)
WIP Issues This Month: Not many! This was the first month I’ve done well in quite a while. I totally planned for November to be this big writing push since I wanted to do NaNoWriMo, but I knew the 50,000 words I was aiming for in that month wouldn’t be a first draft for NEVER VEIL 3, and I was tired of waiting to start. I finally convinced myself to start and so far it’s gone pretty quickly! I haven’t had days where I’m just staring at the page. Some days I struggle to turn off distractions and devote a block of my time to writing, though.
Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. You CAN get your writing mojo back, even after feeling like you never will.
2. Having a passion for your characters helps push you to write.
3. Going off-outline can lead to very interesting surprises.
4. Writing is fun! (I re-learned that.)
What distracted me this month while writing: Not too much. I had less client work, which isn’t a good thing for my pocketbook, even if it frees up more time for writing. I visited the David Bowie Is exhibit in Chicago mid-month, and that was fun. (See photos here.) Some GOOD things are happening “behind the scenes” this time as far as my books/writing/editing goes, but I can’t talk about them yet. Maybe by next check-in!
Goal for next month: Successfully complete NaNoWriMo! (But also, don’t feel bad if I can’t write that much. My friend pointed out at this rate, I probably will have written 50k in 30 days regardless, I just started earlier.) I hope that brings me to the end of a first draft for NEVER VEIL 3, but I can see it quite possibly not being enough words yet. (The conclusion is a long one!) Still, I’ll be a heck of a lot closer.
Many of you are already my buddies on NaNoWriMo (can’t wait to cheer you on if you’re participating this year!), but if you’re not, please add me! (Click the logo.)
Oh, also fellow WIPMarathoner Suzanne and I interviewed each other recently for the Month9Books blog! Keep an eye out for our announcement on Twitter whenever those interviews appear.
Amy McNulty 