Month: March 2022

Cover Reveal Time

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Here we are, folks. Cover reveal time.

I thought about putting it in the newsletter, but then I’d have to wait until at least 4/15, and I’m pretty sure I said last week I’d do it this week and I don’t want to make a liar of past-Caitlin. Besides, there’s no reason to wait anymore. I got to get this thing going, and it all starts with peeling back the curtain so you can see it first.

Here we are, the cover for APIP, the first book in The Coyote & The Claw series, an urban romantic fantasy featuring superheroes:

Ay? Ay?

You like it? Hope so, because I’m not changing it. Haha—but seriously. This is it. I went back and forth with the original purple, but I think this version captures the D.C. mood I’m attempting to replicate (Detective Comics. Not the capital…) I wanted it to have a darker, noir-feel, and between the two options, I really think this one is it.

Whew.

Cover reveal DONE! Checkmark and thank you. Wow. Okay, well that feels good. Now I can move forward with the next phase of this thing since any sort of marketing seemed quite impossible without a cover. But no more worries on that front. They can all shift to the marketing and the advertisements I need to work on now. That, and still editing the book…

Yep. I’m cheating on myself…with myself. I’m supposed to be editing ARPIP. I need to, and I know this. This should be my primary focus and goal, and it is…but so is writing AROG. Every time I block off time to edit, I sneak a peek at the other WIP and figure writing one to two more paragraphs won’t hurt. That turns into five or six, and then half a page, and then I’m reviewing previous chapters to check something, and then Appa is nudging me to come to bed and all my time is gone. It’s not great since I’m literally the only one who can edit this thing. And with each passing day, my window is getting smaller and smaller if I still want to make my June release date. And I do. I’m just saying it’d be great if I had a clone, because I’d use her strictly to edit. That way, I could just write. We’d get so much done.

First part: write the book – check

Second part: edit the book—meh, still working on it

Third part: create a cover—check

Two out of three ain’t bad. I’m working on the last one, and I PROMISE I will get it done. I’ll hit a road-bump in my WIP, and will switch back to editing. But whatever works, right?

~ Lady Caitlin

A Festival and Wedding

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My excuse this time is that I went to a festival and wedding.

Excuse me—an amazing festival and an amazing wedding. I barely have pictures of the former and none of the latter, but just know in your hearts that I was away this weekend celebrating life (like we all should) which is why this is going to be a short, to-the-point post.

So, which festival did I go to? Reggae Rise Up, and it was hands-down awesome, from the chill but lively music to the relaxing atmosphere to the delicious fried Oreos. My sister has been a few times and always raves about it, and she thought Batman and I might enjoy going. Spot on, sis. Other than the slight sunburn (due to not properly thinking through the OUTDOOR festival) and the port-o-potty-bathroom situation, the whole thing was so great. We attended Friday and Saturday and got to see Rebelution and Slightly Stoopid among other terrific bands. And yep—probably going again next year, so there’s that.

The wedding was equally great because it was a high-school friend, making the whole thing a mini-reunion since I saw some faces I hadn’t seen in a while. It’s crazy that I still feel mentally sixteen (ten at times…) and here I am, this gorgeously amazing thirty-six-year-old goddess. Crazy how that works.

In regards to writing, I’ve got my first round of edits back, and I’m working through making APIP slightly better. I was on such a roll with AROG, but I think I’m going to do half and half. Half editing ARPIP and half writing AROG because I can fly through the edits pretty quickly, and—more importantly—I’ll go mad if I’m not writing. And no offense to blogs or newsletters or witty emails to my coworkers throughout the day, but those don’t count quite the same. They’re fun, but I’m still in this reality. I like to be in other realities with my popcorn watching my characters do their thing. It’s so a passport I wish I had (and existed!) but until then, writing is the only commute.

Also: I’ve made a final decision on the cover and it feels sooooo good. I’ll probably share it in next week’s post because, you know, reasons, but just rest assured knowing it’s chosen. You don’t have to lose anymore sleep over it, so, you’re welcome. That hill is behind us. Only a few hundred more to go.

Since I actually do have evidence of Reggae Rise Up and that I exist as a person (and not an adorable figment of your imagination), here you go:

Check out those hot red sunglasses
Rebelution

Until next week’s cover reveal…and whatever happens between now.

~ Lady Caitlin

The Final Countdown

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Here we are again, folks. I’m writing this at the last minute, so please forgive any missing words or typos or any stranger than usual content because I haven’t gone through it like, 1,000,000 times before posting like usual. Probably only two look-throughs and that’s it. Let’s see what we get.

For those lucky newsletter subscribers, and even the more select out of that narrow group that actually reads them…what did you think?? Did you choose a cover you like more? Which was it? TELL ME.

As mentioned previously, I haven’t revealed my cover yet because I’m down to two options, one with the original purple I’d requested, and another with a tint or something cool done to it. I don’t know. But, I don’t want to show you either until I’m a BILLION percent sure that’s the one I’m going with, so I’m only including a small section of each. A snippet. And here these mofos are:

Option 1
Option 2

It’s just a peek, but I’m sure you get the picture. So…which one do you like? Which one catches your eye more and would maybe make you want to buy based off that little bit of an image? I have one I’m slightly leaning toward, but apparently, I can’t make decisions on my own. So, I need your help again. The goal is to have this picked by next week. NEXT WEEK. I’ve got to commit because the longer I stall, the less time I have to advertise. Or pay other people to advertise. Something. I’ll figure out something about advertising later but I need a book cover to do that. So…

Other than this, I got my edits back! Woot! Now I’m putting a hold on writing book two and switching back to the first. With a great cover needs to come a great book, and editing probably helps with that.

