Month: December 2022

Here I Was, Thinking I Was Coasting

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Here we go again.

I realized literally two days ago that not only did I want to include a bonus chapter for my March release, but I also want to include a Reader Magnet (free short story at the end) as well. Shouldn’t be too hard since this is releasing in three months, right? Yeah…but the ARC (advanced reader copy) will be available in mid-February which means I have to have the story back from the editor by early-February which means I need to have the work over to her around mid-January.

And…I still have to write the thing.

I also need a professional cover for the Reader Magnet in addition to the cover for In The Moment During, which will have pre-order information available as well. So, amidst all the holiday cheer and spirits and splendor, I realized I need to write two more pieces, get them edited, and get my covers ready all in the next couple of weeks. (I also need to finish implementing the final edits for the book itself. No pressure there). Sheesh. Guess this really taught me there is no slowing down once you release one book, especially with a continuing three-month-release schedule. Here I was, thinking I was coasting easy for a little bit but nah.

Let me repeat it for those in the back: NAH.

Alright, it’s officially been over a week since ITMB released and things have been…interesting. I’ve gotten some feedback that was slightly disappointing because there aren’t more paranormal aspects. I totally get that. Honestly, I was (and still am) a little hesitant about its category and if I’m misleading readers which is NOT MY INTENTION. But clearly, I’m a mess. All my genres kind of smear into another category because apparently, I like doing things the hard way. Probably why I took math honors classes when I clearly shouldn’t have.

But it’s all good. I’ll learn with each release and hopefully these kinds of things won’t occur to me a few weeks before they’re needed. I’ll get into a groove. A pattern. Some way to keep me sane through all this since—again, for those in the back—I’m on a three-month-release schedule all the way through 2024. I really hope I can stick to it. That’s where y’all come in. I need your help, your support, and your constant reminders that books are EXPECTED in March, June, September, and December.  Even if fans aren’t demanding them, I’m demanding them. And that’s good enough for me.

How was your Christmas? Hanukah? Kwanza? Festivus?? We’re all different and celebrate different things, so I hope whatever path you’re walking has led you to a fabulous holiday season. Mine was lovely, thanks for asking. I’ll probably touch base on it in this week’s newsletter (I’m doing two a month now, did you know?) So, if you’re interested in details, I’d crack that sucker open this Friday. Not subscribed? Here you go: SUBSCRIBE HERE. I’d sign up quickly because I’m including the FREE Short Story of Homecoming Night which is only available to my newsletter subscribers. (It’s exactly what you think it is. Literally the Homecoming Dance for Robin and Grayson. Curious what it’s like? Yeah. I was too. That’s why I wrote it).

Anyway, I’m off to go do all the things. Like write the Reader Magnet I need to have edited in a few weeks.

It’s all good; I got this.

~ LC

This is Getting Ridiculous

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Tell me if this is weird.

Batman and I (eating a very nutritious/delicious fast food meal) drove into a large empty space in a grocery store parking lot on Saturday night. (That’s not the weird part—I’m getting to it). So, we’re sitting in this large empty space with no one around us when this truck pulls up a couple spots over. Parks. Sits. The person isn’t directly across from us and maybe they’re enjoying their own fake food as well. Cool.

But then another truck shows up. Pulls right next to them so now there are two trucks sitting nearby in a giant empty parking lot on Saturday night. Okay. Whatever. Still a bit weird, but maybe this part of the parking lot is popular. But then another truck shows up. This one parks right next to us and I’m like wait. WTF is happening right now?

ANOTHER TRUCK came and that’s when I realized these teenybopper bitches decided to make our spot their spot for their Saturday night hang out (because that’s cool, right? *eyeroll*) Like, they literally parked around us because more vehicles were arriving as I told Batman it was getting too weird and I wanted to eat my fake food in privacy. So, we left.

But as we were leaving, I made sure to stare down the ringleader because he did this on purpose. Know how I know? He held my stare with a stupid little smile. He knew what he was doing. Batman said not to worry but this kid is a straight up psycho. Because, who does that? Psychos do.

Anyway, now that you know crazy kids are running the streets and grocery parking lots, I’ll jump to the highlight of the weekend—our lunch at the Columbia! Remember last week’s post (or was it on FB?) where I talked about how Batman and I are going for a lunch/dinner with every book release? It’s a new tradition we’re (I’m) starting and it’s really so I can celebrate me not completely giving up. Well, In The Moment Before earned us a swanky lunch at the Columbia Restaurant in St. Augustine. And it was…lovely. The food was great, the Christmas decorations were great. Everything was great…except that the first thing our server did was complain about how we were another two-top table, since that’s all she was getting.

*sigh*

She was fine after that, but I definitely felt like an inconvenience for only being a party of two. It’s like we’re cursed. Batman and I are either seated near the restroom, the kitchen, or in places where tables shouldn’t go. We’ve been ignored completely, made to feel rushed, and now made to feel bad for only being two people. What the hell, restaurant-God? You know Batman and I don’t cook a lot. We depend on other people. We depend on restaurants, but this is getting ridiculous.

pics of us at the Columbia Restaurant to prove we exist and we went!

