Note to Self: You are getting very close to completing your goal!

Good Mythical Morning! (Yes, I just finished watching GMM on YouTube)

So, I am here at the table, in my usual spot, mentally preparing myself for a day of writing. At least, I hope to get some writing done. Tomorrow is my "posting day" for PoY, but the new chapter is not finished yet. I had managed to write a good portion of it last Sunday, but not enough during the week. But as I often say, it is not a big deal. You gotta take each step as it come. Don't jump and try to skip over things. That can cause you to not see a coming step and you can trip.

Something smacked me in the head yesterday, mentally. I cannot get a book self-published without having some sort of income to pay for it. *SIGHS* I already know how will get an income, but more on that another time. I also have been planning the final cover(s) for a certain novel (or two) for when they are published. But I am not going to show those off. . . . Not on my blog anyway. I am testing a few finalized covers on PoY, but not on Wattpad. I am using it on my Write On (Amazon branch) account, and hoping it will get some love. Speaking of that, I have to post a new chapter of PoY over there.

Scarred Hearts is also going to have a final cover for publishing, but I have not worked that out yet. It is posted to Write On, and I have been getting the feedback I was hoping. I only have a few chapters up, but the feedback is helpful. Now I have to work all those details into the book, and fix it. Which means. . . . I will need an actual editor. Another thing I will need to pay for. To be totally honest, I was going to try and eek by and go as cheap as possible, because I thought I was not going to have the money for all the special stuff. But like I said above, more on how I will earn for my book in another post.

I was looking at the Entangled Pub submissions page the other day. As it turns out, I meet most of the requirements to submit a manuscript. My problem? There are some things about my novel(s) that . . . they might not fit along the other books that are published there. I mean, I write very clean fiction, that would be suitable for all ages. The thing with Entangled is that their imprints fit a certain box (age of characters/readers, content, etc.) and I don't know where the novel would fit. 

Entangled's CRUSH imprint is for Teen & YA readers (16-18). My novels would fit there, but I made my characters ages 21 and older, even though I can say the content is appropriate for everyone to read.

Embrace is the NA imprint, which means intense content for new adults (and readers who like reading that genre). I have had my share of NA plots and they are not all that bad. I always say that I rarely find a book that I do not like, but believe me, I still feel like the Beast when I read books like that.

Entangled Pub has many imprints. I would not mind publishing with them, but I need to focus on the things I am doing right now. Maybe, one day, I will submit something to them. I have read a good few books from them for reviews, and a lot of my writing has been inspired but CRUSH. I often say it, and I think it is because CRUSH is my favorite genre. YA novels are my peeve. No, I take that back. Books that are based on Biblical history are my peeve. (Stephanie Landsem, Davis Bunn, Janette Oke and R.J. Larson are my favorites [so far] in this genre, go check them out ASAP!)

Along with my notes for Amazon KDP and CreateSpace, I am also looking into Smashwords. I have had an account there for a while, because some of the books I am currently reviewing came directly from there, (special promo code from the authors). It is a lot of fun to look at other people's experiences with self-publishing. 

Mandi Lynn is someone that I have found particularly helpful. I think it is because we are close in age, and I can relate to her. She has a series of videos on YouTube (BookTube) that follow her journey to publishing her two novels. (I am planning to get her fist novel and see if I like it.) She talks about editors and formatting, even down to recording her conversation with the bank when she was trying to pay for everything, because she was a minor at the time. Anyways, most of my notes that I have are from her videos.

My mom was very surprised to see how many pages of notes I wrote on the first day that I got my new notebook. I filled three pages, and there are no lines of separation. The entire page is filled with notes. I have since filled more pages of notes, but that first day was surprising. I am not a very good note-taker, unless it is something I enjoy. (the Script - It's not right for you)

I think that I can safely say that I am very close to completing one of the goals on my list. I should write that list on actual paper, because I have it on my blog and in my laptop. But I should have it somewhere I can see it, when I am not on my laptop. Another thing to work on. I might just put it into one of the notebooks I have going. Or . . . I could get another journal like the one I got for my self-publishing notes. More organized, in my opinion.

Oh! I woke up with the most awesome novel idea, but I need to finished my current works first. The idea was so perfect! I wrote it down and I m going to make sure it does not collect dust. It will be memorable; the plot will be captivating, and inspired by my favorite authors. I will say no more. ☺

Anyways, I hope you all had a great weekend. Lots of fun this week; let the holidays begin! Bye!

Reading, Writing, Nathan Sykes, and Nathan Sykes!

I just have to say this: though I did not enjoy The Wanted until recently, I love Nathan Sykes' voice. And my favorite song of his is Over and Over Again. So you all know, I have not actually watched the music video until a little while ago . . . I'm crying!

