Categories
brainstorming writing

Brainstorming book titles

It’s Thanksgiving Monday. Michael is stripping the turkey so we can make stock. And, while I have his captive attention, I’m brainstorming book titles for the Amplifier Series* – I’m exceeding lucky to be married to a songwriter who excels in condensing complex ideas down into evocative but short phrases.

We’ve been having trouble with the titles for the new series for some reason. We’ve easily had four or five short brainstorming sessions, usually while making hot chocolate for coffee break. And I had previously titled five possible books during an earlier brainstorming session for the series as a whole (see picture below). Those titles reflected the romance side of the Amplifier series but didn’t bring any magic into the equation.

By the end of the day we hope to have a solid framework in place (a running motif, is you will). So I better crack open the thesaurus, an idiom dictionary, and get to work!

First page in my Amplifier notebook, and soon-to-be-crossed-out possible book titles.

*FYI. The Amplifier Series is set in the Adept Universe but features all new characters, including the Amplifier Emma and her dark sorcerer Aiden. The prequel, first short story, and the first book are due out in early 2019.

Categories
personal reflection

Almost twenty years …

So I just had a rather odd (crazy? dreadful? overwhelming?) realization at the Farmers’ Market today that I can – and do – answer most questions about my life with the phrase, “almost twenty years.”

How long ago did you meet/move in with/get engaged to your husband? About twenty years ago, coming up on our eighteenth wedding anniversary.

How long have you been seriously writing/writing full time? About twenty years.

How long have you been working with your editor? Oh geez … must be getting close to twenty years.

How long have you been knitting? Oh, well, I guess … about twenty years?

How long have you had cats? Almost twenty years.

How old is your turtle? Well … let’s see … she was 1 1/2 years old when we rescued her … so about twenty?

In other completely unrelated news, I’m turning forty-five on October 11.

Raindrops on blueberry bushes turning red for the autumn.

Happy first day of autumn!

My favourite time of year … when I’m not being obsessive about the passage of time.

Categories
audiobooks publishing writing

MCD Fall 2018

Posting my fall schedule/upcoming releases, etc so I have it all in one place instead of just occasionally mentioning it whenever I’m asked in various places online. Yes, I’m attempting to be organized!!

If you have any spoiler-free questions, let me know in the comments and I will endeavour to answer them and/or add the answers below.

NOVELS

Current release (August 23): Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5)

Upcoming release: Dowser 9. Fingers crossed for the end of November, but there are too many editing/proofing/formatting hoops to jump through to set a date yet.

AUDIOBOOKS

I See Me (Oracle 1) is set to drop on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes in a matter of days and it is crazy good!! Hold on to your Audible credit! And remember the whispersync option for those of you who have purchased the kindle version through Amazon USA.

Oracle 2 is currently in production. Expected release is early November.

CURRENTLY WRITING

I’m currently working on the Amplifier Series prequel novella (all new Adept Universe characters). Then I’ll write the short story that will be available as the preorder giveaway for book one. Then I’ll write book one. I intend to make them all available one right after another, releasing in early 2019.

Make sure you are signed up to my new release list or my monthly newsletter (and that you open the emails, otherwise your email provider will start putting them in your junk folders). When you sign up check your spam/promotions/junk folders for the welcome email.

You don’t want to miss the exclusive freebie I’ll be ONLY offering to my new release list when I launch the Amplifier series. As well as the preorder giveaway, of course. 🙂

Sometimes my job is just so hard. 😉 I snapped this shot when I was listening to the final files for the I See Me (Oracle 1) audiobook.
Categories
personal reflection writing

Writer meltdown #3476

I just wrote a very long, very angsty blog post.

Got a bit weepy.

Deleted the post.

Short version: First drafts are hard. And I have a terrible habit of piling every single, nagging concern/fear/issue I have with my writing/career/future into a difficult-to-drag-around massive-bundle-of-angst. As we all do, I suspect.

Michael talked me down.

Again.

Back to writing.

I’m working on the first draft of the Amplifier Series prequel novella. Dowser 9 is due back from the story editor (aka SFG) next Thursday.

 

Categories
Merchandise T-shirts

T-shirt designs migrating to Amazon UK and Germany … finally!

Okay! I’ve just been informed that I can now sell T-shirts on on AMAZON UK and AMAZON GERMANY. (As well as AMAZON USA, as always).

The problem is, Merch did NOT migrate my designs for me. Which means I need re-upload each and every design (x2). And well, that is going to take a huge amount of time away from the writing. So I thought I would upload ONE design every evening until they are all done.

If you have a preference for a design please let me know in the comments. I’ll try to upload in order of most preferred. 🙂

Click here to see all the designs.

Hopefully Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, etc, will soon be made available to sell T-shirts as well.

I will let you when all the designs are available in the new stores. The caveats on sizing still holds. Please read my blog post on achieving a good fit.

[crossposted to my Facebook page and Facebook fan group for maximum coverage].

Categories
personal reflection writing

I’m not really a bad ass. I’m just writing one.

I took a moment this morning to review what I’d written of the Amplifier prequel so far before diving back in, coming up with one overwhelming conclusion:

Emma (aka the Amplifier, aka Socks, aka AMP5) is a real bad ass. It isn’t something that she grows into (a la the Dowser) or something she’s never known was possible (a la the Oracle) or something she’s suppressed (a la the Reconstructionist). It’s the only way she knows how to be, the way she understands her role in the world she has been bred into – a fundamental aspect to her nature.