Alright, can’t wait to hear which tiny piece of a possible book cover image you like more. Let’s call this the final countdown, shall we? By next week, it’ll be one of these two, so do your part:

Let’s do this.

~ Lady Caitlin

I’m Super Stumped

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Well, it’s done.

The teeth are out. All four of them. YES. I had four teeth plucked from my jaw on Friday and somehow, I’m cruising like normal. It’s probably all the drugs they gave me because other than a little discomfort day-of, it’s been pretty painless. I’m actually kind of shocked. I thought I’d be a loopy, dopey drugged-up mess for a few days, but I wrote on Friday. Somehow, I had enough brain cells working at full capacity and I got two pages done. I’m literally shocked.

I don’t remember much. I remember panicking in the chair and staring at the water stain on the ceiling and wondering if I should mention it. But they probably know, right? Then I wondered if the ceiling repair-people had their teeth done at that dentist, and if so, did they get a discount? At some point, the oral surgeon and all his minions came in and I thought, okay, it’s going to happen. Brace yourself. And then the ceiling came back and I was being told (by the oral surgeon—not the ceiling) to stop shaking, but I didn’t remember shaking. Someone wiped a tear from my eye and said they were getting my husband, and then, there was Batman.

I paid extra money for the good stuff, but dude, I don’t even remember it. That’s the kind of service I’m talking about. But…why was I crying?

Whatever—the teeth are pulled. It’s done.

Onto writing news!

I do have some, but mostly that I’m all over the place. I have titles for the second and third book—woohoo!—but I’m also getting the second and third covers done in addition to the first because I want to make sure they all look good together…but I’m stuck. The current cover for ARPIP (which I’d hoped to be sharing today, but alas…) is back on the shelf because of its color. My *amazing* cover artist Joleene Naylor has given me two awesome routes the covers could go, and I like some things about the first set, and some things about the second set, and I just can’t make up my mind.

I don’t know what to do. I’m super stumped.

Still trying to figure that out while I’m writing AROG (ß abbreviated title for second book, but you don’t know it bwhahaha!) AND also writing my reader magnet which I was working on steadily during all my free time at work, but now I’ve been promoted, and am basically doing two jobs until we hire someone to replace the little I did, so I haven’t finished that story just yet. But I will. I just wish I didn’t need between seven and eight hours of sleep, because I could get so much more done. Alas. I’m a crazy, buggy-eyed bitch if I don’t.

Speaking of bitches, I got the poll results.

*shakes head*

Four-way tie between Debbie, Trish, Kerry, and Stacey.

Guess I’ll make the determining factor. Well, I did work with a Debbie that I loathed, but more recently, I worked with one whom I absolutely adored, so Debbie is out. Stacey is a sister-in-law (plus I like that song Stacy’s Mom. Know it?) and Batman has an Aunt Trish…which means I do too, so Stacey and Trish are out.

Kerry is the winner!

Whomever submitted the name “Kerry,” feel pride knowing not only have you named a minor character of a future best-seller, but you immortalized a personal bitch as a bitch. When you think about it, that’s pretty friggin awesome.

Okay, I’m off to stare at both sets of covers and try and wrap my mind around which one works best for the series. I’m also going to write AROG and work on my reader magnet story. And oh, yeah, my newsletter. Can’t forget that bad-boy either.

Sheesh…

Glad I have my boxed wine.

~Lady Caitlin

Character Name Poll / Pattern of My Brain

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First, thank you to everyone who called out their favorite bitch. You all are rockstars, and one of these amazing names will actually be a character in A Royal Pairing in Perish! Only a handful of people might read it (though the goal is a bit more…) but even so, a story is a story, and once handed to the world, it becomes real—even for one person. And this office brown-nosing butt-munch will live inside that person’s head, which means you helped craft life. Kinda cool.

And, since I used my “Patricia” placeholder up until the very end, I forfeit my right to choose the name I like the most. This one will be decided by you guys, in this poll, that I’ve so masterfully crafted with WordPress’s help. The choices:

Vote for your favorite, and I’ll reveal the results next week. I already know what I’m leaning toward, but again, this one’s going to be chosen by you! So, let’s see who makes it in the book.

Second, I’m finally having my dental surgery.

*throws confetti*

Wait—what? Dental surgery.

*stops throwing confetti*

*walks over confetti to get boxed wine*

*drinks and sobs*

This is the pattern of my brain every time I think about it. Because yes, I am FOR SURE excited to finally fix this horrible issue which causes me immense amount of pain. So much that some days I wake up not sure I’ll be able to chew, while other mornings, I’m convinced my teeth have all shifted over the night because the big-bad-wisdom tooth has bullied them over. Still, as suuuuuper excited as I am to finally be done with this ridiculous pain, I am legit terrified.

Because…like…it’s surgery. In my mouth. They’re pulling teeth and I’ll have stitches and will need to drink my meals for a weak and it’s like…a thing. A major, scary thing that I really don’t want to do. But, I’ve been doing the opposite—living in pain and avoidance—for far too long, and it’s just not working for me anymore. So, I need to be brave. At least, I have to make sure Batman drives me to the appointment on Friday, because once I’m there, I can’t back out. And if I drive myself, who knows? I might end up at a Starbucks drive-through instead.

What about you? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? Do you hate going to the dentist? And did you vote on your favorite Karen name above?

I’m dying to know on all accounts.

~ Lady Caitlin