This week has been a rather writing filled week. But I have also been trying to pull together all that I can to know about self-publishing. I went to the extent of buying a new notebook (journal, really) to keep myself organized.

It fits me perfectly, at least I think so. A good friend of mine once called me a princess, a few years ago, on my twentieth, and the nickname sort of stuck. But I am not stingy ;) Anyways, yeah, I bought it to keep my notes together, and even organize myself for when I am ready to self-publish. (BTW, I made a second FB page, but to separate the book blog from the rising author, CLICK HERE) I am very happy with the information I have been gathering, and I feel that, with a little funds, I could publish a book or two. I could do it; I already have the know-how and the tactics to get my platform built, all that jazz.

Well, that is all for today/night. I will see you all on Sunday!

Another Sunday, Come and Gone.

Hey all! Just so you know, I did start a post on Friday, but I stopped because I got carried away. When you are working on a laptop or a PC, it is so easy to get distracted. The reason why is quite simple. Compared to most tablets and other hand devices, it is very easy to get the INTERNET working. Whereas, on a hand device, you have to, LITERALLY, stop what you are doing to get the browser open. Laptops and PC are a click away.

Anyways, my book order (BookOutlet via Amazon) arrived last week, but I did not get it in my hands until Saturday evening. Actually, my dad had gone to the post office in the afternoon, but forgot all the mail in the trunk of the car. But when they got to my hands, I was happy. Here are the covers of those two books (which I cannot read until after all my sisters have taken their turn)

 

The Thief and The Tomb are books 2 and 3 in the Living Waters series, written by Stephanie Lansem. These books follow The Well, but do not necessarily follow the same story, though some of the characters are re-introduced as their own lead character. I cannot wait to start reading them!

I managed to get Pictures of You running again. I finished the chapter I was stuck on, and I started a new chapter this morning. I am taking quite a "dark" turn for this chapter, in terms of plot and emotion. I do not mean "dark" dark, I just mean it is not as light and carefree as the previous chapters. A hint: something tragic. 'Nuff said.

Another thing I have managed to do is nothing. Yeah, I am the princess of nothing, hahaha! Well, I take that back. I have received MILLIONS of emails, promoting giveaways, and I have entered almost every single one of them. And right as I am writing this post, I am participating in a FB event, hoping to win one of the giveaways they are holding there (Kindle!).

Well, that is all for today. I do not have anything else I wish to say. So, live, laugh, love and cry a little. :) God bless!

How forgetful am I? - December Goals List

Hello! Well, it seems that I did not post at all last week, nor have I stated my new month ideas/plans. *Gasp* I can offer only one explanation: I am forgetful. Now, I did not "forget" to post, per-say, I just forgot to open my blog page. I had a post idea ready to roll, I just never got around to opening a new post page. Anyways, I am here now. 

Wow, can you believe November has come and gone? It feels like only yesterday I was getting ready to post my first post of November. I did not complete that many goals for November, but I hope to get those things done this month. Here is a list of what I hope to do:

1. Complete Pictures of You.  

   
   
   
   I was unable to work on this book ever since receiving a comment about some details taking away from the plot. Of which I completely agree, I just feel that the reader was not understanding it from my perspective. As most author will understand, there are some things that MUST happen in a book so that it all comes together later. With this in mind, I have tried my best to push aside the comment, though it was not entirely negative, as insightful and helpful as it was, and I am going to continue where I left off.
   
   
   
   
2. Start posting Heart and Soul, and Public Enemy.
   

   
   I have been silently writing both of these novels, trying to re-spark my eagerness to write Pictures of You. So far, I have managed not to do that. However, I can say that all my ideas for these new novels are folding together nicely. I am even thinking of putting a character cameo into one of these books. Meaning: I will have a known character from one of my other works have a "guest appearance" in one, or both, of these novels. 
   
   
3. 
   Edit Scarred Hearts for self-publishing.

   
   I recently posted in the Beta-Reader's forum on Wattpad, in hopes of getting more feedback on this novel, so that I can "test-publish" it, using either CreateSpace, Kindle Direct, Kindle Scout, or by submitting my manuscript to Entangled Publishing (because I think I meet their guidelines, and they accept un-agented submissions). Now, I think self-publishing will be my quickest route, and it will help me to help my sister.  But to do any of these routes, I still need my own bank info.
   
   
   
4. 
   Prepare my Rescued novel.
   
   I have mentioned time and time again that I plan to put my Rescued short story "series" into a single novel. But to do that, I need to go back to the beginning and fill in the gaps. I may or may not be ready to do that, but I have pulled out the story several times in the last week, so I am already wanting to work on it.