So that’s what’s going on with me. I do still have that stye in my eye—which I’m only now realizing I haven’t mentioned yet. Long story short—I have a stye and it got really bad last week and I kept rubbing it because I have no self-control, and it got worse and puffy and it looked like I’d been hit. It doesn’t look like that anymore and it’s not bothering me, but I pulled down my eyelid and it definitely has NOT gone away. I showed Batman and he freaked out and said I need to go to the doctor. Still unsure if I’m going to ignore it completely and hope it goes away like usual.

We’ll see.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Festivus, whatever it is – I hope it’s wonderful and brings you much happiness! (And money too. Because inflation, am I right?)

~ LC

Competition With Myself

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I left the house on Sunday to do some errands. I’m not a fan of mirrors because they’re creepy and I heard something about a spirit living in them. I don’t know. Either way, I typically glance at myself on the way out of the house to make sure I’m like, decent. Nothing on my face. Shirt is on correctly. Everything in its place.

I forgot the customary check before I left on Sunday. I only went to the grocery store but when I got back in my car, I realized what I forgot to do—which was brush the other side of my head. You see, I brushed the right side of my hair but got distracted with the dogs (or something) and neglected to do the same thing on the left side. No look in the mirror to confirm tgat I was good to go—I just left.

Y’all – I walked around Walmart with the right side of my hair brushed and the left side in clumpy, post-shower waves. No idea. When I got back to the car to check my eye (as it had been bothering me) I lowered the visor to check and that’s when I discovered it (along with the sty in my eye…). I must’ve looked like some weird wild banshee with my faded Beatles sweatshirt and stained leggings. You know, how people typically look this time of year.

Other than that, I think I’m doing pretty well! Clothes are on, hair is washed and ALL brushed, and I’ve got a new release on Friday. Am I nervous about it? Hell yeah, but I’m also not. I know I’ve messed up some things. I know I should’ve done this or done that and definitely some of this over here, but you know what? It’s okay. I’ll learn with each release and implement new strategies as I go. I read a meme that said something like “I’m not in competition with others. I’m in competition with myself.”

I love that. Because I’m proud of myself. I’ve been working hard behind the scenes and while past Caitlin did the same with simply writing the books, present Caitlin is now implementing the business side of things and working even harder. I’m in competition with who I was last year and the year before that. I just got to keep kicking my old ass. 😉

 I’ll probably bounce back on here and shout again on Friday since it’s the official release.

*screams in excitement*

Also – did I mention we’re going to the Columbia for this release? I could only score us a lunch reservation since it’s December and people beat me to the dinner spots, but it’s all good. Celebrating in St. Augustine with Batman over a new book release? Life is good.

Until Friday…

~LC

First Blog Tour & BTT on Promo

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Aha! I did NOT miss this week’s weekly post and mostly due to its severity. Not because of its infamous history (which I’m only now realizing is the same day…) but because of the severity for me. Is severity the right word? Maybe importance? I dunno. I just know it’s not smart to miss this post because it’s my last update before my first blog tour starts next week.

WOOT!

I know 99% of you are like that’s awesome, Caitlin, and I’m so happy for you but wtf does that mean?

Excellent question! It means I’m taking it old-school and doing a virtual book tour around book-related blogs that host new authors and/or releases. It was popular around ten years ago which is why I’m finally jumping on board. Hey, you never know where you’ll find your next customer/reader/fan, right?

For anyone interested in the schedule and to read my awesome interview questions, you can find the details here:

December 12: The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom

http://creativelygreen.blogspot.com/

December 12: Fang-tastic Books

http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/

December 13: Paranormalists

https://paranormalists.blogspot.com/

December 13: Jazzy Book Reviews

http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/

December 14: Sapphyria’s Books

https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/

December 14: Midnight Musings with Bertena

https://midnightmusingswithbertena.blogspot.com/

December 15: JBs Bookworks with Brandy Mulder

https://jbbookworms.blogspot.com/

December 16: Bewitching Book Tours

https://bewitchingbooktours.tumblr.com/

December 19: Westveil Publishing

https://www.westveilpublishing.com/

December 20: Liliyana Shadowlyn

https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

December 21: Momma says: To Read or Not to Read

http://mommasaystoreadornottoread.blogspot.com/

December 21: Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Aha’s

https://kimberlybartosch.wixsite.com/blog

December 22: The Book Junkie Reads

https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com/

December 23: Supernatural Central

http://supernaturalcentral.blogspot.com/

December 23: Lisa’s World of Books

http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/

Also (and just as important) I’m promoting my Better Than This series for all of December. What does that mean? Well, if you still haven’t read it, you can grab the first copy for FREE and once I’ve got you hooked (muhahahaha!) the second and third are on sale for only .99! Or, you can just read the first and be on your merry little way. Either way, free things are awesome and I’m awesome by association so that’s the main thing to remember.

Get your FREE copy HERE

Lastly (and added kind of last minute…) but look:

If you or any of your friends like helping indie authors by receiving free copies of their books in exchange for honest reviews, you should become a reader for Booksirens. I signed up with them to help promote In The Moment Before for three months, and I’m already thrown into two separate bundles. Quite cool. Anyway, just had to share.

Have a GREAT day and I hope you check out some of the tour stops. It’s gearing me up for next week – when ITMB officially releases. I can feel it; can you? This is the start to something big.

Something big and awesome.

~ LC