So it’s a good thing that Emma (eventually) has a thing for gingersnaps and Downton Abbey, and that she falls in love at first sight in book one. Otherwise we wouldn’t have anything in common.

The birth of a bad ass in midnight blue ink.

So yeah, I’m writing.

Just in case you thought I had any sort of other bad-assed craziness going down over here in my tiny office perched on the edge of a tiny island. 😉

Categories
personal reflection writing

Writing is like vomiting

Interior kitchen. White glossy cabinets. Concrete counters. Approx. 10:30am. A Milk Cafe is running, whirling and heating skim milk destined to be a hot chocolate.

Me (measuring out chocolate): I’m just so scattered brained today. Which, for some reason, is always the case the day after a really successful writing session. I mean, obviously, I’ll write today but it’s going to take some effort to focus.

Michael (slathering cashew butter and jam on a toasted English muffin): Writing is like vomiting. You just get it all out, purge the idea onto the page. And after you vomit you need to eat, fuel up again.

Right.

I don’t usually feel the need to eat after I vomit … but I conceded the point because I understood the metaphor Michael was going for. Ha.

So … I am a little scattered today. I got the first draft of the first chapter of the Amplifier Series prequel written yesterday. It came out at 5,700+ words, which is closer to the length of the chapter of a novel, not the novella I thought I was writing. So that is interesting and pretty much ruins the ‘marketing direction’ I’d been planning for the series, because the ‘hero’ (and yes, that does need to be in quotes) doesn’t show up until book one and the main series takes place seven years after the prequel.

The muse apparently thinks I’m getting to comfortable with this writing gig. Thankfully between the story editor, Michael, and me we can usually work around (work through? work with?) the desires of the muse. So I’ll just need to figure out a smooth transition between the prequel and book one. A character changes a lot in seven years!

Presumably I’ll eventually stop calling Emma an alchemist instead of an amplifier …

Time to dig into chapter two! #amwriting

Categories
writing

The muse and me, a conversation.

Me (yesterday afternoon): the third draft of Dowser 9 is done!
The muse (late last night): Hmm … what about [insert unresolved minor plot point].
Me: Now is not the time to worry about that. I’m trying to fall asleep. Scott (aka the editor) will flag it if it’s an issue.
The muse: it is totally an issue! One we need to spend the next hour fussing and fretting about until you eventually can’t sleep at all.
Me: well …  I could do [insert mention of plot point], then in the final conversation with [name redacted] she could [action redacted]. Or maybe … Oh! What about …
The muse: my work here is done.
 

So yeah, I didn’t sleep terribly well (though that’s not particularly unusual) and I’ll be doing a bit more fiddling with the third draft of Dowser 9 today. 😂
But then!
Then, the book will be ready for story editing.
Categories
reviews

Dowser 8.5: early reviews

I celebrated the one week anniversary for Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5) by finishing the third draft of Dowser 9. Then I remembered I usually do so by sharing some early reviews, so I quickly popped around online and collected some pull quotes (see below).

Thank you to everyone who has had a chance to read the three novellas and taken the time to review on your retailer or favourite review site. Your reviews are welcomed and appreciated!

Overall, most of you seem to have enjoyed getting a glimpse at the Dowser Series from a different point of view. Well, three, to be exact. And that pleases me, because I really loved writing these bridge stories. The one draw back to writing first person POV is that I cannot show you what is happening ‘behind the scenes.’ And, for rather obvious reasons, in this particular case Dowser 8.5 contains important information and plot points that Jade herself is not privy to.

5 stars – Fun read with cheers and tears! – iBooks reviewer

5 stars – Great read! Another sweet treat for the fans. – Barnes & Noble reviewer

5 stars – Laughter, tears, heart palpitations, random audible cuss words, and fist pumps. – Amazon USA reviewer

5 stars – A riveting read. Do all your work and chores before you begin these books as nothing gets done after. – Amazon UK reviewer

Thank you all for hanging on for the ride as it now barrels onward toward Dowser 9!!

Categories
inspiration personal reflection writing

Dowser 8.5 is in wild.

Living on the west coast of Canada means that I often wake up to find that a few voracious readers (in other timezones) have already consumed a new release while I slept, and Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5) hasn’t been an exception. I’m so, so glad that so many of you have enjoyed hearing from Mory, Rochelle, and Jasmine. I very much enjoyed writing their novellas, exploring Mory’s and Jasmine’s voices as well as getting a chance to speak through Rochelle again.

I stumbled upon this picture two days ago, a long-time friend found it among his collection, scanned it, and sent it to me last year. And, after exclaiming for some time about being SO young and SO slim, I filed it among my digital photos without another thought.

I don’t often share personal photos (of myself), but I thought you might find it fun to see a tiny little bit of my life experience bleeding into the character of Mory. Allow me to present Narissa, my inspiration for Mory’s turtle, Ed.

MCD, age 20 (?), with a red earred slider semi-aquatic turtle, aka Narissa.

I also thought that today was an opportune time to mention that writing Dowser 8.5 has spawned numerous ideas for more side stories and that the Misfits of the Adept Universe series, starting with a Mory book, will be coming your way in 2019.

As always, thank you for reading. Without you it would just be me in my tiny writing shed wondering if the words I spend hours a day typing were ever going to be read by anyone else.

Okay. I’m making fudge marshmallow bars now. Then later there will be homemade pizza!!

Sunshine & Lollipops.