Well, that is my short list. I have those things at the front of my head, I am constantly thinking over these things and how I can get them done. But I do push to hard on this list, because I try to put my work at home in front of everything else. For anyone wondering if I have done any sort of reading . . . I have, indeed, been reading quite a bit in the last week. I just finished the second book in the DIMILY trilogy, by Estelle Maskame. I am not going to talk about it here, because I will be posting a review in a couple of days, so keep you eyes open for that. I will share the link once the post is live. 

I recently posted Scarred Hearts  to Write On, from Amazon. My hopes are to expand the readers and get more feedback. I don't know how I came across it, but I like what the site does and I will be posting more novels there soon. CLICK HERE

Well, that's all for now. God made you special, and He loves you very much. BYE!

Earphones are Awesome!

Hello! Another week gone, and a new one arrives. I did not post on Friday because there was nothing really to blog about. Anyway, let me get this going!

So, last week was not really my prime writing week, and that's okay. I guess I needed the break. Taking a break from writing never hurt anyone, and I think I will benefit from that. I've taken several breaks in past years, and they benefit the author's mind. Sometimes, the brain needs a break to clear the imagination chambers. *winky-face*

I managed to get myself a nice pair of earphone, since my laptop speaker died a couple months ago. I was sharing earphones with one of my brothers, along with several other people, and it was just getting to me. Most of everything I do on my laptop involves some sort of sound. I can't do anything without earphones. So, I think my $10 were well spent.

I pulled out all my old notebooks and have decided that it is high time I finished some of those amazing story ideas. It will change the pace and get me back into the swing of writing. I think they deserve to be put out there for people to see and enjoy. Especially the stories that are halfway completed, I just need to TYPE them up. *rolls eyes* I don't favor typing after writing it on paper. Which I do a lot, when I have a brilliant idea and I am not on my laptop. (When my sister uses my laptop, it puts a small pebble in the road.)

As I often mention, I am looking into CreateSpace for my sister. I have learned all the ropes and I think the final thing to do is actually utilize the online publishing platform, and send myself a hardcopy "draft" of one of my stories to see what it looks like. Having a hardcopy of a story that I wrote would be awesome.

Well, that is all for now. See you later! God bless!

PlAyLIsT fOr YoU

Hey guys!  As I am currently lacking inspiration for all writing, I came up with a playlist. I have been listening to all my favorites, along with some new/old ones. So here is the playlist for you guys to see what I am listening to, along with a playlist I made for my new story. There may also be some Latino songs in here, but if you don't understand Spanish, you don't have to listen to them. ☺(P.S. It took a LONG time to get the story playlist uploaded)

Coming of Age . . . Young Adult Writing!

(Written over the course of a few hours)

Hey peoples! Well, it is a new week and I am only just getting started. I did not start today like usual. I am pretty much at the beginning of my Sunday. That's okay, its been slow today anyway.

I've been trying to do some writing for . . . pretty much everything that I have been working on, but it's not that big of a deal. I will get into it as time flies by. Which brings me to announce what I am planning . . . Or should I announce it? 

Yes, this is my new idea, and it is my desktop background. I have not done much with it, except create a small outline, character outlines, and as you can see, the lovely graphic(s). I sat or a few hours last week and just goofed around with the idea. I'm going through a Grant Gustin phase. He just fits the character's physique, with a bit of my own character-imaginations. I am really experimenting with this story, and I think it will be pretty cool when posted. 

Heart and Soul is coming along, though I have only just begun to add to it today. It is coming along, and I hope to start posting it soon, but that all depends on how my writing goes with Pictures of You.  Which brings me to that book. I am at a stand-still. I am supposed to post the next chapter tomorrow, but I am worried that nothing is going to fall into place like I originally planned. Chapter ten was posted and the people who commented thought the characters were being too French, and too much. I agree with them, but the thing is that it folds into the plot I am planning. I can't go back and reconstruct a chapter now, I've already got a few chapters written afterwards. To reconstruct that chapter means reconstructing the chapters that follow. It is because of this detail that I am halted. So, to keep from discouraging myself in writing this book, I want to keep moving and hope people see how it all fits later.

Anyway, That is all for now . . . OH! Check out these cool giveaways I am entered in! 

10 signed YA books, an Amazon GC, and a really cool, vintage typewriter! CLICK HERE

YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy giveaway! CLICK HERE

Book Outlet Black Friday - Get Book Outlet Bucks! CLICK HERE

The entry requirements are super easy!

Now I'm finished! God bless you all and I will see you later, ciao!